Lesson Plan 5 Essay Example

LESSON PLAN

By (Name of Student)

Introduction

Children learning plan is an on-line or interactive document that can guide a child through learning process. Children learning plans are mostly developed by older siblings at times in collaboration with parents, teachers and so forth. The learning plans aid children to achieve the set short and long term learning goals, children learning plan is usually based on beliefs that in its presence, the children will be motivate and willing to learn, feel more empowered and acquire some sense of ownership pertaining their education since they can independently decide on what to learn, how to learn it and what they expect to attain upon learning it (Stevenson and Stigler 2009).

In the process of developing a learning plan for children, developers have to consider a couple of aspects including;

• Describe and think about their individual life aspirations in particular, children’s collegiate.

• Perform self-assessment on individual child’s learning weaknesses and strengths, what area they excel in, what they academically achieve and what area in learning they struggle with.

• Identify skills deficiency or learning gaps that ought to be addressed as fur as their education is concerned. Consequently, they should identify character traits, specific knowledge and skills that they desire to acquire.

• Describe or list their personal passions, interests, hobbies and pursuits. Moreover a thought should be given on ways that their interests can be encompassed into their learning process or education.

Generally, the ultimate goal of a learning plan is to promote greater coherence, purpose and focus to decisions that the children make concerning education. Therefore, it is advisable that learning plans should include the learning experiences acquired by children while out of school. This report critically analyses the impact of a well-developed learning plan on educating children on food colour and the clues used (Spurrier et al 2010).

1. The Goal of Developing My Learning Plan

Planning determine the success or failure of an activity. Learning or teaching requires the development of an applicable and strategic plan in order to achieve the intended goal. I developed a learning plan with great focus on “SMART” goals strategy. SMART is a mnemonic for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

• Specific

My goal has to be specific. A specific goal is focused, detailed and clearly stated. Every individual reading it ought to know what I want to achieve. I need to who is involved, what I want to accomplish, what exactly time frame I do have, what the constraints and requirements are and lastly, I should know and understand the benefits or purpose for accomplishing the task and whether my set goal was achieved.

• Measurable

I will establish a concrete criteria that will aid me in measuring progress towards achieving my set goal of effectively educating the children of colour of food and clues used. To determine if my goal is measurable, I ought to ask myself how much time I have, how many children are involved and how I will know when the goal has been attained.

• Attainable

The attainability of my set goal is based on my skills, area of practice and resources at my disposal. My goal is both realistic and possible while at the same time it is challenging. Having a goal that pushes me and at the same time allows my personal growth, can enhance improvement in my practice.

• Relevant

The relevance of my set goal applies to my current role that clearly links it to my responsibilities. My set goal is not limited to the reach of my level of skills but has a direct relationship and meaning to my practice and my ability to meet my standards. When an objective’s relevance is viable it increases ones motivation and commitment to accomplish the objective.

My set goal is time-limited. Goals with set time limit and deadlines enforces an individual with strength and motivates one to move consistently towards the set goals while constantly evaluating the progress. Time frame will allow me to monitor the progress, keep me on track, aid me make necessary adjustments so as I can meet my overall objective (Conzemius and O’Neill 2011).

2. The Activity Details

Children possess a shorter span of attention and do not have the ability for long concentration. If I insist on keeping their minds on one thing, they will lose attention for the in learning altogether, get discouraged and become demotivated. This is likely to bring about very disruptive behaviour that I might not be capable to handle. Therefore, it is indicated by Spurrier (2008), in order to sustain the young learner’s enthusiasm, the teacher ought to have an education plan that has a lot of variability.one should use a language that they are familiar with and most importantly, what the can physically do. I will subject my teaching to various fairy tales and stories that they are mostly familiar with. Watching videos on colour of food and through mime is viable option that children are used to and love doing.

3. Details of Learners

Not all children have same experience, exposure, interests’ knowledge and skills. Therefore, it’s advisable that one adjusts the teaching activities to suit the various characteristics of the children ((Bell et al 2010). Programs and activities that I will employ will be in accordance with the children ability to participate, contribute and enjoy the entire learning process. Learning intensity and viability also depends on the number of children involved. There are 12 children under my plan, therefore the mode of teaching that I will employ will ensure that each and every child has an opportunity to participate fully with undivided attention.

4. Purpose, Rational and Learning Outcome

Young children mealy understand things that relate to their views on the real world. Therefore, there is need to design and/or use activities and learning materials that considers their view on the real world. The whole purpose for the learning plan is to educate children on colour of food and the various clues used. Therefore, I will highly use practical approach as opposed to theoretical approach. This will enable the children to actually witness what they are being taught about rather than imagining (Padget and Briley 2005).

Rationale

The rationale of the learning plan is to bring out a well laid out and applicable sequence of events that are involved in children’s learning process. The rationale elaborates the whole purpose of the learning plan and also it gives an indication of the expected outcome Dwyer et al 2008).

Learning outcome

Learning outcomes can be defined as sentiments indicating what the children will know, be able to perform and value by the end of the given course. The outcomes can as well be termed as educational assessable ends. These are written from children’s perspective and they are focused on the children’s achievable expectations upon successful completion of the learning process. In order for the outcomes to be assessable, they ought to specify observable things. They should not be states or activities in a child’s mind but things that are in the public domain. Learning outcome should uphold;

• Better learning

Learning outcome can be applied to provide guidance for children, so that they can know what the society expects of them. Children’s focused time on tasks means that they will not have much time to waste. Learning outcome can as well be used in setting high expectations on children which parents can support with intentional and strategic teaching. Moreover, the outcomes can make parents and teachers push children to perform much more that what they belief they can achieve.

