A Teacher who Fails to Plan, Plans to Fail

A teacher is a planner. As a teacher, one has to plan every lesson beforehand for a seamless teaching-learning process. Planning is important for both new and experienced teachers. Planning in formal education encompasses everything a teacher does before going to meet learners. This includes having a well-designed lesson plan, schemes of work, and all the professional documents that a teacher should have.

A teacher who fails to plan sets her/himself up for failure. Here is why:

Lessons lack a sense of purpose

When a teacher takes his time to plan for a lesson, he gets a clear sense of purpose and direction for a lesson. He makes notes and creates a good structure in the process. The structure maps out the entire lesson for him, so he knows where to start, how to progress the lesson, and where to conclude. He then writes a lesson plan that shows clear objectives, so he doesn't just meander through the material.

A teacher without a plan meanders through his content and hopes for the best. Such a teacher doesn’t have a clear roadmap, so he’s not consistent in his teaching approach. The teacher doesn’t know what exactly they want to accomplish or the goals of the lesson, so he’s never really a good facilitator of the learning process.

The teacher is easily distracted

A teacher with no clear plan can be distracted by anything. He doesn’t have a clear understanding of what’s important for the learner and what isn’t, so it’s hard for him to stay focused. He has no plan to stick to. A poorly prepared teacher can, for example, spend a whole lesson scolding learners because he caught one of them misbehaving.

Planning gives a teacher a chance to think ahead and prepare for common distractions. On a rainy day, for example, the teacher is able to plan learning activities that can’t be stopped by the rain.

The teacher can’t pace his classes effectively

Teachers convey huge amounts of information in a very short time span, and they must keep all learners engaged and interested while at it. That’s what makes pacing important for a teacher. Pacing means knowing how much time the teacher needs to spend on a topic. That means the teacher is able to cover all the necessary points sufficiently, without wasting too much time on a relatively straightforward topic or rushing through a complex topic.

The teacher isn’t clear on individual learner differences

A teacher who plans is able to identify and address individual learner differences with ease, especially in larger classes. The teacher is able to come up with teaching aids that are useful, relevant, and relatable. In a lesson plan, for example, teachers can identify the essential skills and knowledge that all students need to learn. They, therefore, can adapt their instructions, examples, group activities, and teaching aids to meet the needs of individual students.

Without a plan, a teacher may not have real-world examples that learners relate to. He can give learners in rural schools examples that are in textbooks, but that can only be relatable to learners in urban areas.

Such a teacher can't be innovative

Teachers who don’t plan leave almost no room for innovation. They keep recycling the same examples, tests, and quizzes. They are so complacent with existing teaching approaches and ideas. They stick with teaching activities that are tried and tested, regardless of whether there are more effective options.

Things can go south quickly for the teacher

When planning, a teacher is able to assess his strengths and weaknesses. He looks at the examples/questions he plans to give to the learners and ensures that he’s confident that his answers are accurate. Such a teacher is, therefore, relaxed and confident.

A teacher without a proper plan can easily be caught flat-footed in the classroom. He can, for example, give a question that he can’t answer himself. A learner can also ask questions that the teacher can’t answer confidently. Things can go south for that teacher very fast.

The teacher can’t assess learners well

With a lesson plan, a teacher is clear about the goals and objectives of each lesson. That means he is able to test the learners based on the objectives. The teacher is also able to identify areas in which a learner is struggling by reviewing each learner’s work, so he gives customized tests that help the learner improve.

Without a plan, a teacher may have to generalize his assessments, so they don’t cater to individual learner differences. It is also possible for such a teacher to set questions that don’t align with any teaching-learning objectives. Even the assignments the teacher gives may not be helpful in the long learn, because the teacher can’t see the bigger picture.

Such teachers aren’t good team players

Planning creates room for collaboration and communication between teachers. Teachers discuss lesson plans, teaching aids, and other materials as they plan. They share experiences and even discuss teaching approaches. They collaborate on lesson planning and delivery, all to the benefit of the learners. Sometimes they discuss the challenges different learners face and come up with a comprehensive plan for helping the learners out.

A teacher who doesn’t plan is a poor collaborator. The teacher actually doesn’t see the need to collaborate with others because he naively thinks he’s self-sufficient.

Conclusion

Planning will help you avoid common pitfalls in the teaching-learning process, e.g. distractions. It also helps you come up with the right strategies to help your students learn and retain knowledge more easily. That’s why lack of a plan puts you at great risk of being ineffective!