In an effort to help teachers facing problems with low performing students, the state of Rhode Island has placed step by step lesson plans on a Web site available to teachers and everyone else. The article on boston.com also explains that using the plans is voluntary.
The materials include more than 70 lesson plans, teacher goals, digital video recordings of teachers in action, practice problems and multiple examples of student work.
The lesson plans aren't mandatory, but they parallel statewide standards in reading, mathematics and writing. Education authorities said science, civics and state history curriculums will also be posted in the next two years.
Some parents are concerned that the plans could encourage teachers to teach to the test. If the plans are based on what students are expected to know, wouldn't that be a logical conclusion? When you take a college course, don't you expect to be tested over that material instead of something else?
Teachers have to deal with so much more than lesson plans. It's not surprising that education officials see this as a way to solve testing problems. Of course, this is not a new concept. School districts often have lesson plans suggested for teacher use. I have attempted to use lesson plans designed by others but usually found that they didn't work with my teaching style. Dealing with behavior problems and students not wanting to learn are much bigger problems than finding or creating outstanding lesson plans.