Analyzing the Advantages and Disadvantages of Linked Lesson Plans - Essay Example

?Critical Analysis of Linked Lesson Plans For this activity, I will be examining two lessons plans. The first is for a Physical Education whilethe second is for Personal Health and Social Education subject. Both of these lessons used animal themes to achieve their respective objectives. Considering the nature of each of the themes, the use of the animals as peg for the introduction of concepts is creative and interesting. This factor will figure prominently in the following critiques, which will be provided according to the commonly recognized criterion for assessment. This criterion pertains to the match between the lesson’s objectives and the activities included in the plan or what would actually transpire during the lesson. Veal and Anderson (2011, p. 97) argued that this evaluation framework is appropriate method of evaluation because it can be tailored specifically for the plan and could enable an examiner to tie it with the specific events of the class. In addition, it will also contextualize the lesson plan and the entailing activities within the teacher’s teaching capability, style and value systems. Hence, the main question of efficacy would be answered with the extent by which the activities and actual lessons are aligned with what the teacher want to accomplish. In addition, this can further be supported by an adherence to system and structure. Session 1: Dancing the Elephant This lesson plan is designed for Physical Education class. The objective is for the students to learn basic dance movements. This was complicated by additional aims such as the opportunity to choose and apply skills and actions in sequence and in combinations. The teacher also wanted to integrate some social elements by having students observe and copy others, becoming aware about concepts of rhythm, movement and expression in the process. For these purposes, the teacher designed an activity that will revolve around the elephants. Using the animal, primarily through the song L’Elephant, it was expected that the students will be able to depict dance stances through imagination and personal experience. The activities provided by the lesson plan can be structurally divided into three parts or stages. The first is the use of the L’Elephant music. Secondly, there was the explanation of the elephants, how they move and how such movements could be mimed into dances and graceful movements with the aid of sound and imagination. Finally, there is the learning of a dance sequence created based on the previous activities. These lesson elements would collectively call a high degree of skill from the teachers because they involve not just close and strong participation from students but also the strength of their imagination. If one is to assess whether these activities are aligned with the objectives, the answer will be positive. However, to implement the activities in such a way that it achieves the intended aims may be difficult. The use of L’Elephant song is not enough. Asking the students to be imaginative based on this music is problematic. There are students who do not know about it and the music itself is not very expressive of the concept of elephants that this activity calls for. This is like asking for creativity among the students within a vacuum. What the teacher could do was to edit L’Elephant and use it as a score for videos or slideshow of elephants at play. According to Lavin and Lavin (2008, p. 7), creativity will not flourish in this kind of situation because there needs to be a firm foundation for the skills in order for creativity to flourish, otherwise, the students could abandon the promising creative approach. One can just consider the student’s reaction from an objective point of view: He would listen to L’Elephant. Besides the title, the music does not tell much about the animal. When he is told to imagine the animal, he would probably think about the slow moving ones at the zoo or those gentle characters in literature such as Horton by Dr. Seuss and Hathi in the Jungle Book. Imagining them, playful, active, springy, and nimble enough to be equated with dance movements may be difficult. That is why there is a need for visual aids. Videos showing them bathing, playing and displaying some mischief could help encourage an environment for creativity and imagination. This aspect in the lesson plan is very important because it is a core element in driving motivation and imagination, two critical factors in realizing the planned activities. All in all, especially using in the context of Capell and Whitehead’s (2010, p. 113) TARGET evaluation framework, the lesson plan holds great promise, especially after modifying some aspects of the planned activities. Capell and Whitehead explained that the target model (outlined below) helps students stay motivated and enjoy positive learning experiences: T = task: make tasks challenging and diverse A = authority: give the pupils choice and leadership roles R = recognition: give recognition to pupils privately and based on individual progress G = grouping: promote cooperation, learning and peer interaction E = evaluation” base evaluation on task mastery and individual progress T = time: adjust time requirements to individual capabilities Based on the structure and the content of the lesson plan, Dancing the Elephant, the above mentioned elements were achieved, hence, can lead to effective and successful outcomes. There was specific and challenging task involved. The diversity is depicted in the use of resources and the requirements for stimuli and imagination. Choice was also provided. The elements of authority, cooperation and peer interaction were effectively integrated when the class was divided into groups when they were tasked to create a dance sequence or combination. Finally, there was specific stages and instances wherein evaluation can be employed and provided, enabling the teacher to assess and recognize performances. Again, the planned activity for this PE class has a lot of potentials. It is creative lesson plan and provides several and diverse opportunities for imagination and interaction, making the collective activities and structure holistic, content rich and effective. The only problem is that it may have expected too much from the students’ capability to understand and to be creative, since the activities lacks some details that could have encourage and helped the students in their imaginations. Session 2: Introduction to Sacred Animals Following the same structure as the first lesson plan, Session 2: Introduction to Sacred Animals, is highly specific, detailing items such as objectives, teaching methods, organizations and so forth. As with most lesson plans, it represents the teacher’s considered judgment as to what happens in class and what outcomes should accrue (Veal and Anderson, 2011, p. 97). It also depicted a well-thought of approach that