Effective Medium-term Planning for Teachers
- Lee Jerome - Middlesex University, UK
- Marcus Bhargava - Kingston University, UK
Effective medium-term planning is the ‘holy grail’ of planning. Once teachers are able to conceptualise learning over a longer period of time, they are empowered to achieve outstanding learning as part of their everyday teaching. This book explains why medium term plans are important and how to go about constructing them.
Key coverage includes:
- Practical guidance to support teachers to build their own effective medium-term plans
- Examples of planning in action, exploring key principles that can be applied to your own practice
- Theoretical and practical justifications for the importance of medium-term planning
- Exploration of the links between raising attainment and effective medium-term planning
This is essential reading for initial teacher education students on university-based and school-based courses preparing to teach in primary and secondary education, and early career teachers seeking to continue their professional learning.
This is a book that deals with the important issues that teachers need to confront when planning for their students’ learning over time. Not only does it offer suggestions for effective medium term planning (which are carefully exemplified through authentic cases) but also deals with some fundamental questions about the nature of teaching, learning and assessment and the need to approach each of these in a principled way. This will clearly be a very useful book for beginning teachers but it also has much to offer to those with more experience who are keen to look again at the nature of their planning and the possibilities that effective medium-term planning can offer. The book concludes with a timely ‘call to action’ which, if properly addressed, could lead to teachers discovering (or re-discovering) the huge benefits for teaching and learning, as well as for developing an enhanced sense of teacher professionalism, that these approaches make possible.
The book is written in a very engaging style that makes it accessible to the reader yet nevertheless draws effectively on a range of scholarship, as well as on the findings of the authors’ own research.
Not only does this text offer suggestions for effective medium term planning (which are carefully exemplified through authentic cases) but it also deals with some fundamental questions about the nature of teaching, learning and assessment and the need to approach each of these in a principled way. This will clearly be a very useful book for beginning teachers.
This is a highly relevant and accessible book. There is no ‘quick fix’ when designing deep learning but this book provides a well thought through rationale and a clear a guide to that journey. Working through it empowers the teacher. It makes complete sense and will certainly feature as essential reading for my students.
Clear steps to aid trainees involved in planning
The book includes several already well-known pedagogical solutions and learning situations and ways. The interesting point is that they have been connected together and presented from a somewhat different approach than before. This is the main reason why I am going to recommend the book as a supplemental collection about the essential learning theories and pedagogical solutions for teacher students to become ' learner-sensitive' teachers. I see the right time for the book is at the end of the teacher studies.
The structure of this book makes it easily navigated. However, I have adopted it only as a supplementary text, not a recommended one because it does not make sufficient obvious distinction between phases. My student treachers are interested in primary or early-years planning, and they would need to investigate tis book quite thoroughly before discovering which section might inform their interest. The content of the book is good and valid, but primary education is not mentioned in the contents nor in the index.
Not what I expected. Not really accessible enough for the students I had in mind. I wanted something really practical and advisory to support their development. This wasn't it.
Relevant and accessible. A well structured and easy to read planning book. Covers all the information you need in a well laid out and comprehensive structure.
Sage College Publishing
