Supporting initial and early career teachers’ lesson planning through research
Written by: Cara Carey
8 min read
Cara Carey, Development Lead, Teach First, UK
We are in the fortunate position of having a huge wealth of research around elements of great teaching. There are new books about teaching constantly being released, which is very exciting. This, however, means that it can be hard to keep track of current advice and filter the research down to make it relevant to day-to-day planning, particularly for beginner and early career teachers. The research and template in Figure 1 attempt to condense some key pieces of research to keep in mind when planning a lesson.
Lesson structure
While there is no formula to a perfect lesson, having the same format to your lessons can help to reduce cognitive load, as students know what to expect. Allison and Tharby (2015) and Rosenshine (2012) recommend that lessons include explanations, modelling and practice. To engage and settle the learners, a ‘starter’ activity is useful at the beginning and, as a final check for understanding, a ‘plenary’ is a
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- Allison S and Tharby A (2015) Making Every Lesson Count. Carmarthen: Crown House.
- Boxer A (2022) ‘Effective explanations – Adam Boxer’. The Dynamic Deputies Podcast. Available at: https://soundcloud.com/dynamicdeps/effective-explanations-adam-boxer?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing (accessed April 2023).
- Coe R, Rauch CJ, Kime S et al. (2020) The Great Teaching Toolkit: Evidence review. Evidence Based Education. Available at: www.greatteaching.com (accessed April 2023).
- Department for Education (DfE) (2019) Early career framework. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/978358/Early-Career_Framework_April_2021.pdf (accessed April 2023).
- Dunlosky J (2013) Strengthening the student toolbox. American Educator 37(3): 12–21.
- Jones K (2021) Wiliam and Leahy’s Five Formative Assessment Strategies in Action. Woodbridge: John Catt Education.
- Lemov D (2015) Teach Like a Champion 2.0. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Major LE and Higgins S (2019) What Works? Research and Evidence for Successful Teaching. London: Bloomsbury.
- Rosenshine B (2012) Principles of instruction. American Educator 36(1): 12–19, 39.
- Sherrington T (2019) Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction in Action. Woodbridge: John Catt Education.
- Tait J (2020) Teaching Rebooted. London: Bloomsbury.
- Wiliam D (2011) Embedded Formative Assessment. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
- Wiliam D (2013) Assessment: The bridge between teaching and learning. Voices from the Middle 21: 15–20.
- Willingham,D (2009) Why Don’t Students Like School? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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