may be able to help students achieve the desired objectives. Particularly, the plan has strong, clear and achievable objectives, which can be classified within historical and social spheres. According to Stewart (2004, p. 29), these types of objectives are best achieved through mini-lectures. The outlined activities are aligned with this approach. There is a carefully thought of lecture involved especially that the lesson combines religious and personal skills development themes. The challenge is to be able to integrate an objective of learning about beliefs, ideas and values with the themes about confidence and responsibility development. For these purposes, the teacher will use animals as foundations in the activities. This is ingenious because a discussion on animals in diet can demonstrate the various different cultures and religious norms such as among Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and so on. The plan, as previously stated, is dominated by lectures. The teacher will initiate a group discussion focused on animals and diet. There is an attempt for the lecture to be structured in such a way that specific issues are discussed. This is achieved by having the teacher facilitate the discourse. For example, as students talk about vegetarianism, the teacher will then shift the discussion to religion by providing relevant information about sacred animals and sacred texts. It is important for the lesson plan to highlight this facilitator role. The discussion may turn into a culture sensitive discussion and problems may be encountered as students question about other beliefs and displays personal biases and prejudices. This is highlighted by the fact that there are concepts that young learners may find difficulty understanding. It is, hence, imperative for the plan to include a framework that will guide the teacher to navigate such pitfalls and not veer away from the intended result. This is very important. If the lesson plan can address this issue effectively, the outcome may become very enriching. As Howard (2006, p. 89) explained, these types of multicultural content in lectures supports the idea of human diversity and helps build self-esteem of students of color and the majority of the population as well. The reason for this is simple: the learners, in the process of getting to know other people’s belief can learn tolerance and appreciation of other culture. This will lead to an enhanced capability for respect especially for those who are different. Based on the dominance of the lecture and discussion, two important dimensions to the lesson plan are revealed. First, there is the focus on the modern concept of content-rich pedagogy. Here, the teacher has the responsibility for making decisions about the content learned, the methodology for delivering the instruction, the sequencing of presentation and discussions, as well as the assessment as to whether a specific material needs to be learned (Tomei, 2010, p. 3). However, the students were not left out in the cold. They are not passive participants in the lecture since they provide insights and they contribute content. The lesson plan calls for significant feedback from the learners. Secondly, there is the fact that activities planned were also designed for the learners to explore and discover their own identities and values and those of others’. Peer interaction is mainly taken from this dimension. These two variables highlight the high involvement of the teacher especially in controlling the environment. While there is some semblance of independent learning wherein the students seemingly learn on their own, the teacher opted for more traditional discussion setting. One of the weaknesses of the lesson plan is that it lacks activities and content that would achieve its second objective. If the plan intended to achieve the development of confidence and responsibility among the learners, one or both of these two problems emerge: One, the lesson being planned does not include any specific activity or thematic discussion that attempts to achieve this last objective. Or, if the lesson plan intended to have the objective achieved during the course of the discussion about animals and religion, then there was no element, mechanism or framework that shows how the two different themes can be integrated. There was no activity that is relevant to confidence and responsibility building. In the Plenary part, there was some allusion to the protection of animals. The lesson plan could have expounded more on this element and demonstrated a relevant activity to responsibility theme in the process. One of the most important characteristics of this lesson plan is that it is conventional in the sense that there is a definite plan of procedure and it is content-rich. Betts and Hawthorne (2005, p. 285) explained that this is important because it allows the teacher to discover needs and problems, choose materials and approaches that will help to serve those needs and guide his procedures in the classroom as the lesson are taught. The subject and objectives necessitated this approach. This was balanced, however, by the plan’s emphasis on the learners’ opinions and feedback. Again, this lesson plan may emerge as an effective activity in achieving two sets of objectives: learning about religion and developing responsibility and confidence. But in order to be able to achieve these objectives, it has to integrate several elements that will enhance the activities involved. The most important of these include the design of a mechanism of control so that the discussion will proceed as planned and that it must integrate more activities and discussions that lead to the achievement of the second objective. Conclusion The above cited lesson plans involved different contents, hence, they have different approaches to teaching. Both have their specific strengths and weaknesses. With a little modification, both can prove to be effective teaching frameworks. All that is needed is a little alignment of the activities with the lesson plans’ objectives. References Betts, G and Hawthorne, M 2005, Method in Teaching Religion. Kessinger Publishing. Capell, S and Whitehead, M 2010, Learning to Teach Physical Education in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience. 3rd ed. Oxon: Routledge. Howard, L 2006, Challenging Mediocrity: Balancing Diversity and Student Achievement. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. Lavin, J and Lavin, J 2008, Creative approaches to physical education: helping children to achieve their true potential. Oxon: Routledge. Stewart, D 2004, Effective Teaching. American Association of Community College. Tomei, L 2010, Designing instruction for the traditional, adult, and distance learner: a new engine for technology-based teaching. New York: Idea Group, Inc. Veal, M and Anderson, W 2011, Analysis of Teaching and Learning in Physical Education. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Read More