Step 2.2 - Lesson Planning

What do you think are the difficulties of preparing lesson plans?

Lesson planning produces many valuable benefits:

Here are some problems (and potential problems) that we noticed:

• Aimless wandering

• Failure to achieve objectives

• Needed teaching materials or equipment not available, and

• Poor connection with preceding or subsequent lessons  

If you don't plan your lesson properly you may fall into several traps:

Your teaching may wander aimlessly without ever achieving its objective, and you and your students may never achieve the objectives of the course. Or you may show up to teach and find that you didn't bring the necessary materials or equipment. What you teach may not relate to what you taught earlier and it may not lead to what you will teach later.
In sum, lack of planning can lead to the following consequences:

• Poor or reduced learning,
• Frustration (for both the teacher and the students), and
• A waste of time, effort and money