Lesson Planning and Schemes of Work Flashcards
6 cards from real PGCE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Lesson Planning and Schemes of Work flashcards as text
What is the purpose of a scheme of work (SoW) in school planning?
Answer: To map out the sequence of learning across a unit or term, linking objectives, content and assessment
A scheme of work provides a structured overview of a unit or term teaching, ensuring coherent progression, coverage of the curriculum and planned assessment points.
When reviewing a scheme of work, a PGCE trainee notices there is no time allocated for retrieval of prior learning. What problem does this indicate?
Answer: Learning is unlikely to be consolidated in long-term memory without regular retrieval practice
Without planned retrieval practice, prior learning is likely to fade; cognitive science shows retrieval strengthens memory traces and is essential for durable learning.
What does 'curriculum intent' mean in the context of Ofsted inspections?
Answer: The rationale for why the curriculum is designed and sequenced as it is, reflecting the school aims and pupils needs
Ofsted defines curriculum intent as the school carefully considered rationale for why the curriculum is structured the way it is, and what it aims to achieve for all pupils.
Why should a scheme of work include formative assessment opportunities throughout, not only summative assessment at the end?
Answer: To allow teachers to identify and address misconceptions while there is still time to adjust teaching
Formative assessment throughout a unit gives teachers actionable information to adapt teaching and address gaps before the unit concludes, improving final outcomes.
A trainee teacher is adapting an existing scheme of work for a class with several EAL pupils. What is the most important consideration?
Answer: Building in language scaffolds (e.g. sentence frames, vocabulary glossaries) alongside subject content
EAL learners need language scaffolds to access subject-specific vocabulary and concepts; these can be embedded into tasks without reducing academic demand for any pupil.
What is the difference between a 'learning objective' and a 'learning outcome' in a scheme of work?
Answer: A learning objective states what will be taught; a learning outcome describes the observable evidence that learning has occurred
While often conflated, objectives describe intended teaching aims and outcomes describe the measurable or observable evidence of pupil achievement.