Lesson planning issues in off-campus teaching practice: Teacher-trainees’ perspectives

Abstract

This thesis explores teacher-trainees’ opinions about the issues of lesson planning and lesson supervision in OFCTP. The study is a descriptive survey that employed the mixed methods approach and collected data through document analysis and the use of a questionnaire. Through quota sampling technique, a sample size of 285 was selected from 449 UCC Level-400 teacher-trainees who engaged in the 2013 OFCTP in Zone 1A. The study showed that teacher-trainees were most confident of their ability to prepare most of the aspects of the lesson plan except in some few but very essential areas. Despite the multiple lesson planning and supervision challenges that trainees faced, they held in high esteem, the importance of lesson planning. Among the misgivings that teacher-trainees had about OFCTP lesson assessment and supervision were the contradictory suggestions from supervisors and the subjectivity associated with lesson assessment and the grades awarded. It is concluded that though trainees had high confidence in lesson planning, the challenges they faced did not allow them to demonstrate their high-rated confidence in lesson plan preparation; OFCTP stifled the teacher-trainees’ sovereignty, ingenuity and professionalism in lesson planning and teaching; trainees have mixed feelings about the worth of supervisors’ directives on lesson planning. In view of these, methods lecturers are encouraged to hammer the essential areas of lesson planning this study found to be challenging for trainees. The TPU should engage only dedicated supervisors in the OFCTP supervision. Supervisors should be entreated to adhere to the guidelines meant to streamline the OFCTP lesson assessment and supervision as proposed by the TPU prior to every OFCTP supervision.