Planning to Teach:

Preparing the
Essential Records
Nasir M. Baba
Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction,
Federal College of Education (Tech), Gusau

(a paper presented at a training workshop

for teachers of GGDSS S/Kudu Gusau on
Saturday 27th Oct. 2007 at GGDSS S/Kudu)
Introduction…
 We teach because we want to bring about
LEARNING.
 Learning is not mere acquisition of
knowledge, facts or ideas and their
reproduction via a written test.
 Learning is promoting understanding; the
type that will enable learners to explore,
manipulate & add onto what has been
given to them.
…teaching
 Teaching is not therefore reading out, dictating,
copying out old notes to pupils.
 It is not simply standing before a group of
students and shouting down instructions,
swearing, boasting and beating here and there.
 Teaching is presenting, mediating, facilitating and
guiding an interaction process in which learners
confront the learning material so that they may
examine, dissect, question and build on it.
Planning
 To bring about the type of learning we described, teachers
must plan. Teaching and learning consists of a sequence of
events, all of which require teachers to make the appropriate
decisions.
 For instance, we teach because there are some learning we
want to bring in the students. To bring about such learning,
we must decide on the content, the learning experiences, the
activities etc. we would expose learners to. We then have to
judge whether the learners have acquired the kind of
competencies we expect from the lessons. All of these
stages require teachers to make the appropriate decisions.
Stages of Instructional Planning

1. Curriculum

2. Syllabus

3. Scheme of Work

4. Lesson Plan
…curriculum
 This is the sum total of all experiences
planned and offered to the learner by the
school. It is:
 What we teach (content)
 How we teach (method)
 With what we teach (materials)
 How we assess (assessment)
…syllabus
 Curriculum experiences and content are
sometimes broken into subjects – each with
its subject matter and organisational
patterns.
 The content selected for each subject
(usually presented in chunks called topics
or units) to be taught in a given period is
called Syllabus.
Scheme of Work
 Content (topics) contained in the syllabus have to
be further broken down into smaller topics that
are suitable for the type of learners we have and
that can be taught within the limited duration of a
lesson.
 Schemes of work are prepared with a particular
set of learners in mind. It is the opportunities
teachers have to bend the curriculum to the
unique characteristics of their students.
Lesson Plan
 A lesson plan is the teacher’s attempt to
translate schemes of work into classroom
realities. It is planned for every lesson.
 Therefore, while a scheme of work
describes what the teacher will do in a
term; a lesson plan describes what the
teacher will do in a lesson.
Teachers Instructional Records
 For the purpose of instruction, a teacher needs:
 Syllabus
 Scheme of Work and
 Lesson Plan
 However, once a Scheme of Work is drawn, a
teacher may not need syllabus again. The
Scheme of Work becomes the working document
which is implemented through the lesson plan
Teacher’s Diary
 The sequence is such that a teacher consults
his/her scheme of Work to see the expected work
for a week; prepares lesson plan to the number of
periods per week; and finally records each week’s
work in Record of Work.
 Therefore, scheme of work describes the work
expected to be done each week for the whole
term. Record of Work describes work done each
week for the whole term. The two taken together
give us DIARY OF WORK.
Diary of Work

