Definitions and key concepts.
Strategic, Curricular, and Pedagogical Planning
Strategic Planning: The "Why" and the Long-Term Vision
Strategic planning in education involves setting broad, long-term goals and determining the
overall direction for a training program or an educational institution. It's about aligning
educational practices with the overarching objectives, such as those set by the Ministry of
National Education. It considers the ultimate profile of the graduate and how the entire
training program contributes to achieving that profile.
The decision to emphasize certain teaching approaches (e.g., communicative language teaching)
across the entire curriculum reflects a strategic pedagogical direction.
Curricular Planning: The "What" and Content Organization
Curricular planning defines the content of what will be taught. It involves outlining the
subjects, topics, and skills that students are expected to learn within a specific course or
program. It's about structuring the knowledge and skills in a logical and progressive manner,
as outlined in the
The inclusion of specific assessment types like "Testing in CLT, CBA, SBA, and UDL" under
"ASSESSMENT mechanisms" is part of the defined curriculum.
Diagnostic Assessment This is about understanding your students' current knowledge,
skills, and learning gaps before instruction begins.
Example: Before starting a unit on past tenses, you might give a short quiz
to see if students already know simple past verbs, or if they struggle with
irregular forms. This helps you tailor your lessons.
Formative Assessment This type of assessment occurs during the learning process.
It's designed to monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback that can be
used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their
learning.
Example: During a lesson on descriptive adjectives, you might ask students
to describe a picture to a partner. You circulate and listen to their language
use, identifying common errors on the spot and providing immediate
feedback.
Summative Assessment This takes place after instruction and evaluates student
learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or
benchmark. WHICH ARE THE RUBRICS
Example: A final exam at the end of the English Language Arts course or a
unit test on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is a summative assessment.
Teaching Approaches Overview
Teacher-Centered: Teacher is the main authority and source of knowledge.
Instruction is typically lectures and direct delivery1. Focuses on content
transmission and teacher control.
Student-Centered: Focuses on active student participation, collaboration, and
discovery. The teacher facilitates learning rather than solely delivering
information2. Emphasizes critical thinking and student autonomy.
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): A language teaching approach
where the goal and means are effective communication3. Students engage in
real-life interaction to develop fluency.
Task-Based Learning (TBL): Students learn language by completing
meaningful tasks that have a non-linguistic outcome. Language emerges
through the process of solving the task4.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): Teaches a subject
(e.g., science) through a foreign language, developing both content knowledge
and language proficiency simultaneously5.
Inquiry-Based Learning: Students investigate questions or problems they are
presented with, actively exploring to find answers or solutions, guided by the
teacher6.
Blended Learning: Combines traditional in-person classroom instruction with
online learning activities and resources7. Offers flexibility and leverages
technology.
Components of a lesson plan.
Planning lessons for language skills
lesson objectives (SMART) and learning outcomes.
Specific: What exactly will be achieved?
Measurable: How will progress be tracked?
Achievable: Is it realistic and attainable?
Relevant: Does it align with broader goals?
Time-bound: When will it be completed?
Stages, activities, timing, …….
Planning a short-term assessment
means designing and preparing quick and immediate checks for understanding that are
integrated into your teaching. These assessments are crucial for getting rapid feedback and
adjusting your instruction as needed.
When planning, consider these aspects:
1. What you will assess: specific learning objectives or skills from your lesson
2. How you will assess it: quick, informal method that provides immediate feedback:
Show of Hands/Thumbs Up/Down: For quick agreement or understanding checks.
Oral Questions: Ask a few targeted questions to individual students or the whole
class.
Simple Task: "Write one sentence using..." or "Tell your partner three things about.
3. When you will assess it: Determine the best point in the lesson or unit for this check.
remedial work.
Example: If a short-term assessment reveals that a significant portion of your class is still
confused about the correct usage of prepositions of time (e.g., "in," "on," "at"), your remedial
work might involve:
Creating a specific worksheet focusing only on those prepositions.
Planning a brief, dedicated review segment at the start of the next lesson.
Using visual aids or real-life examples to clarify the distinctions.
Pairing students to practice sentences using these prepositions, with clear criteria for
success.
🌿 LOTS – Lower Order Thinking Skills
These are foundational cognitive skills, often used for remembering and understanding.
1. Remember – recall facts, define, list
2. Understand – explain, describe, summarize
3. Apply – use, implement, solve
🔥 HOTS – Higher Order Thinking Skills
These are advanced skills, involving critical and creative thinking.
4. Analyze – compare, contrast, differentiate
5. Evaluate – justify, assess, critique
6. Create – design, compose, invent
TBL TASK BASED LEARNING
Pre-task – prepare students for the task (vocabulary, context)
Task – students complete a real-world task (e.g., plan a trip)
Post-task – reflection, language focus, correction, expansion
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle – 4 Stages:
1. Concrete Experience (CE) – Doing / Having an experience
Example: A student performs a science experiment or teaches a lesson.
2. Reflective Observation (RO) – Reflecting on the experience
The learner asks: What happened? What went well? What didn’t?
3. Abstract Conceptualization (AC) – Learning from the experience
The learner connects the experience to theories, ideas, or new knowledge.
4. Active Experimentation (AE) – Trying out what was learned
The learner applies their learning in a new situation or improves the next task.