Short-term planning
On lesson planning, Haynes provides accessible and practical guidance. Hattie draws implications from his exceptional synthesis of international evidence on effective lesson design and teaching practices.
- Haynes, A. (2010) The Complete Guide to Lesson Planning and Preparation, London: Continuum. (Reading 10.5)
- Hattie, J. (2012) Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximising Impact on Learning, London: Routledge. (Reading 10.7)
For practical guidance for both experienced teachers and trainees, see Kyriacou;
- Kyriacou, C. (1998) Essential Teaching Skills: 2nd. Edition, Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
In weekly planning, and especially in lesson planning, differentiating work for the range of pupils in the class is of vital importance if they are to be engaged with their learning. Drawing on the work of a range of authors, Simpson and O'Brien & Guiney offer an analysis of the implications for learning of different forms of differentiation, whilst McNamara & Moreton provide practical guidance. Taking account of individual differences is one theme of Muijs and Reynolds’s wide-ranging book.
- Simpson, M. (1997) ‘Developing Differentiation Practices: Meeting the Needs of Pupils and Teachers’, The Curriculum Journal, Vol 8, No 1, pp 85-104.
- O'Brien T. and Guiney, D. (2001) Differentiation in Teaching and Learning, London: Continuum
- McNamara, S. and Moreton, G. (1997) Understanding Differentiation: A Teachers Guide, London: David Fulton.
- Muijs, D. and Reynolds, D. (2001) Effective Teaching: Evidence and Practice, London: Paul Chapman
At a practical level, differentiation strategies can be presented in lesson planning in various ways. In fact Kerry and Kerry, in discussing differentiation in work for high attaining pupils, identify fifteen different methods.
- Kerry, T. and Kerry, C. (1997) ‘Differentiation: Teachers' Views Of The Usefulness Of Recommended Strategies In Helping The More Able Pupils In Primary And Secondary Classrooms’ in Educational Studies, 23 (3), 439-457.
Teaching strategies should always, of course, be considered during short term planning, and Joyce, Calhoun & Hopkins look at a range of teaching models offering a wide repertoire of strategies for teachers.
- Joyce, B., Calhoun, E. and Hopkins, D. (2002) Models of Learning - Tools for Teaching, Buckingham: Open University Press
The issue of assessment is considered in detail in Chapter 14 of 'Reflective Teaching'. One issue tackled is that of pupil involvement in assessing their own work. This can be a powerful tool in helping teachers to develop self-assessment as part of the pupil learning process - see Clarke, and Muschamp (Reading 13.4). Formative assessment necessarily provides the evidence base for future planning; with this in mind, Black et al. provide research-based analyses of the connections between assessment and planning.
- Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and Wiliam, D. (2003) Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice, Maidenhead: Open University Press
For a principled and practical exploration of how teachers can increase the learners’ control over the subject matter and to help teachers to identify the different kinds of task demand that can achieve this, see:
- Edwards, A. (2014) ‘Designing tasks which engage learners with knowledge’. In Thompson, I. (ed.) Designing Tasks in Secondary Education, London: Routledge.
Ross Morrison McGill offers a practical account of the role of assessment and feedback in the cycles of teaching and learning which make up routine classroom life – and guidance on how to maximise their effectiveness:
- McGill, R.M. (2017) Plan. Teach. London: Bloomsbury.
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