How to Analyze Routines in Teachers' Thinking Processes during Lesson Planning.

A justification for the study of teachers' routines, as they affect the preparation of lesson plans, prefaces this paper on teachers' thought processes during lesson planning. In focusing on the importance of research into teachers' routines, it is pointed out that lesson preparation and classroom routines permit teachers to direct attention to special difficulties encountered by students. It is noted that routines also provide clues to teachers' information processing methods and to teachers' ways of solving problems. The nature of routine activities and the sequential steps followed by teachers in making lesson plans and classroom decisions are considered along with psychological studies in this area. A report is presented of a study of teachers' perceptions of their lesson planning and routine planning activities. Questions addressed involved: (1) classroom issues or problems that teachers treat in the classroom and that do not require planning; (2) classroom issues or problems that are factually treated or at least mentioned during lesson planning; and (3) classroom issues or problems that are considered during lesson planning. In an analysis of the study's results, it is noted that experienced teachers differed from novice teachers in that their knowledge permitted them to predict classroom conditions and execute lesson plans in one step rather than in a series of sequential decisions. (JD)