Episode 29: Do Teachers Still Need Lesson Plans? | The Edu20/20 Podcast
The Edu20/20 Podcast
September 15, 2026
With high-quality instructional materials doing much of the heavy lifting, do teachers still need to lesson plan? Yes, but that doesn't mean spending hours creating detailed plans no one ever looks at.rnrnIn this episode, Courtney and Shannon break down how teachers and school leaders can simplify lesson planning by focusing on the planning moves that actually impact instruction and create accountability without turning lesson plans into another compliance task.
rnrnWith high-quality instructional materials doing much of the heavy lifting, do teachers still need to lesson plan? Yes, but that doesn’t mean spending hours creating detailed plans no one ever looks at.rnrnIn this episode, Courtney and Shannon break down how teachers and school leaders can simplify lesson planning by focusing on the planning moves that actually impact instruction and create accountability without turning lesson plans into another compliance task.rnrnTimestampsrn00:00 The lesson planning debatern01:48 Do teachers still need lesson plans with HQIM?rn03:14 Why teachers still need to plan before teachingrn05:36 Should leaders require lesson plans?rn06:53 How to simplify lesson planningrn07:40 The Big Four lesson planning movesrn09:02 Leaders: Model your lesson planning expectationsrn10:42 How to monitor lesson plans without checking every onern13:05 Building a manageable lesson planning systemrn15:06 Explain the u0022whyu0022 behind your expectationsrn16:31 What nearly 400 classroom observations taught us
