Introduction

Today in Australias schools tremendous amount of planning is undertaken to provide the

students the best chances to learn. The profession of teaching has become very structured
and teachers are required to plan detailed lessons which address the outcomes of the
syllabus (Louden, 2000).

Teachers must design lesson plans in accordance with the syllabus and must follow the
Australian Professional Teacher Standards when it comes to the design and implementation
of lessons. These standards ensure that teachers act in a professional and ethical manner in
the educational system.

By analysing these four factors in this essay; Syllabus, diverse student learning needs,
assessment data and professional standards we will get a clear idea of what teachers must
take in to account when designing lesson plans.

These four factors will be discussed in detail and by analysing a year 9 PDHPE lesson plan we
will outline to what effect each factor has been considered in the design of the lesson plan.
Advantages and disadvantages of the lesson plan will also be discussed and
recommendations made.

The Syllabus

The aim of the PDHPE Years 710 Syllabus is to develop students capacity to enhance
personal health and wellbeing, enjoy an active lifestyle, maximise movement potential and
advocate lifelong health and physical activity (Cliff, 2012).

The PDHPE Years 710 Syllabus content is divided into four strands which are;

- Strand 1 Self and relationships

- Strand 2 Movement skill and performance
- Strand 3 Individual and community health
- Strand 4 Lifelong physical activity

The design of this syllabus gives students 300 hours time frame to achieve these standards
described in the outcomes. These 300 allocated hours are the basis for timetabling and
programming decisions (Cliff, 2012). The syllabus content is the basis for lesson planning,
teachers must design their lesson plan in accordance to learning outcomes detailed in the
syllabus, and must follow specified sequences of the syllabus (AITSL, 2014).
Basically the syllabus is a very important tool which provides an overall larger picture of
what the teachers must teach and what the students must learn. The syllabus is beneficial
for the teachers because it shows them what they are required to teach and it provides them
a time frame which they must follow. Teachers dont have the freedom to decide what they
teach but they can decide how they teach and what resources they use.

The PDHPE lesson plan example fails to show if the lesson plan was designed in accordance
with syllabus. It is necessary to state which part of the syllabus outcomes are being
addressed in the. This also shows that the sequence of the syllabus is being followed and
respected in the planning process.

Diverse Student learning needs

Teachers must acknowledge the diverse nature of students in their classroom and their
lesson planning must reflect this diversity. Its very hard to design a lesson plan that will suit
every student because there are a lot of diverse issues which will impact how each student
learns. These differences include literacy levels, different learning styles of students and
physical or mental disabilities certain students might be dealing with. In an ideal world all
these things should be identified and taken in to account when designing a lesson plan.

The PDHPE lesson plan used in this essay has both positive and negative aspects in its ability
to deliver a successful lesson for all the students. One of the positives includes getting
students to work in groups, Glass & Sarri (2001) outline the group work is an effective tool
which can serve to encourage active learning, develop critical thinking, improve
communication and decision making skills and increase student motivation levels. These
ideas are also emphasised in Vygotskys social constructivism (1978) theory which states
that cooperative learning can provide scaffolding via learner interaction. As an advantage
this will create a better learning environment and the students learning experience will be
better due to the meaningful nature of leaning, higher motivation and increased enjoyment.

Another positive aspect of this lesson plan is that it utilises a variety of activities which can
help meet various learner needs. This relates to Gardners theory (2003) which claims that
variety is essential because people differ in their ability to complete activities in the different
domains. The different activities include visual learning through presentation, pamphlets and
learning through interaction group work. This concept of catering for students leaning is
seen in Blooms hierarchy of learning (1956). Bloom (1956) reinforces the importance for
catering for learner differences in the school setting and outlines the needs to have a variety
of lessons.

