1.5 Understanding the Instructional Process

The instructional process is a continual cycle of assessing, planning, and teaching or implementing. Each stage of the cycle is influenced and determined by the previous stage of the cycle.

Assessing

Assessing takes place throughout the lesson and helps teachers determine future action. Pre-assessment precedes planning and determines the students’ current strengths and needs. Assessment data informs the planning process. Formative assessment also takes place during a lesson to gauge progress throughout the learning process. Results from formative assessments are used to make changes in instruction to address needs of the students. Summative assessments are used to collect data on students’ learning at the end of a lesson or sequence of lessons. Summative assessments, too, are used to plan next teaching steps.

Assessment is explicitly linked to the lesson objective(s). Quantitative and qualitative data are collected to identify progress made in reaching the lesson objective(s). Rubrics make clear, for learners and teachers, expectations for successful completion of lesson tasks that will be assessed. Rubrics provide transparency and support for learners in the learning process.

Multiple and varied forms of assessment are needed to monitor students’ progress. When observation is used as a form of assessment, a checklist of clearly identified skills or behaviors, linked to the lesson objectives is used in the observation.

Analysis of assessment data is used to determine what is planned for the next lesson. Assessment results may also indicate that content may have to be re-taught.

Planning

Using assessment data and the standards as your guide, you will determine what should be taught. Planning what and how to teach begins with identification of learning goals and objectives. Selection of goals and objectives is based on knowledge of content standards for the discipline or content area. When planning, teachers also make decisions about where students will be in the classroom during the lesson, how they will be grouped, and what activities they will be engaged in during the lesson. In addition, planning involves selection of instructional strategies, questions to be asked to prompt students’ higher level thinking, and the sequence of lesson events leading to depth of understanding. Planning also involves identification of pre-requisite or co-requisite skills students will need to be successful in the current lesson. In addition, making arrangements for modifications of lesson activities to accommodate students’ various learning needs is important. In other words, planning involves consideration of multiple levels of understanding that are represented in the classroom. Selecting assessment measures is also part of the planning stage.

Teaching/Implementing

During the implementing stage of the cycle, teachers introduce the lesson and motivate students to learn. They implement various learning and assessment activities designed to help students meet the objectives and support the overall learning goal(s). Teachers monitor and adjust their teaching to address students’ needs throughout the lesson. Teachers draw closure to the lesson during this stage of the process.

Lesson Planning as part of the Instructional Process

To address the components of the instructional process “assessing”, “planning”, and “teaching/implementing”, you will engage in

• pre-instructional planning,
• planning and implementing the lesson sequence, and
• post instructional assessment and reflection

In the sections that follow, these components of the planning process will be discussed in detail. A well-constructed lesson plan involves pre-instructional planning, and also post instructional assessment. Careful planning allows the teacher to respond effectively to each of the three stages of the instructional process: assessing, planning, and implementing.

Effective planning will positively influence classroom implementation. Post-instructional assessment, which involves reflection, will positively affect future planning. Therefore, as you develop greater confidence and skill in each component of planning, you will improve in your overall effectiveness in the instructional process.

Please find the UNW-SP lesson plan including pre-instructional planning, instructional sequence, and post-instructional assessment/reflection document in Appendix A.