How to Simplify a Lesson Plan? Theory and Practice

The Way of Simplifying a Lesson Plan

A. The definition of a Lesson Plan

    A lesson plan is a urgent part in the teaching and learning activities that should be made by all the teachers, because the lesson plan is a guide for teachers. Acoording to Ginting in Fadillah, Lesson plan is a scenario of learning becoming a guide for teachers to prepare, hold, and evaluate the results of teaching and learning activities. Spratt, Pulverness and Williams (2005) pointed out that lesson plan was a series of course plan which provides direction for a teacher of what kind of materials of study to be taught and how to teach them.  

    There are a lot of different format for lesson plans but all of them have the same core element. The formats of lesson plan mostly are very complex. They not only make the teachers confused, dizzy, and stressful, but also ignore or  leave their main task as teachers. Therefore, the format of lesson plan should be simplified. 

       The meaning of the lesson plan simplified is a lesson plan that just consists of some core elements, namely "One what and One How". 

1. One What

      The meaning of "One What" is What to Teach and Reach should be clear and specific. What to teach means the material of teaching that will be taught, and what to reach means the objectives or specific goals that will be reached. To know and figure out" What to teach and reach" moe clearl and detail we can follow the description or explanation below.

a. What to Teach (Material of Learning)

      The materials of learning in the process of learning is a urgent item that will be taught by the teachers. Therefore, they have to determine and master them beore teaching in advance. Since, the mastery of  learning materials is as qualified teachers in improving  and increasing the students' achievement and success. Gayle states that the qualities and expertise of teachers have agreat impact on students success. The teacher does not  indeed make a huge difference by attending to avariety of high impact strategies and continuing to develop the knowledge, skills, and disposition that make a difference in student learning and achievement. 
   At the Era of "Meredeka Guru", the teachers have great challenges especially in the realm of the quality improvement or enhancement. Therefore, they are expected to have not only experiences, competences, or the expertises, but also inovative, creative and imaginative skills in develping the materials of learning, so that they can bring about the changes of the attitudes, behaviors and accademic skill. to their students.
     Thus, mastery of learning materials in the improvement and ehancement of the education quality in general, or the students' achievement and success in learning, are a must for all of the teachers.  Since, the students will not gain the success in teaching if they don't master the materials. Therefore, the teachers should be able to master and develop the materials of learning more broadly, even they should be able to make a maping of the materials that will be taught or reached in order they deliver the lesson more easily. If the teachers want their students successful to follow the lesson and gain satisfied reasults, so they must be able to deliver the lesson well, satisfiedly and  specifically, not in general, or they can use or apply the approch of mastery teaching and learning.

b. What to Reach (Objectives Of Learning)

      The objective  is a important part in carrying out the process of teaching and learning activities. Since, the teachers of course can't reach what they expect towards the students' success if they don't determine or make the objectives of learning in advance. Learning objectives are also called instructional objectives or performance objectives. They are the statements that describe what students will be able to do once they successfully complete a unit of instruction (Dick, Carey, and Carey, p. 125). A good learning objective is specific, measurable, and clearly stated.The  learning objectives have a very important role in teaching and learning activities; therefor, the teacher must make an ojectives of learning before teaching in order they know  and understand and reach what  they do or want. Besides, the learning objectives also help students focus on what they are expected to learn, and understand how they will be assessed.
     According to Robert Marger (1962), the effects of the process of teachiing and Lerning with out the lesson objective:
1. there is no sound basis for the lesson itself.
2. It is imposible to determine  what has been accomplished
3. It is difficult to organise lessons
     Thus, a learning objective is a description of what the learner must be able to do upon completion of an educational activity. A well-written learning objective outlines the knowledge, skills and/or attitude the learners will gain from the educational activity and does so in a measurable way.
    The verbs used in making the learning objective as described by Blooms, namely:

Sample verbs for leasson objectives

Cognitive Domain

Knowledge	Comprehension	Application	Analysis	Synthesis	Evaluation
Cite	Describe	Apply	Analyze	Arrange	Appraise
Define	Discuss	Assign	Appraise	Assemble	Assess
Give	Explain	Demonstrate	Calculate	Collect	Check
Label	Express	Dramatize	Categorize	Combine	Choose
List	Identify	Employ	Compare	Compose	Compare
Match	Locate	Illustrate	Contract	Conclude	Critique
Name	Recognize	Interpret	Criticize	Construct	Decide On/To
Recall	Report	Operate	Debate	Create	Discriminate
Record	Restate	Practice	Diagram	Design	Estimate
Relate	Review	Schedule	Differentiate	Determine	Evaluate
Select	Tell	Shop	Distinguish	Diagnose	Grade
State	Translate	Sketch	Examine	Differentiate	Inspect
Tell		Use	Experiment	Dissect	Judge
Underline			Inspect	Examine	Measure
Write			Inventory	Formulate	Monitor
			Question	Manage	Rank/Rate
			Relate	Organize	Research
			Solve	Plan	Review
			Test	Prepare	Revise
				Propose	Score
				Refute	Select
				Set Up	Value

