Planning and Management
Planning is essential to good teaching. In the early stages of the clinical practice semester, provisions should be made for both long-range and daily planning. Prior to each lesson, the teacher candidate and supervising teacher should develop detailed lesson plans. As the semester progresses, the candidate should develop more independent plans, consulting with the supervising teacher as necessary. The supervising teacher should assist the candidate in evaluating each lesson during a specified conference time each day.
Long-term planning. When the candidate and the supervising teacher decide on the first subject or course to be taught, plans should be started immediately for the full teaching term. If the candidate will be teaching a particular class or unit for an extended period of time, detailed plans should be made to cover this period of teaching. Generally, this plan should include the subject matter to be covered, lesson objectives, special projects and activities, materials to be used, special resource people and agencies, etc. Such a plan should be made for all classes or subjects taught.
Daily lesson planning. A lesson plan is a detailed outline of the work proposed by the teacher for a single class period. It is desirable for the candidate to make detailed lesson plans of high quality with careful forethought. These plans may be abbreviated as the candidate picks up more classes and demonstrates skill in planning. Lesson plans may be reviewed by the university supervisor prior to or during each observation.
edTPA planning. The supervising teacher and candidate should identify the central focus for the lessons to be taught for the edTPA videotaping session and portfolio completion for the clinical practice spring semester by November. Once the central focus is identified, do not change it. Choose a topic that can be taught on a flexible schedule. It is very important for this central focus to be identified early so that the candidate may begin writing the plans and extensive commentary.
Classroom Management
Being able to manage a class requires a working knowledge of a set of guidelines which are philosophically and legally sound, and which can be put to practical use. The Department of Education at UNC Asheville believes the following are essential to effective classroom management:
Candidates should develop or implement a management plan consistent with the policies and procedures of the supervising teacher and host school.
The candidate should know the names of all pupils before instruction.
Efforts should be made to minimize the amount of time used for managerial tasks such as attendance, lunch/insurance money and administrative matters.
The candidate should find out as much as possible about each pupil. This background information may alert the teacher to possible problems and provide understanding for choosing alternative ways of responding to the candidate
Classroom procedures should be established with the pupils before teaching begins. They should be positive statements.
An effective classroom management system must include procedures for dealing consistently with infractions and disturbances.
The instructional period should begin with definite, stimulating and interesting tasks. This will often preclude discipline problems. The candidate should provide closure to the lesson, summarize, or have candidates summarize what was learned.