DESCRIPTIONS OF 2 NOVICE SECONDARY TEACHERS PLANNING

Longitudinal descriptions were made of two novice secondary teachers' instructional planning practices, one in middle school social studies and the other in high school mathematics. These two teachers were foll owed from the student teaching semester through the end of the first y ear of teaching. Data were collected using tape-recorded interviews, q uestionnaires, an analysis of written plans, and think-aloud tape reco rdings of unit, weekly, and daily planning. During student teaching, e ach teacher used the objectives-first Hunter model; in the first year, their decisions focused initially on content and secondly on activiti es. Factors that influenced both teachers' planning included cooperati ng teachers' planning practices, university professors' classes, textb ooks, curriculum guides, and supplemental materials. First-year planni ng concerns included how to resolve philosophical differences with col leagues, determine student grades, manage student behavior, make plans for substitute teachers, and plan efficiently. Social studies seemed to be a subject in which more flexible, audio visually oriented planni ng was possible compared to the sequential nature of math, which neces sitated less flexible, more textbook-bound planning. Planning decision s at the middle school were influenced by the team structure and fluct uations in student mood, whereas the departmental organization and the time required to make separate plans for several different subject pr eparations governed high school planning decisions.