A lesson plan is an essential component of any teacher’s strategy. It is designed to structure the content that will be taught to children throughout the learning period. In addition, the plan includes other activities such as family meetings or art therapy lessons that are designed to improve teacher’s understanding of each child’s background and needs. The focus of the teaching process should be on improving student’s knowledge of the subject and guiding them through it to develop understanding of the question. The critical factors to consider are the diffract backgrounds of the community. In a single school, children from different countries, cultures, and families come together. All of these factors have an impact on how the child perceives the information that is given to him or her. It is crucial for a teacher to understand the backgrounds of the students and include these factors in the learning plan of a subject to ensure better learning outcomes.
In order for students to learn, practice, and master content I have applied the in-depth content knowledge and learning resources in the academic disciplines. As Shulman stated, the knowledge of a subject is a foundation for the pedagogical practice that enables the process of explaining ideas to others (as cited by Houseal, Abd-El-Khalick, & Destefano, 2015). Without an in-depth understanding of subjects, it is difficult to explain concepts, answer questions from children and respond to their ideas. “Professional development leads to a change in practice, which leads to a change in student outcomes, which leads to a change in teacher self-efficacy.” (Smith, 2015, p. 107). In addition to knowing the subject, a teacher should understand studying and learning techniques and evaluate the performance of the students as well as his or her performance. Different learning resources can be a great addition to helping children develop their knowledge. For example, art therapy has proven to be an effective way to engage students in the process of learning. As Carter (2016) stated, “children in play can be free to experiment” (p. 53). In particular, this approach is integrated effectively into the learning plan for literacy development. “Playful art explorations as a strategy for developing literacy learning” (Carter, 2016, p. 53). In addition, such method encourages children not to be afraid of making mistakes, which can be beneficial for other, more specific subjects such as math. I have applied the in-depth content knowledge and learning resources to be able to respond to children’s ideas and answer their questions about the materials. In addition, the additional learning resources help children feel freer in the classroom and learn to study more efficiently by making mistakes. These two components are integrated into the teaching strategy.
Proper teaching and learning strategy are essential for achieving positive learning outcomes. The primary goal is to engage students in active learning and exploring the process. The developmental approach refers to different levels of development that children have at a particular stage of their life. My goal when writing the learning plan was to include all children from the class with regard to their development and engage them in the teaching process. I have added several options with different complexity levels for each subject that can be utilized in accordance with the developmental level of the children. Some of the complicated topics will have to be explained in a detailed manner with additional resources – art therapy or games. In the beginning, I have included a test to evaluate which option of the learning strategy should be used in the particular case. In addition, as stated by Carter (2016), engaging family in the learning process can lead to positive outcomes. The family is aware of the child’s learning patterns, which can help understand a better way to present information in a particular case. Therefore, I have scheduled several events to get to know the families of the children. The engagement of the family in the learning process is vital in regards to the background that a child has. There are several approaches, which were utilized in creating an effective learning plan for children.
The cultural approach should focus on the diversity of cultures within the classroom.
Shillady (2014) suggests to” encourage families to visit the classroom and school throughout the year” and host events with them. In my lessons plans, I made space for two events that involved families visiting the school and talking about their cultural background. This approach not only should help children feel more comfortable at school but encourage them to share information about their culture with others. Such engagement should be beneficial for the learning outcomes.
The linguistical approach to teaching is focused on the fact that children from different backgrounds may speak foreign languages which can affect their learning perception. Mostly, in diverse communities, it is common for people to speak different languages. Learning about those differences it the first step for a better understanding of an appropriate teaching technique. As Shillady (2014) stated, many schools have surveys at the beginning of the year in which families answer questions regarding their cultural background and languages they speak at home. This information helps me learn more about my students as a teacher. Allowing children to speak the language they are comfortable with while guiding them into learning and better understanding English is the primary objective of this teaching strategy.
To meet each child’s learning needs and promote positive outcomes I modified the instructions for the lessons. An essential aspect of teaching is to understand the students and what they are capable of. That is why my goal is to evaluate the capabilities of the children, each one specifically to understand what techniques to utilize when explaining the material to them. Some elements can be difficult to understand for specific children. Therefore, the teaching plan should be changed to pay more attention to the particular topic. In addition, some children can perceive information differently. For example, for some listening to a teacher explain the material is less effective than using textbook illustrations and descriptions. The tasks that children perform can be perceived differently as well. To ensure that all children in the classroom can equally engage in a learning activity I have included different learning activities in the instructions. These include listening to the explanations, performing tasks, reading the textbook, listening to supplemental materials, learning through art therapy and others. In addition, I have created several variations of the learning plan with different activities to choose a better fitting one for particular children.
Out of the five subjects, the most difficult to write for was mathematics because in order to properly teach any subject one must understand the concepts of it as a whole, not only some parts of it. For me, mathematics is one of the more difficult subjects; therefore developing a teaching plan for it that would be beneficial for the students was a challenge. I tried to enhance my knowledge before beginning the work on the program. The subject is a matter of professional development opportunity for me, as it emphasizes the importance of in-depth knowledge for a teacher. In addition, it encourages to look for new ways of explaining the concepts of mathematics and looking for different sources of information. As a professional development opportunity, it was a valuable experience that encouraged me to work on my knowledge and teaching techniques to help children in their early childhood stage understand the concepts of the subject. Although when teaching children to understand it, no elaborate theories are utilized, it is essential to have good knowledge to be able to explain different concepts. In addition, some of the students can be interested in mathematics and in-depth learning of it and a teacher’s task, in this case, would be to guide them to proficiency, which would be impossible to do without a clear understanding of the matter.
Overall, the critical focus of the learning and teaching strategy of children should be their background. The development, culture, and language that a child has are essential factors to consider when choosing a proper method of teaching. Having different strategies and incorporating family into the learning activities can significantly improve the process of learning. In addition, the teacher must have an in-depth knowledge of the subject to be able to communicate it correctly to the children.
References
Carter, L. (2016). The reflection connection: Teachers in touch with families. Exchange, 228, 52-55. Web.
Houseal, A., Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Destefano L. (2014). Impact of a student-teacher-scientist partnership on students’ and teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes toward science, and pedagogical practices. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(1), 84-115. Web.
Shillady, A. (2014). Engaging families in diverse communities: Strategies from elementary school principals. Young Children. Web.
Smith, J. (2015). Transformative professional development: Unraveling the complexities of knowledge, practice, and beliefs. Web.