2. How to Teach and Assess.

     How to teach means the ways or Stages conducted by the teacher in delivering the materials. Meanwhile, How to assess means an evaluation used by the teacher to measure the levels of mastery or success of the students in learning, and the success or failure of the teacher in teaching. To know and understand the meaning of  "how to teach and assess" we can read the following explanation.

a. How To Teach 

      At the era of " merdeka Guru", the process of learning activities is summitted and developed by the teachers. The teachers can determine the steps that they want to do, like choose method, model, or the other activities. Therefore, they should comprehen and know how to teach and deliver the learning materialls well. Since, the success of the process of teaching and learning activities depends on the qualified teachers that is the teachers who have comtence, experience, skills. Besides, the qualified teachers also should be able to urge and motive the students to learn so that the students can gain the students' satisfied achievement. 
     Gayle H. Gregory states that the qualities and expertise of teachers have agreat impact on students success. The teacher does not  indeed make a huge difference by attending to avariety of high impact strategies and continuing to develop the knowledge, skills, and disposition that make a difference in student learning and achievement. 
     As the qualified and profesional teachers, There are some items that should be noitced and concidered, that is the teachers should be able to create effective learning.  The effective learning at least there is three points, namely, the use of time as good as possible, the effectiveness of process of teaching and learning activities from beginning until ending, and the last point the satiesfied results of teaching and learning.
       Thus, the way and stages of teaching and learning that should be conducted by the teachers well, namely the teachers should master the learning materils, manage the classroom well, make a lesson plan, to be innovative and inspirative for the students, and the last one is to be good listers for their students.

b. How to Assess/Evaluate

   The success of teaching and learning activities cannot be proved  without assessment, because the assessment is as a tool of measurement used to know the success or failure of the students and teachers in teaching and learning. 
      The posisition of assessment ind the process of teachin ad learning is very urgent, because by the assessment the teachers not just to measure or know the success or the failure, but also to enhance and students Learning and the studets' achievement. Kohrn states that if you want to change your studets learning, change your assessment system.
    Therefore, the teachers should be optimistic to their students competence that all the students are good and clever; athough,  they have diverse ability when conducting the test or task. Dweck identified the two basic mindset, fixed mindset and growth mindset. The teacher with a fixed mindset tend to label students based on their assumptions about how smart they think they are; they expect and foster succes for some students and hold lower expectations and offer lessser and mediocre task for others. Whereas,  the teacher with a growth mindset invest time and effort in their students and give students opportuniities to try, redo, and choose alternate approaches until they are successful.
     The changes of the students in the improvement and enhancement of learning will not occure without the great desires of the teachers to change themselves. Rizal et al states the teachers quality is determind by their own desires in improving and enhancing their quality in advance.
Alloh/God states in the Quran:

إن الله لا يغير ما بقوم حتى يغيرا ما بأ نفسهم

Sesungguhnya Alloh tidak merubah keadaan sesuatu kaum sehingga merobah keadaan yang ada pada diri mereka sendiri

     Thus, one of the alternative ways to change the student learning is by the assessment system, since the assessment is  an instrument can be used to improve and encrease the student learning and achievement. Therefore, the teachers should alter thheir assessment system if they want to change their student learning.

B. The Format for a Lesson Plan Simplified 

A LESSON PLAN

School             : ..... Topic                : .............................. Sub-Topic        : ...........................		Grade                 : .......... Semester            : ...... Date &Time         : .......
Objectives ( To make the learning objectives, please have a look at the verbs expressed by Bloom above, and use operational verbs)
At the of the lesson the students are expected to be able to : 1. 2. 3.
Procedure/ Learning Activities
Introduction
The Stages	The description of Learning Activities
Stage 1: Observing	Activity 1
	Activity 2
Stage 2 Questioning	Activity 1
	Activity 2
Stage 3 Experimenting	Activity 1
	Activity 2
Stage 4 Associating	Activity 1
	Activity 2
Stage 5 Communicating	Activity 1
	Activity 2
Assessment
Assessment	1. Test (written and oral Test )
	2. Podtofolio
	3. etc.

                                                              

Note:

     1.. The teachers can place  the stages suitable with their needs, like stage number 2

    becomes number one, etc, the number of Stages used based on the needs. The teachers may use

    two, three or five stagies

     2. The teachers can use one, two or three activities, depends the kinds of activities will be conducted.

     3. Making the the question should suit with the Learning Objectives and Proses of Learning activities.      If you make the learning  objectives with C4,C5,C6, and apply “HOTS” in teaching and learning        Activities, so the forms of the question must use “HOTS”.