Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom: Responding to Individual Needs

11. Lesson Planning, Assessment and Learning

11 Lesson Planning, Assessment and Learning Bick-har Lam This chapter discusses lesson planning, learning and assessment and the impact of educational reforms on classroom teaching and learning. As the central theme of this book is the importance of recognizing the diversity of learners, the chapter therefore focuses on helping teachers to meet society’s expectations as they support the development of students’ potentials. After completing this chapter, readers will be able to understand: • conceptual theories that guide classroom teaching; • the planning phase of lessons, including the different levels of planning, goals of instruction, domains of development, models of organization and assessment; • the implementation phase of lessons, which includes teaching and assessment strategies; and • the impact of educational reforms on classroom teaching and learning. Purpose of Lesson Planning What is the purpose of lesson planning? Primarily, lesson planning guides teaching. It is included in teacher education courses so that prospective and novice teachers may be more adept at handling complex classroom situations where various problems emerge. A fully detailed lesson plan, which outlines the major teaching points, sequence of activities, and materials to be used, reminds new teachers of the progress of lessons and ensures their smooth delivery. Lesson schedules in schools can be rather full. In Hong Kong, for example, primary school teachers teach for more than 30 periods a week, and secondary school teachers for not less than 25 periods. Developing a habit of systematic lesson planning is therefore essential for the smooth flow of lessons; and, based on a semester and broader scheme of work, lesson planning helps to target certain stages in the learners’ progress. Lesson plans also serve to evaluate teaching. Teachers can use the plans to record their reflections on lessons and to list their recommendations for improving their teaching. For experienced teachers, the procedural content of lesson plans 292 Learning and Teaching in the Chinese Classroom is certainly less elaborate. They commonly use them to refine their teaching approaches and organize teaching content. According to Lam (2008), lesson plans • help teachers to focus on the nature of planning, thereby enhancing the quality of teaching plans; • guide classroom teaching; • allow teachers to see problems they may encounter in their lessons and prevent them from occurring; • develop teachers’ confidence the moment they enter their classrooms; • prepare them for explaining difficult topics, such as more abstract concepts and ideas; • provide a framework for understanding or assessing learning outcomes; • make students understand the meaning and purpose of what they are learning; and • document student feedback and teacher reflections to evaluate lessons. Lesson plans are teaching plans. They carry teaching rationales that regulate the behaviour of teachers, acting as blueprints for executing lessons to ensure they are implemented as planned. Today, teachers are viewed as important agents of change and are expected to play a key role in reforming schools and classrooms. In lesson planning, the personal theories, orientations and knowledge of teachers determine the content of learning, how such content will be learned, and how learners will be assessed or evaluated. In lesson planning (i.e. micro-level teaching in the classroom), teachers can refer to various teaching guides which may derive from curriculum reform ideas which focus on young people’s development—an aspect which has been highlighted in this book, especially in Chapters 1 and 2. This does not mean that teachers need to follow such guidelines blindly; rather, they should acquire knowledge of teaching philosophies, trends and teaching models from the education literature. They should be critical in differentiating teaching ideas and methods to reach a consolidated orientation towards teaching that is beneficial for all learners. To do this, however, teachers should possess the ability to contextualize teaching. Before they can develop lesson plans that fit learners’ needs, a clear teaching rationale is essential for enhancing teaching quality and effectiveness. Figure 11.1 presents a consolidated teaching rationale that can guide teachers as they plan their lessons. Table 11.1 (p. 294) contrasts the new orientation towards learning with the traditional orientation. The present teaching philosophy has changed from a teacher-centred to a student-oriented approach. In the 1990s, Prawat (1992) claimed that education was experiencing a paradigm shift. He commented that traditional education predetermines the future of students to certain prescribed ends. Accordingly, teachers teach using a ‘transmission approach’, and students learn through an ‘absorption approach’, approaches which are not beneficial because Lesson Planning, Assessment and Learning 293 they view...