Teachers' Perspectives Of Effective Lesson Planning: A . - CORE

Chapter 1IntroductionBackground of the StudyThe Call for Teacher QualityOn February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recoveryand Reinvestment Act (ARRA) o f 2009. This historic legislation was designed not only tostimulate the economy, but also to invest in critical sectors, including education (UnitedStates Department of Education, 2009). The ARRA provided 4.35 billion for the Raceto the Top Fund, a competitive grant program designed to “encourage and reward Statesthat are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform” (U.S. Department ofEducation, 2009, p. 2). In order to receive funds, states must show and implementambitious plans in four core education reform areas, including: “adopting standards andassessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to competein the global economy; building data systems that measure student growth and success,and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction; recruiting,developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially wherethey are needed most; and turning around our lowest-achieving schools” (U.S.Department of Education, 2009, p. 2). Most important among these core areas, asreflected in the weights assigned in the grant decision-making process, is thedevelopment of effective teachers (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). This emphasisplaced on teacher effectiveness by the policymakers is a clear indicator they believe thequality of instruction that students receive is the most important influence on student2

achievement (Hershberg & Robertson-Kraft, 2010). Therefore, the need for teachers tobe effective in their teaching is vital to student achievement.Rationale of the StudyHaving a deeper understanding of what constitutes teacher effectiveness isimportant. In the recent past, substantial attention has been paid to teacher effectivenessdue to rising concerns regarding the quality of education students receive. Teachereffectiveness is now being considered when developing teacher evaluations, whenteacher compensation is being discussed, and when teacher preparation changes. Thesediscussions are taking place at all levels of policy making, including federal, state, andlocal levels. Recently, during a speech on the National Call on Flexibility andProductivity, The U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, suggested that “states anddistricts use teacher effectiveness in the classroom as a factor in teacher layoffs.”(Duncan, 2011, p 1).Teachers are an important link in the educational chain. As Brophy and Good(1986) determined, “the myth that teachers do not make a difference in student learninghas been refuted” (p. 370). The difference teachers make even outweighs the impact ofthe school. Teachers interact with students through daily instruction, which givesteachers the ability to directly impact student achievement. As Jackson and Davis (2000)stated, “instruction is the daily bread of life, composed of the tools, strategies, lessons,and activities, teachers and students use to learn” (p. 63). While school district curricula,state standards, and national standards all play a role in what students should learn, it falls

4to the teacher to structure how students actually learn the material (Stronge, 2007).Therefore, teachers play a significant role in the educational system.Additionally, in a speech regarding “A New Approach to Teacher EducationReform and Improvement,” the Secretary of Education called for teacher preparationprograms to turn out effective teachers—a mission which is “central to the fiiture of ourchildren and our nation in a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy” (Duncan,2011, p 1). Without a deeper understanding of what constitutes teacher effectiveness,important decisions will be made without the full depth of knowledge. These decisionswill impact schools, teachers, and students alike; therefore it is vital to have a deeperunderstanding of teacher effectiveness.The Importance of Being EffectiveThere is abundant evidence that teacher effectiveness raises student achievement(Ascher & Frucher, 2001; Borman & Kimbal, 2005; Chard, 2004; Darling-Hammond,2000; Haycock, 1998). Effective teachers do make a difference in the lives of students.Marzano, Pickering, and Pollock (2001) found that an individual teacher can have apowerful effect on students even if the school does not. This important findingrecognizes the importance of having qualified and effective teachers in the classrooms.In recent years, research on teacher effectiveness has reported a direct relationship tostudent learning (Darling-Hammond & Young, 2002; Stronge, Ward, & Grant, 2011;Stronge, Ward, Tucker, & Hindman, 2007). It has been documented how importanteffective teachers are to the success of students (Allington & Johnston, 2000; Hattie,2003; Hanushek, Kain, O’Brien, & Rivkin, 2005; Sanders, Wright, & Langeuin, 2008;

5Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). While these studies are just the tip of the iceberg tounderstanding the importance of teachers being effective, the results reveal that bothstudents and schools require quality teachers to excel.What Makes a Teacher Effective?While the relationship between teacher effectiveness and student achievement caneasily be seen in the above studies, figuring out what makes a teacher effective is muchmore difficult. Hattie (2003) identified five major dimensions of excellent teachers:“Expert Teachers can identify essential representations of their subject, can guide learning through classroom interactions, can monitor learning and provide feedback, can attend to affective attributes, and can influence student outcomes” (p.5).From these five dimensions follow sixteen “prototypic attributes of expertise”(Hattie, 2003, p.5) that give further definition to the dimensions.In addition to Hattie’s findings, Stronge (2002,2007) conducted a meta-review ofthe available research on teacher effectiveness and found that the “qualities of effectiveteachers could be divided into four dimensions: instruction student assessment

