[0:10]Hello there. I'm Tyson Seburn and I've been part of the English language teaching profession in different contexts and roles since the late 90s.
[0:22]I began my journey in Soul Korea with a lifelong desire to become a teacher. After my undergraduate degree, going abroad was a very attractive option to start this path. It was a scary, exciting, and steep learning curve from the moment I stepped foot into my first class at the private language school. I was given two course books, a class list, and an opportunity to follow a teacher around to their classes for two days. Then it was my turn to start teaching a class of 20 adult learners. I knew the basics of lesson planning, but not much of the why. Some colleagues said I don't write out anything, I just go with the flow. Others wrote down absolutely everything. There was little consistency and so for me, lesson planning was very time consuming during those first few months.
[1:19]Early on, I spent hours reviewing course books and organizing every minute to feel prepared. Later, I loosened this control, using space on the page only for points to remember after class was over. I didn't fully understand the potential power of lesson plans, but I loved them nonetheless. As time went on, I focused more formally on curriculum and teacher development. I pursued a master's degree in educational technology because it was an area of lesson planning where I lacked theory and background. I took teaching roles and writing projects where I could pursue these interests. I'm a materials writer for entire courses with many teachers who use my materials. I'm a curriculum coordinator who oversees how several courses connect and support each other. I'm a teacher educator who helps all types of teachers find ways to evolve. Through these roles, I've seen a wide variety of lesson planning approaches and observe them in action many times. I've seen how they guide us to successes, but also how they help us reflect on failures. What makes a great lesson plan varies from teacher to teacher and context to context. What is consistent, however, is that lesson plans play an important role in our professional lives as teachers, learners, materials writers, and trainers. In these videos, I'll share five reasons why they are important components throughout our teacher journeys. The first helps us define the relationship between learning outcomes and individual components. In other words, why am I doing this? The second explores how they improve our ability to explain what we do with our learners to others who need to know. The third emphasizes how lesson plans contribute to our preparation, but also value flexibility. The fourth is about how planning can ensure our learners are always at the center of the lesson. In the fifth video, we look at lesson planning as a meaningful teacher development tool in a few specific ways. I hope that each video brings new insight to you, a new appreciation for lesson plans, and confirms the value of what you're already doing.
