Comparison of a More Effective and a Typical Teachers’ Lesson Plan Detail

SAKARYA UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION Original Research Received: 20.09.2020 Published: 30.04.2021 Doi: 10.19126/suje.797461 Accepted: 08.03.2021 April 2021• 11(1) • 83-100 Comparison of a more Effective and a Typical Teachers’ Lesson Plan Detail in the Psychological Engagement of Students Fatima Zehra ALLAHVERDİ* Lynn GELZHEİSER** Abstract. The reasons for teacher success variability are not well understood. One possible reason for teacher variance might be their lesson planning. A case study methodology was utilized. The study asked if teacher engaged reader (comprehension) lesson plan explicitness was related to differences in student outcomes by comparing teachers. The data was part of a larger study. One of the factors that differentiated the above-average gain teacher from the typical teacher was the extent to which the teacher planned to address all three of the engaged reader processes. The above-average gain teacher wrote more detailed plans and planned on teaching the engaged reader processes in a way that better aligned with the guidance provided by the intervention. Keywords: Lesson Plan Analysis, Comprehension, Teacher Comparison, Engaged Reader. * Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789, Assist. Prof. Dr., Social Sciences University of Ankara, Turkey, ** Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7009-2487, Assoc. Prof. Dr., University at Albany State University of New York, USA, Allahverdi, F. Z., & Gelzheiser, L. (2021). Comparison of a more effective and a typical teachers’ lesson plan detail in the psychological engagement of students, Sakarya University Journal Education, doi: 20** Cilt / of Volume : * • Sayı11(1), / Issue :83-100. * • Ay / Month https://doi.org/10.19126/suje.797461 83 Fatima Zehra ALLAHVERDİ, Lynn GELZHEİSER 1. INTRODUCTION In primary school, teachers start with teaching reading strategies such as decoding to teach students how to read the material. The main goal of reading is for students to comprehend the text. In their meta-analysis Kim et al.’s (2012) state that reading comprehension is the highest level of the reading components. ‘Development of literacy in children is hinged on reading comprehension’ (Migyanka et al., 2005, p.172). Therefore, the teaching of comprehension strategies is especially important for students with poor comprehension skills since the use of comprehension strategies have been shown to increase comprehension scores (Ghorbani et al., 2013). Ghorbani et al. (2013) discuss the importance of the integration of multiple strategies. Strategies when used together help ‘learners construct meaning from text and monitor their reading’, thus assisting readers to make sense of their reading instead of ‘wander[ing] off’ (Ghorbani, et al., 2013, p. 3). Therefore, this study addresses multiple strategies, specifically predicting, purpose setting, questioning. Predicting, Purpose Setting, and Questioning Predicting, purpose setting, and questioning were selected for this study because these strategies can be used interchangeably based on personal preference. Moreover, to the best of the researcher's knowledge, this is the first study to examine the lesson planning of all three strategies together. Predicting, purpose setting, and questioning are effective comprehension strategies that assist students and lead to an increase in comprehension scores (Guthrie et al., 2007; Mason, 2004; Ness, 2011). The current study refers to these strategies as engaged reader processes since they are purposeful processes that facilitate interaction with the text, which is a component of reading engagement (Guthrie et al., 2007; Townsend & Boynton, 2013). Other Comprehension Factors Alongside the importance of comprehension strategies, comprehension is also facilitated by many other factors. Previous research indicates that comprehension involves a reader’s prior knowledge (Duke et al., 2011; Pardo, 2004) and ‘…is an active, constructive process that occurs before, during, and after reading…[a] particular selection’ as defined by Mitchell (2006, p.66). Text comprehension is highly interactive (Kintsch, 2005; Yaqoob, 2020). The current study defined the interactive nature of comprehension utilizing the following variables in Table 1. All of the selected variables assist students with the use of engaged reader processes and were therefore utilized to examine teacher lesson plans. For instance, if students were to make predictions, they would utilize the author's clues and their previous background knowledge and the title of the story to make a prediction. Throughout, they would remind themselves that reading is thinking to continue to look for clues while reading. They would also share their thinking with their peers to facilitate a discussion. If instead, students were to read a non-fiction text, they would use their knowledge of the genre and determine that the text is non-fiction, and therefore, prefer to ask a question or set a purpose rather than make a prediction. Volume : 11 • Issue : 1 • April 2021 84 Comparison of a more Effective and a Typical Teachers’ Lesson Plan Detail in the Psychological… Teacher Instruction Students are more likely to acquire comprehension strategies if teachers are explicit in their teaching (Kymes, 2005; Morrow, 2011). Moreover, there is much research about the significance of modeling, and scaffolding in comprehension development (Palinscar & Brown, 1984; Stone, 1998; Watson, et al., 2012). However, research indicates that teachers may take several years before they learn to provide explicit instruction, model, provide guided practice, and create a focused study (Almasi & Fullerton, 2012). The quality of teacher instruction and support can vary by teachers with some progressing quicker than others in developing effective strategy teaching methods (Almasi & Fullerton, 2012; Duffy, 1993). The reasons for teacher variability are not well understood. One possible reason for teacher variance might be their lesson planning. This study asked if teacher engaged reader lesson plan explicitness was related to differences in student outcomes by comparing two teachers, utilizing data from a larger study. One teacher had a greater proportion of her students making gains, while the other teacher’s students made gains that were typical in the larger study. Teacher Preparation ‘Lesson planning is a complex and an expected task of teaching’ (Parker et al., p.287). Teachers use lesson plans as a guide to structuring their class time. Lesson planning ‘exposes teachers’ beliefs, understandings, and orientations’ about the subject concerned (Baecher et al., 2014, p.120). Planning ahead of the class and preparing detailed lesson plans is important, especially for novice teachers who newly experience explicit instruction, modelling, guided practice, and scaffolding. Researchers found that when pre-service teachers were given opportunities to practice lesson planning and were given a chance to utilize the l (...truncated)