A comprehensive guide for educators on developing, implementing, and maintaining effective schemes and records of work
An interpretation of the syllabus indicating the amount of work the teacher is likely to cover during a term. (Mtunda and Safuli 1986)
The part of the scheme where the teacher records what he/she has actually accomplished in a particular lesson.
Include details such as class, subject, number of lessons or periods per week, term, year and students' ability.
The teacher records details of all that the pupils learnt during each lesson.
The teacher indicates the success and failures of the lessons taught and plan of action he/she has in future.
Schemes and records of work are written in tabular form and the components form headlines of columns of the table.
The teacher indicates the term's week number and dates of the week.
Intended learning outcomes demonstrating learner's achievement of specific knowledge, concepts, skills, and desirable attitudes.
Content section indicating core elements broken down into teachable topics and subtopics.
All methods that will be used when teaching the content.
List of all resources that will be used when teaching the core element.
List of books and other sources of information used in preparation.
Teacher indicates what has been covered and what students are able to do.
• Indicates degree of success and failure of the lesson
• Explains reasons for failure
• Includes suggestions for improvement on weaknesses
Schemes should reflect the goals and sequence of content to be covered as indicated in the syllabus.
Consider average and individual performance of pupils so work reflects individual differences.
Know the number of periods allocated and consider seasons for practical sessions.
Know the school calendar, especially the number of teaching weeks in a particular term.
Be aware of reference books and ensure teaching aids are available when needed.
Consider what pupils already know so they can learn better and build on existing knowledge.
Help teachers in making lesson plans
Guide teachers to prepare teaching and learning materials well in advance
Provide continuity in work and sequence when a teacher has been posted away
Enable different teachers to coordinate efforts and avoid duplication
Help officials evaluate teacher's work
Remind teachers of work already covered with learners
Help teachers taking over classes know where to begin teaching
Show success and failure of lessons and how to improve
Help school heads and officials check if pupils are really learning
Teachers teach different pupils every year, so schemes must be adapted to different groups of pupils.
Knowledge is not static - new ideas emerge every year and teachers must adjust accordingly.
Allows for improvement of previous year's work and avoids stagnation on the teacher's part.
Annual and school calendar changes require teachers to adjust their planning accordingly.