• Increase motivation

Learning outcomes can reinforce children believes that there exists a real point in what they are being assesses and taught. Consequently, the children will not become less interested in learning and dismissive of the course. Furthermore, the children will better understand why “what they see is what it is” other than having elusions on what it might be.

• Better Their Performance on Assignments

Not surprisingly, that when children exactly know what is expected of them, they are in a position to demonstrate it better. They as well will spend lesser time in guessing what the parents or instructor wants and utilize more time in performing the tasks (Hwang 2014).

5. Sequence and process

There is a wide range of learning activities that are used during learning in class and outside class. These activities promote active process of learning. While each learning discipline has its own traditional way of teaching particular subject matter, seminar activities and lectures may vary. In a nut shell the aspect of “active learning” is applicable in all disciplines. However, the activity that one choses may be more applicable in some disciplines than others (Angelo and Cross 1993).

Complex active learning is effective in graduate courses and higher level of undergraduate. This is for the fact that holistic education or learning is highly emphasized and every student is encouraged on research and real-world problem solving (Silberman 1996). For this particular study, the research will focus on simulation learning activity since it’s more applicable in children learning process. The study will focus on some example of activity learning that may have impact on children learning. These include;

Dig Deeper

Effective questioning

Children are naturally curious and eager to learn anything and everything. Therefore, it is highly encouraged that teachers use effective questioning activity while teaching or training children. The process of questioning enables a teacher, parent or trainer easily and clearly pin-point a child’s strength or weakness. It also motivates children since they are fully engaged in conversations hence reducing possibilities of them “drifting” while learning. This activity also enhances the teacher to know which area needs emphasis and the ones that do not need. Effective questioning as well enhances children understanding and clarifies their understanding of the matter under study.

Break it up

Collaborative learning

This is an activity in learning whereby all children are asked to form groups and emulate what they have been taught on. In the case of this study, the children may be required to pick on different colours and match them with the most appropriate food. The children’s feedback may add insight to the teacher to know if the children actually understood the lesson or otherwise repeat it. This activity will also add value to children since it will enable them to practically exercise what they have been taught. If the children are of the age above 10 years, one can initiate “think pair share” activity, in this activity, the children will be required to answer a key question posed by the teacher and instructed to write it down in form of an answer. Upon receiving the answers the teacher will be able to gauge each child’s or groups capability.

Keeping it interesting

Debates, Games and Simulation

A well-structured debate between the children and the teacher can probably rise a number of issues for discussion. It has been noted that involvement of child plays in between learning is healthy and keep the children motivated and jovial. It also enhances children’s understanding of aspects otherwise could be difficult to verbally understand and interpret. The use of physical colour or paint will enhance deeper understanding to children as opposed to “read on paper method” (Potter and Kustra 2012).

6. Learning Activity Evaluation Strategies

Evaluating strategies of observing, discussing, questioning, analysing children’s responses and checking and analysing their understanding cannot be taken as mutually exclusive nor is the list exhaustive. Each underpinned strategy meets isolated purposes; involving them into our daily practices, we are required to determine where they fit in context of a lesson. In the case of this study, evaluation strategies will be as follows;

Observation

A teacher should watch children and keenly listen to what they are discussing in order to assess their understanding as learning is in progress. The teacher should also make planned observations of specific children to assist them during the learning process. Observation of children is crucial since the teacher is able to identify and single out those children that need extra attention and emphasis for them to grasp details.

Discussing

The teacher should hold impromptu discussions with the children. This is for the purpose of following up on any unfamiliar or surprising responses and/or behaviour during learning. Holding discussions also aids the teacher to assess children’s understanding and moreover, diagnose any reason for misconceptions or misunderstanding and solve any rising difficulty within learning. The teacher should as well hold informed discussions to make a follow up on previous assessment.

Analysing

The teacher ought to mark and assess written work together with the children in order to identify misconceptions and common errors if any. Children also should be guided on how to improve and show progress. The teacher should also conduct discussions with the children to inform them on their responses to assigned tasks to correct any identified errors and lastly, in order for the teacher to assess their learning achievements against the laid down objectives (Hwang 2014).

Conclusion

Children require a mentor, educator among others. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the society to ensure that any child is trained in a manner that is ethically and socially right. Teachers, trainers and parents ought to speak the same language when it comes matters children education.

References

Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbookfor college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bell, S. J., Mengüç, B., & Widing II, R. E. (2010). Salesperson learning, organizational learning, and retail store performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 187-201.

Conzemius, A., & O’Neill, J. (2011). The power of SMART goals: Using goals to improve student learning. Solution Tree Press.

Dwyer, J., Needham, L., Simpson, J. R., & Heeney, E. S. (2008). Parents report intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental barriers to supporting healthy eating and physical activity among their preschoolers. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 33(2), 338-346.

Hwang, G. J. (2014). Definition, framework and research issues of smart learning environments-a context-aware ubiquitous learning perspective. Smart Learning Environments, 1(1), 4.

Potter, M. K., & Kustra, E. (2012). A primer on learning outcomes and the SOLO taxonomy. Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Windsor.

Padget, A., & Briley, M. E. (2005). Dietary intakes at child-care centers in central Texas fail to meet Food Guide Pyramid recommendations. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(5), 790-793.

Stevenson, H., & Stigler, J. W. (2009). Learning gap: Why our schools are failing and what we can learn from Japanese and Chinese educ. Simon and Schuster.

Spurrier, N. J., Magarey, A. A., Golley, R., Curnow, F., & Sawyer, M. G. (2010). Relationships between the home environment and physical activity and dietary patterns of preschool children: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 5(1), 31.

Silberman, M. (1996). Active Learning: 101 Strategies To Teach Any Subject. Prentice-Hall, PO Box 11071, Des Moines, IA 50336-1071.