Some of the disadvantages which are seen in the lesson plan include poor layout with no
duration being recorded for specific class activities. Its very important to know how much
time to allocate to certain activities, this ensures the class runs smoothly and all activities
are completed on time. The lesson plan fails to record all the tools used for the activities in
the resource section of the plan e.g. stop watch, basketball, skipping rope are not recorded.
As well as having structural problems the lesson plan also doesnt consider the learning
needs of gifted students, no specific activities are recorded in the lesson plan which might
be needed for students who are gifted and excel at their tasks. The plan also fails to cater for
students who might struggle with English and fail to understand the lesson. Western Sydney
region is a multicultural area and a lot of students come from non-English speaking
backgrounds therefore it is vital that the lesson plan caters for these students. Because the
lesson plan fails to cater for certain students or groups in the classroom the learning
environment will suffer and students will become demotivated, uninterested and their ability
to learn will suffer. Therefore the teacher must ensure the lesson plan is; designed in
accordance with the syllabus, time efficient, properly laid out and caters for all students.

Information collected to identify student learning needs

School administrators, parents and students themselves widely support the notion that
teacher quality is vital to student achievement (Rockoff, 2004).Therefor to design and
implement the best lesson plans for their students the teachers must do a bit of research and
identify the strengths and weaknesses of their students. Areas which the teachers can focus
on include student literacy levels, skill development, learning styles and overall student
attitude and behaviour towards learning. Teachers can obtain this sort of information by
speaking to other teachers in the school who teach these students, by speaking to the
parents of the students and by speaking to the student directly. Past assessments can also
provide important information about the student and can outline how they are performing in
certain classes (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988).

Speaking to the students directly or even conducting feedback questions about certain
lessons can give the teacher vital information about the lesson from a students perspective
e.g. if the students enjoyed the lesson, the perceived ease or difficulty about lesson activities
etc. If the students find a lesson too easy they might lose focus and might not really engage
with the lesson activities, on the other hand if the students find the lesson too difficult they
might feel deflated and might lose motivation (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988).

Talking with parents can be beneficial because it will tell teachers their thoughts and ideas
about homework activities, parents can also give more insight about students learning styles
and students activities outside of the school setting. Teachers can use this sort of feedback to
identify the best ways to teach certain students e.g. visual method, physical method etc.

Having constant communication with other teachers in the school can also help identify best
learning styles for certain students. One student might be performing really well in maths
and really poorly in PDHPE, teachers from the 2 faculties can discuss why this is occurring
and can look at ways of improving the students performance in PDHPE. This communication
with other teachers and parents ensures the teacher is following part 7 of the Professional
Standards for Teachers which states teachers must engage professionally with colleagues,
parents/carers and the community (AITSL, 2014).
By collecting this important student data and by having constant communication with all
these parties the teachers will know what best suits their students when it comes to learning.
Then the teachers will be able to use this information to design effective lesson plans which
create a supportive learning environment and give the students the best chance to learn.

The lesson plan used it this essay utilises a variety of classroom activities which might
suggest the teacher has researched his students learning styles. The variety of activities and
learning styles associated with each activity suggests that lesson plan is inclusive and caters
for different student learning styles .Visual based activities, physical based activities and
group activities are all evident in the lesson plan. Apart from the lesson activities there is no
other evidence seen in the lesson plan to suggest the teacher looked at previous student
data or had any sort of communication with third parties in regards to the development of
the lesson plan.

National Professional Standards for Teachers

The National Professional Standards for teachers were developed to to describe what
beginning teachers, experienced teachers and school leaders need to know and be able to
do (Louden, 2000). These standards outline what teachers in all areas of teaching must be
able to do and ways in which they must professionally behave. These standards have been
criticized in the past for being generic standards meaning that they apply equally to all
subject areas and to teachers of children of all ages (Louden, 2000). Critics of these
standards feel that age- and subject-specific standards are better suited for the teaching
profession (Louden, 2000).

Because many of these standards relate to teacher actions and behaviours it is vital that all
teachers follow and comply with these standards to ensure they are professionally and
legally safe. Standard 2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting states that lesson plans
must be designed and developed in accordance with the syllabus and the curriculum (AITSL,
2014).Therefore legally teachers must teach and design their lesson plans with this in mind.