DIARY OF WORK

SCHEME OF WORK RECORD OF WORK

Describes work done per class

Describes work to be done per class
per subject per period for a term
per subject per week for a term
Scheme of Work
 It is defined as the breaking down
(interpretation) of the syllabus. If you ask
me, I will tell you that the Scheme is the
most important academic record.
 Its most important function is that it allows
teachers to adjust the syllabus content to
the needs, abilities, interests and
circumstances of their pupils.
Components of Scheme of Work
 Typically a Scheme of Work contains the
following components:
 Week = the school calendar is normally
broken into weeks. A scheme covers all the
weeks in a term. However, in preparing a
scheme, it is important teachers make
allowances for the unforeseen by reserving
some weeks free i.e. do not load all the
weeks with academic activities.
Theme
 A theme (a.k.a UNIT) is a chunk of content that
can further be broken into sub-topics. It may not
be covered in a lesson.
 Syllabus topics are normally given in chunks or
units. For instance, the Economics syllabus may
only say “Money”, “Production”, “Market”, etc.
 It is the responsibility of the teacher to break
these themes/units into sub-topics appropriate to
the type of students he/she has.
Topic
 This describes the sub-topics into which the
theme/unit has been broken.
 Each topic is normally taught in a lesson. It
is therefore expected that when you break
your theme into say 5 sub-topics, it will
require 5 lessons to cover those sub-topics.
Objectives
 Objectives describe the expected outcome of a lesson.
Having identified topics, the teacher would now describe what
he/she expects students to learn from those topics.
 Objectives may be BEHAVIOURAL i.e. when they are
specific about the behaviour expected from the students as a
result of a lesson or NON-BEHAVIOURAL (EXPRESSIVE)
i.e. when they are not specific about a particular behaviour.
Instead they allow enough latitude for the learners to exhibit
different kinds of behaviours or learning.
 It is recommended that the scheme of work contains the
latter i.e. non-behavioural. This is because this objective will
further be specified (into behavioural) when writing lesson
plan.
Content
 This is what is to be taught or learnt. It may
be KNOWLEDGE (facts, ideas, principles,
formulas, etc.) ATTITUDE (behaviours,
ethics, aesthetics, conduct, feelings, etc.) or
SKILLS (practical or performance skills,
thinking skills, creativity, life skills, etc.).
 Content does not only mean what is in the
textbook. It may come from the teacher, the
pupils, the environment, the internet, etc.
Materials & Activities
 Materials (or resources) refer to anything
(material or non-material) that could be
used to assist learning and teaching. When
content is made relevant to the students’
environment, it is easier to find resources in
the locality that could aid learning.
 One of the crimes we commit as teachers is
to refuse to make use of relevant materials
in our teaching.
…Activities
 What will learners engage in as they
interact with the learning material or
content?
 Traditionally the only thing our students do
is LISTEN and sometimes write. But
activities learners could be engaged in are
numerous, they include:
…activities
 Observe
 Read
 Listen
 Do (Perform/demonstrate)
 Write
 Speak
 Draw
 Make (Construct)
A Specimen Scheme
Objectives Content Materia
Weeks Theme Topic
ls/Activi
ties
1. Free Free Free Free Free
1. Meaning Students -define money -different
2. Money & Types of should -types: denominations
understand -Paper money of money,
Money the concept bank drafts,
-Coins
and types of cheques, etc.
money -students give
further
examples of
other legal
tender
…specimen scheme
Objectives Content Materia
Weeks Theme Topic
ls/Activi
ties

Functions of Students Functions of -Bank acts.

3. Money Money should Money Share
identify and -Store of certs.&
explain value cheque
functions of -Medium of books
money - students to
exchange
examine
roles of
money in
modern &
ancient
economies
Record of Work
 This is particularly useful in giving account of the
teachers’ work per week i.e. for administrative
purpose.
 But more importantly, record of work gives an
idea of the areas covered by students in each
subject, and actions needed to be taken for
improvement.
 However, a record of work is only useful when
mechanisms are put in place for effective
supervision of teachers.
…record of work
 By supervision, I don’t mean the periodic one
received from ministries.
 I mean internal supervision of teachers by senior
teachers, subject heads, vice principals and
principals i.e. school based supervision.
 For these categories of personnel to perform this
function, they need to update their knowledge
through training and other self-improvement
programmes.
Conclusion
 Teaching is deliberate and planned, it is not
casual or ad hoc.
 This planning is facilitated by the
preparation, keeping and use of academic
records such that we discussed above.
For Further Reading
 Baba, N. M. (2006). Contemporary Approaches to Teaching and
Managing Primary Classes. A Paper Presented at a Workshop for
Teachers of Prince International Schools Held on 21st August.
 Cohen, L. & Manion, L. (1978). A Guide to teaching practice. Akure: Olaiya
Fagbaigbe
Limited
 UNESCO (2004). Changing teaching practices: using curriculum
differentiation to respond to students’ diversity. Paris: Author. Retrieved on
May 1st 2006 from
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001365/136583e.pdf
 Shallah, B. M & Baba, N. M. (2007). Concepts and methods in early
childhood education. Gusau: Ol-Faith Prints.
…thanks
 THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME
 and again for LISTENING