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Session 3. Modelling and Co-planning
Objective. Model a teaching decision by thinking aloud, run a 30-minute co-planning session that gradually hands control to the beginner, and avoid the traps of copying and taking over.
Many experienced teachers teach well without being able to say why. When a beginner watches, they see a smooth lesson but not the dozens of small decisions behind it. Modelling and co-planning are how a mentor turns skill into something another teacher can learn. This lesson goes deeper than the key ideas: how to prepare a demonstration so it teaches, and how to hand over the planning without leaving the beginner alone.
Key ideas
Why modelling needs words
- A beginner who watches a good lesson sees what the teacher does, but not why. The decisions (why this example first, why that question) are invisible.
- Thinking aloud makes them visible: 'I am choosing a smaller number here because Aziz struggled last time.' Rosenshine's principles of instruction stress modelling and worked examples for the same reason.
- Model small pieces, not whole lessons: a 10-minute opening, a way to give instructions, one explanation of a hard idea.
Before, during, after an open lesson
- Before (5 minutes): tell the beginner what to watch, for example 'Watch how I get silence at the start and how long it takes.' One focus only.
- During: the beginner takes simple notes in two columns, 'what the teacher did' and 'what the pupils did'. No judgement, just facts.
- After (15 minutes): the mentor explains the choices, including what did not go well and what they would change. Showing your own mistakes makes it safe for the beginner to show theirs.
Co-planning in 30 minutes
- Pick one lesson that the beginner will teach next week. Start from the outcome and the check ('What should pupils be able to do at the end? How will we know?'), as in course 5.2.
- Move from 'I do' to 'we do' to 'you do': first the mentor sketches the plan aloud, then you plan the middle together, then the beginner plans the ending alone and you only ask questions.
- End with the beginner saying the plan in their own words in one minute. If they cannot, the plan is too heavy or too much yours.
Traps: copying, perfection, taking over
- Copying: the beginner repeats your lesson exactly and it fails, because their class and style differ. Ask them to change one thing to suit their pupils.
- Perfection: if every demonstration is flawless, the beginner thinks they will never reach this level. Share a lesson that went badly and what you learned.
- Taking over: writing the plan yourself 'to save time' teaches nothing. Plan slower with the beginner; the learning is in the thinking, not in the document.
Handing over the planning
Making a demonstration teach
A demonstration teaches when the beginner knows what to look for. Before the lesson, name one focus: 'Watch what I do in the first two minutes and how I know pupils have understood the instruction.' During the lesson, the beginner writes what the teacher does and what the pupils do. After the lesson, you explain the choices, including what you would change.
Short pieces work best. A ten-minute opening, one way of giving instructions or one explanation of a hard idea is easier to notice and copy than a whole lesson. Rosenshine's principles of instruction recommend models and worked examples because they reduce the load on a learner who is new to a task. Teachers who are new to the job are learners too.
Handing control over step by step
In co-planning, the aim is that the beginner can plan alone next time. Start with 'I do': plan the first part aloud and explain your reasons. Move to 'we do': plan the middle together, and ask questions such as 'What will pupils be doing at this point?' and 'How will we know they got it?' Finish with 'you do': the beginner plans the ending and you only ask questions.
Watch for two risks. If you do too much, the plan is yours and the beginner leaves without the thinking. If you do too little, the beginner is lost. The test is simple: ask them to explain the plan in one minute in their own words. If they stumble, the plan is too heavy or too much yours; simplify it. Over weeks, move the 'you do' part earlier.
Examples from the classroom
Thinking aloud about a start
Scene. In Tashkent, Rustam opens his Grade 6 lesson by holding up a cold glass. Afterwards he tells Dilnoza, who watched, 'I started with something they all know from home, because last time the diagram lost them. I asked what they could see before I named it, to hear their ideas.' Dilnoza writes down the three reasons and asks if she can try the glass idea in Grade 5.
Insight. Saying the reasons out loud makes a skill into something that can be learned and adapted.
Co-planning with a timer
Scene. Jasur and his mentor have 30 minutes to plan a Grade 7 lesson on climate in Fergana. In 10 minutes the mentor plans the opening aloud; in 15 minutes they plan the middle together; in the last 5 minutes Jasur plans an exit question while the mentor only asks questions. Jasur then explains the plan in a minute, stumbles at the middle and they simplify it to two tasks.
Insight. A time split keeps the mentor from taking over and shows exactly where the beginner needs help.
A lesson that went badly
Scene. Mrs Gulnora shows Aziz the notes from a Grade 6 lesson that failed because the kettle took 12 minutes to boil. She tells him what she tried, what went wrong and what she changed: now she shows boiling in a short video or a drawing and lets pupils investigate condensation on a cold glass. Aziz relaxes and shares a failed lesson of his own.
Insight. Sharing mistakes makes it safe for the beginner to bring theirs.
Common pitfalls
- Showing a flawless lesson without explaining any of the choices behind it.
- Asking the beginner to copy your lesson exactly instead of adapting it to their pupils.
- Writing the plan yourself 'to save time', so the beginner learns nothing about planning.
- Modelling too much at once: a whole lesson instead of one small piece.
Think Aloud, Then Co-plan a Lesson
- Trios (5 min): open the Activity Kit and read the SAMPLE textbook page for a Grade 6 natural science lesson on 'Water changes state' and the stated outcome. Decide who is mentor, beginner and observer.
- Trios (10 min): the mentor plans the first 10 minutes of the lesson out loud, using the think-aloud prompts in the Kit ('I am choosing ... because ...'). The beginner notes decisions; the observer counts how many reasons were spoken.
- Trios (20 min): co-plan the rest of the lesson with the co-planning sheet: outcome, check, middle ('we do'), ending ('you do'). The mentor may ask questions only in the last 5 minutes.
- Trios (10 min): the beginner explains the finished plan in one minute. The observer gives two facts: who spoke most, and where control moved from mentor to beginner. Discuss what you would change.
- Second short activity, trios (10 min): list three things a mentor could 'model' besides lessons (for example speaking to a parent, filling in the register, calming a noisy class). For one of them, write the first two think-aloud sentences.
- Alone (5 min): write the school-based task from the Kit.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which of your reasons surprised you when you said them aloud?
- Where did you most want to take over the plan, and what did you do instead?
- What is one thing you could model this week without preparing a lesson?
Reflect
- Think of a colleague who taught you by example. What did you not understand until they explained why?
- How do you feel about showing a lesson that did not go well?
- When did you last plan a lesson with another teacher, and what was different?
Try it tomorrow
- Choose one small piece of your teaching (the first five minutes, giving instructions) and write three reasons you do it that way.
- Co-plan one lesson with a colleague using 'I do, we do, you do' with a 10, 15, 5 minute split.
- Ask the colleague to explain the finished plan in one minute and note where they hesitate.
Further reading and links
Show the thinking, not only the teaching, and hand the planning over step by step.