6 learning environment personal qualities” (p. 168).Finally, Danielson (2007) had similar findings in a study that identified aspects ofteacher responsibilities. She found through empirical studies and theoretical research thatthe complex activity of teaching could be divided into four domains of teachingresponsibility: planning and preparation the classroom environment instruction professional responsibilities (Danielson, 2007).These studies represent specific ways instructional effectiveness can be observedor witnessed.The Importance of Lesson Planning ResearchResearch has shown that thinking and planning play a significant role inclassroom teaching (Earle, 1998); that teachers “plan in a rich variety of ways [that] havereal consequences in the classroom”; that teachers “make planning decisions frequentlyduring interactive teaching”; that teacher theories and belief systems “influence theirperceptions, plans, and actions” (Clark & Peterson, 1986, p.292). Lesson planning is animportant aspect of a teacher’s job that directly impacts what and how students learn thenecessary material; therefore how teachers plan is important to study. In addition, Smith(1977) states that “teacher planning is important for educational research and policy in

7that: 1.) planning decisions and activities are a major factor affecting the quality,quantity, and nature of classroom instruction, 2.) the effects o f planning decisions andactivities upon instruction can be assessed, and 3.) the cost of making alterations andadjustments to planning decisions is minimal and thus planning represents a potentiallypowerful tool for the improvement of instruction” (p.l).Although there is a growing body of evidence about teacher effectiveness, ingeneral, and instructional planning, more specifically, there still remains a dearth of clear,direct evidence regarding teachers’ lesson planning. Understanding the lesson planningprocess, and how to intervene in the process to improve instruction, is helpful for bothteachers and administrators. This can be done through watching instruction and alsothrough the pre-active or planning phase. When it comes to research regarding therelationship between the planning process and that which leads to effective instruction,there is a paucity of research available. As Jasper (1986) stated, it is important tounderstand the relationship between the planning process and effective instruction; untilthis relationship is understood, administrators and supervisors cannot help teachers planeffectively. There also is concern in the field as it is not really known how todifferentiate good and bad plans, or how these plans play out in the classroom, soprincipals cannot use only the lesson plan to effectively monitor instruction.Lesson PlanningIt could be argued that a teacher’s role is not to teach but to arrange for learning(Danielson, 2007). The importance in lesson planning is evident in the many decisions ateacher must make in order to prepare students for the learning experience. Panasuk,

8Stone, & Todd (2002) agreed that lesson planning involves a conscious effort by teachersto develop “a coherent system of activities that promote the development o f students’cognitive structures” (p. 808). A study by Zahorik, Halbach, Ehrle, & Molnar (2003)determined that effective teachers excel at instructional orientation, which deals with thetype of content taught and how it is taught. The study highlighted the need for effectiveteachers to be effective planners as well. Lesson planning is the cognitive process ofthinking about what will happen in the classroom during a lesson (Jalongo, Reig, &Helterbran, 2007). This involves the consideration of multiple aspects of the classroom,ranging from methods to engage the students in the material to the different waysstudents may react.Looking at national level teaching standards such as the Interstate New TeacherAssessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) (2013) and the National Board forProfessional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) (2012), instructional planning is a key aspectof any teacher’s work in order to give students meaningful learning experiences (Ko,2012). Planning for instruction is thus a critical step that all effective teachers take,whether intentionally or intuitively (Thompson & Stryker, 2010), and meaningfulplanning is complex (Marshall, 2012). Planning may appear simple but going throughthe day-to-day planning motions does not guarantee meaningful activities will avail(Marshall, 2012). According to Burden and Byrd (2003), “The goal of planning is toensure student learning; therefore, planning helps create, arrange and organizeinstructional events to enable that learning to occur” (p. 23). It is important then that theplanning is effective in order for the instructional events to be effective and for learning

9to follow. An effective teacher should then be able to plan in a manner that understandsthe complexities of teaching and learning using a variety of skills and understanding tomeet the needs of all students. As scholars have reported “carefully planned, fine-tunedlessons reflect an understanding of many different teaching techniques” (Orlich, Harder,Callahan, Trevisan, & Brown, 2004, p. 15). Effective teachers are effective planners as itwould be difficult to carry out effective instruction without having a concrete solid planbeforehand. This plan would be based on the teacher’s knowledge of the students, thecontent, the resources, and the instructional strategies available. Ma

TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES OF EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ABSTRACT This study investigated the perceptions that K-12 teachers have about various . Teacher. Finally, it was found that most teachers use written lesson plans and that there is no standard practice for how often teachers refer to their written plans. JESSICA .