On the 6^th of December, Morocco broke millions of Spanish hearts by defending with all of theirs and knocked the Spanish national team out of the World Cup in Qatar on penalty shoot-out. At the time of writing, they have also ended the lofty ambition of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo in the quarter-finals and marched into semi-finals as the first African country to do so in the history of the competition. The minnows from understands their standing in world football, accepts themselves for who they are and formulates a plan that plays to their strengths.

The fairytale of Morocco, and many other teams that achieved heights beyond imagination, highlights the importance of planning. As the saying goes, a good plan is half the battle won. For teachers, planning happens before a lesson starts. It may even begin as early as the end of the previous lesson, when the little cogs in the teacher’s mind start whirring and spinning to identify the areas to improve on from that lesson, especially at the end of a particularly unfruitful session. It is a crucial period that can determine the success of a lesson.

When we plan, we think. While a lot of attention goes to execution, the thinking process that precedes all the action deserves credit as well. During planning, teachers can reflect on their own teaching style and preferences, weaknesses and strengths as well as their students’ learning styles and different levels of aptitude. Teaching is not as simple as walking into a classroom and delivering a lesson; without the successful transfer of knowledge or skill, the students could’ve been watching a less interesting version of a Charlie Chaplin movie for all it’s worth.

So, what should teachers do when they plan? Firstly, the objective of the lesson should be identified. While it may be quite straightforward as “win the match” for a football manager or coach, it is a little more varied for a teacher depending on the context of the lesson. A speaking lesson’s focus can be on responding appropriately to a question in a restaurant, or a teacher might want to practise on making enquiries and requests at a train station. A clear objective can dictate what needs to go into a lesson and the teacher’s role in making it a success.

Next is the means to achieve the objective. A lot of factors need to be taken into consideration here, and teachers have to make smart choices based on what they themselves can offer as a knowledge-giver and facilitator in the classroom as well as what the students need and are prepared to receive in the classroom. For example, a teacher or group of students who are not very adept at computer skills might not benefit greatly from extensive use of writing software to teach writing. In fact, the endeavour might even be counterproductive as a lot of time could be wasted just on figuring out how to work with the technology. Everyone has their own particular skill set, and teachers must be aware of who they are as individuals and educators before shoehorning themselves into situations where they cannot be as effective. 

As Morocco can attest, there are more than one way to play the beautiful game; the same can also be said for teaching and learning. There is no one-size-fit-all method when it comes to education; there’s only what works, and planning is half, if not more, the battle won in the classroom.

Written by Wong Vincent