- the use of technology is not the lesson, it just supports the instructional strategy.
- planning is not as easy as we think.
- we should probably set and write standards relevant to our situation.
- without knowing it, we have been using instructional strategies found in the literature.
- don't let time constraints make you lose sight of your ultimate goal.
At first, I honestly wondered why we were using a format created for a totally different situation/environment. The standards were also an issue for me since I thought we should have focused on what we were accustomed to.
Now, I realise that growth and development does not occur when you resist change. I like the idea of giving lessons fun names and identifying the competencies you hope to develop.
Just a suggestion, cant we create a site, a collection of lesson plans focusing on reading in the content areas. The format of the lesson plan would be more or less the same and that standards would be created specifically for us and our purpose. On this site teachers would be able to get lesson plans, tips on lesson planning as well as share their experiences with using the lesson plans.
While we can't offer monetary rewards, we can offer support and encouragement to our colleagues.
Khaine, I disagree that resistance is not a contributor to growth and development. Sometimes it is because it forces directors and administrators to find the underlying flaws in their policies and plans, thus giving voice to the people they are meant to serve. With concerns for a decline in literacy growing in the Caribbean, there must be effective coordination of literacy programs which the voices of teachers can help to structure.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Maria Grazia Sindoni (2009), planning both on the macro and micro level is important in language instruction. On the macro level, there is policy making and large scale planning, while on the micro-level planning refers to making language learning programs accessible to all learners at local learning institutions. Teachers can have strong input with their contributions which as you suggested can take the form of lesson plans being shared and exchanged via the internet. I think we are only a few steps from this as we are learning that knowledge should be shared and we do not have to always be competitive to feel that sense of achievement in academia and education.
Reference:
Sindoni, G. M. (2009). Language-in-education planning: the use of emergent Web 2.0 genres in the south of Italy. Current Issues in Language Planning, 10(4) 422-441
It is quite interesting that lesson planning is a challenge for many of us who have been educators for more than a decade. What were we really using before? Were they working? Could it be a variable in the underachievement of many of our students? I can't help but question the competence of the influence of teacher education programmes or instructional leaders within the school community on effective teacher planning for classroom instruction? Again I ask why is the planning of a series of lessons so challenging? I would really like to hear some of the possible hypotheses.
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