TM4T Background 4.2 - Planning - Discontinuity

What we are trying to do with this combination of planning methods is to (a) reduce uncertainty – through a mix of high-level and low-level planning and (b) resolve hidden discontinuity – mostly through low-level planning. The idea of uncertainty is straightforward: we are likely to be less anxious if we know what we are going to do; and if an action is imminent, we are likely to be less anxious if we know how we are going to do it.

Discontinuity is a more difficult concept, linked to how we human beings perceive time. This concept is explained below. 

Planning is important in TM4T and we do need to plan in some detail, but we don't want to waste time with unnecessary detail. So: how much detail do we need? From a time-management perspective the answer is 'enough planning to resolve discontinuity'. To illustrate this in practice, let's consider the School Play as an example. Most parents would consider this as an 'event' in both meanings of the word – it is a dot on the timeline, a single occurrence in the annual calendar, as shown below.

The Headteacher and Head of English however, may view it differently; either as a line representing the duration of an activity or as a pair of dots – events – marking the beginning and end of the activity:

These two interpretations of time – either as a dot or as a line – are both legitimate, and reflect different perspectives on what is happening and different needs-to-know regarding the detail of what is going on. In this example, the headteacher needs to know – in January - that someone is going to take responsibility for planning the play. If that person is the Head of English, then she – the Headteacher – need not worry about the intervening months. The Head of English however, needs to monitor and support the activities between January and May, and the line represents the duration of her involvement. This level of detail is adequate for her needs.

If, however, the actual work is delegated to the school's drama teacher, this level of planning is not adequate for his needs. This is because the four month line called 'prepare school play' represents a discontinuous activity. Preparation will take place throughout the four months, but it will certainly not be the only thing going on – a thousand other teaching tasks need to be fitted in. The line represents discontinuous activity as the work on the school play starts and stops throughout that time. The drama teacher needs more detailed planning to remove that discontinuity, and – as far as possible – break the activity down into discrete tasks. An example is shown below (click the image to enlarge).

In this representation, each activity or task involves continuous focus on the school play. These tasks can be integrated into the drama teacher's Yearly Plan.

This example has been used to answer one important question: 'how much detail should I include in my planning?'. From a time-management perspective, the answer is 'enough detail to resolve discontinuity and reduce uncertainty to a comfortable level'. This is clearly a personal decision, and the plan you produce will vary depending on your personal circumstances. The early examples of 'school play' plans were tailored to the perspectives of imaginary school leadership figures. From their perspectives – perspectives of delegation and ongoing support – it was acceptable to have much less detailed plans and still remove discontinuity and uncertainty.

It may occur to you that – applying this principle of surfacing discontinuity and reducing uncertainty – we do not need to plan our lessons very much at all: they are pretty-well continuous events (focused on a single topic with one or two activities) and if we know our topic the uncertainty involved is also low. This observation would be absolutely correct. From a time-management perspective, lessons do not need much planning. We plan them for different reasons: to improve our teaching, to ensure a good classroom experience for our students, and of course to guarantee learning and progress.

This is another key reason why we treat planning-to-teach separately to other planning: we are seeking different benefits from this planning.