Alternatives to formal planning

Abstract

Before the teacher goes into a lesson, it helps to be clear about what he wants to do. A lot is going to happen on the spot in the class – he can't ever completely predict how learners will respond to anything - but the better prepared he is, the more likely it is that he will be ready to cope with whatever happens. It is possible to teach without any pre-planning, but planning increases the number of options. Although training courses tend to ask to prepare detailed written plans, it's important to realise that planning is essentially a thinking skill. Planning is imagining the lesson before it happens. It involves prediction, anticipation, sequencing, organizing and simplifying.