In the sample lesson used in this essay there is no mention of the syllabus or the curriculum
goals that will be achieved, therefore the teacher fails to comply with standard 2.3. This
lesson plan fails to comply with other professional standards that include standard 4.2
Manage classroom activities in an organized and effective way with proper teaching
sequence (AITSL, 2014).This was not seen in the lesson plan because the teacher failed to
include a specific time frame for the classroom activities. This will result in time
mismanagement and certain activities might not be finished. Standard 2.2 Content
selections and organisation is also neglected for the same reasons as mention for standard
4.2.
Professional standards for teachers which were followed in this lesson plan are standards
3.4 select and use resources and standard 1.2 understand how students learn (AITSL,
2014). The utilization of different resources evident in the lesson plan shows that the
teacher possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to engage students with their learning
needs (Rockoff, 2004), this complies with standard 3.4. The variety of activities and the
different learning style associated with each activity shows us that the teacher has tried to
make the lesson plan inclusive in order to benefit different learning styles. This suggest the
teachers has done some research in regards to the learning needs of his students, by doing
this he research the teacher has complied with standard 1.2 understand how students
learn.

Conclusion

By analyzing the four specified factors and by critiquing the year 9 PDHPE lesson plan we were able
to show the importance of planning when it comes to effective teaching. This essay also outlined the
importance of following the National Professional Standards for Teachers and need to use the
syllabus when designing lesson plans.

Teachers knowledge on specific student learning needs and learning styles was also discussed, and
certain ways of gathering this sort of information was identified. The PDHPE year 9 lesson plans was
analyzed, certain advantages and disadvantages were identified and recommendations were made.
This essay clearly shows that there are many factors that teachers must take in to account when
designing lesson plans and implementing them in the school setting.
Reference list

AITSL 2014, Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved on March 23, 2015

from www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list

Bloom B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain.

New York: David McKay Co Inc.

Cliff, K. (2012). A sociocultural perspective as a curriculum change in health and physical

education. Sport, Education and Society, 17(3), 293-311

Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1988). Teachers as Curriculum Planners. Narratives of

Experience. Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027.

Gardner, H. (1983/2003). Frames of mind. The theory of multiple intelligences. New York:

BasicBooks.

Glass, P., & Sarri, R. (1974). Individual Change Through Small Groups. New York: Free Press.

Louden, W. (2000). Standards for standards: The development of Australian professional

standards for teaching. Australian Journal of Education, 44(2), 118-134.

Rockoff, J. E. (2004). The impact of individual teachers on student achievement: Evidence

from panel data. American Economic Review, 247-252.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 PDHPE LESSON PLAN

Students Students
Teaching and learning activities Resources
learn about learn to
a multi-media presentation, types of moderate intensity
pamphlet, website, poster or physical activity across a double
Identifying syllabus school newsletter feature. lesson. Students work in pairs
outcomes addressed Students will complete this task with stopwatches and recording
in the lesson should by making 5 key sheets and each student records
recommendations regarding their accumulated minutes of
have been written at areas that require development moderate intensity physical
the top. to enhance the physical activity activity (within their target heart
opportunities for young people in rate zone) for the lesson.
the local areas.
The circuit should include a
range of types of physical
activities, e.g., 3v3 basketball,
skipping, body jam
dance/aerobics, 4v4 indoor
soccer, obstacle course.
Lesson plan fails to The circuit should include a
address time duration range of types of physical
activities, e.g. 3 v 3 basketball,
of each activity. This skipping, body jam
dance/aerobics, 4 v 4 indoor
needs to be done. soccer or obstacle course.
Students spend 10 minutes at
each station. Class all stops for
15 seconds when whistle is blow
(at three minute intervals) to
measure and record hear rate in
Lets Get Active Learning
Journal.

Personal Communicate How can we increase physical Target Heart Rate

benefits of key messages activity levels?(4) Sheet Heart
participation about being Jigsaw activity - Getting to Foundation
in physical active and know the guidelines
activity suggest simple National Physical
physical strategies to Students begin in home groups Activity Guidelines
assist others to of four. One person in each for Australians
social home group then becomes an (1999)
recognise
emotional these benefits, expert in one of the 4 National
Physical Activity Guidelines for www.health.gov.au
mental e.g. Fails to include all the
multimedia, Australians. Each of the corners
spiritual of the room will display the resources used in the
presentations,
Physical pamphlets. information for one of the lesson plan, needs to
activity levels guidelines. When the information
Value the has been retrieved by the four include all of them.
incidental
physical contribution of experts, they return to their
activity regular home group to share their
physical expertise. Each individual then
develops a summary of the
Guidelines.