Lesson

A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur.^{[citation needed]} It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one section of a textbook (which, apart from the printed page, can also include multimedia) or, more frequently, a short period of time during which learners are taught about a particular subject or taught how to perform a particular activity. Lessons are generally taught in a classroom but may instead take place in a situated learning environment.

In a wider sense, a lesson is an insight gained by a learner into previously unfamiliar subject-matter. Such a lesson can be either planned or accidental, enjoyable or painful. The colloquial phrase "to teach someone a lesson", means to punish or scold a person for a mistake they have made in order to ensure that they do not make the same mistake again.^{[citation needed]}

Lessons can also be made entertaining. When the term education is combined with entertainment, the term edutainment is coined.

Types of lesson

The potential format and speaks to one or more people in the same room or space. This may be supplemented with gestures and tools. A lesson may range from a lecture, to a demonstration, to a discussion or a blend of some of these common presentation methods.

Some lessons may involve work by the student. Traditionally this might include reading and writing or creating something, perhaps when the instructor is not present. The student may work independently or collaborate with others.

More recent technologies have expanded the way a lesson can be delivered. For example: film strips, pre-recorded audio and video tapes, television programs and podcasts are some ways to deliver or add to a lesson. Distance education techniques such as video conferencing, or electronic learning in a virtual learning environment have allowed interactive lessons to be presented to students who may not be in the same physical location. These tools offer new synchronous, asynchronous and blended ways to deliver lessons.

                                                     Types of lesson

There are different types of lessons. As a teacher, you should be able to know the different types of lesson in order to add variety to the lessons that you will teach. The following are a few types of lesson types: lecture, demonstration, discussion, Guided discovery, or the common presentation methods. Following is a brief description of each of the types of lessons.

(1) The lecture type is used to present a lot of information. The teacher presents information to the students while they listen passively to the teacher. This lesson type is for large classes and is mostly used in tertiary education. (2) The demonstration type is usually done by the teacher. The children observe as the teacher presents. An example in science could be the use of a cow’s heart or eyes to teach the parts of these organs. A film or a pre–recorded video on the heart or functions of the heart can be used. In math, the teacher could use the base ten blocks to teach the place value system. (3) In the discussion model the teacher chooses a topic that could be discussed by the whole class or by small groups. At the end of the lesson, the teacher summarizes the lesson. Teachers can even use a picture or a cartoon for discussion purposes. An example in Social Studies can be “roles of family members” the teacher needs to design questions that are targeting the lesson objective. Examples of questions could be: (1) What is a family? (2) Who does the cooking and washing at home? (3) Is it fair for only mom to do all the work? (4) Who can help with the work at home? (5) Why should all help at home? If students are placed in small groups, the questions can be given to them and they work independently. This type of lesson can also be termed as guided discovery. Students work independently of the teacher to discover information. (4) The presentation models are the most commonly practice lesson type. In this lesson type, the teacher presents information and uses different Instructional aides to help with the clarification of concepts. The teacher is in total control of the lesson and may sometimes ask students questions in order to find out whether the students are learning. Other types of lesson do not require the presence of students. This is called Distance Education. (5) In Distance Education, teaching is done using video conferencing. The video conferencing can be live, whereby students can interact with the lecturer in the virtual classroom. A virtual classroom is an online learning environment that allows for live interactions between the tutor and the learners as they participate in learning activities. Learning can be offered as synchronous learning (students learn the material at the same time, for example attending a lecture), asynchronous learning (students can learn the same material at different times and locations) or/ and blended ways (combining online and face to face learning spaces and experiences).

To conclude I would like to state that the types of lessons provided are not the only ones that exist. There are others that would fall under teacher –centered and learner centered approaches. Either of the approaches is valuable when used appropriately.

Reference Types of Lesson. Retrieved February 04, 2020 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesson

Lesson plan

Teachers and instructors usually have a lesson plan which dictates the structure of the teaching. A group of lessons may be linked together in a unit plan, scheme, or work. The detail of the plan may vary with some being a simple list of what is going to be taught in a lesson with others working including much more detail, such as a time plan and the learning aims and objectives. Student teachers and beginning teachers are usually advised to put a great amount of detail into the written plan. This ensures that the plan will be cohesive, that all the components of a successful lesson are taken care of, and that one has a checklist to ensure that practicalities are taken care of (e.g., resources, scheduling, and classroom management considerations). Furthermore, beginning teachers are often advised to script some sections for themselves, such as questions they might ask the students in order to get a discussion going at the beginning of the lesson. The expectation is that the teachers can and should depart from the script when appropriate; improvisation is definitely encouraged and the fact of having written it out in advance ensures that an adequate amount of thought has been put into it ahead of time. Another reason for including a great amount of detail is that student teachers are often required to submit lesson plans in advance to their mentor teachers or professors in order to receive feedback on their ideas. When creating the lesson plan it is usual to look at the following:

The aims (the broader goals of the lesson, what it is reaching towards)
The objectives (the specific, measurable outcomes of the lesson – the particular skills or knowledge students should have acquired by its conclusion)
The number of attendees and the student-teacher ratio
The previous knowledge of the learners (which may or may not be the same for all) and how this will be activated at the start of the lesson
The motivation of the learners (school students, for example, have no choice but to attend so the teacher must build some kind of motivation into the lesson)
The time required for each section of teaching and learning
The resources required and available
Catering for the different needs (cultural differences, learning styles, special needs) of the individuals
How the lesson is to be evaluated

Etymology

The word lesson comes from Latin lectio "the action of reading (out)". From there, the word was also used for the text itself, very often a passage from the Bible read out during a religious service ("first lesson", "second lesson"). Finally, any portion of a book to be studied was referred to as a lesson.

Types of lesson

Lesson plan

Etymology

See also