SCHEMES AND RECORDS OF WORK

1. SCHEMES OF WORK AND
RECORDS OF WORK
MKANTHAMA PRIMARY TEACHERS CPD TRAINING (14TH February,
2020) AT BFM OFFICES IN LILONGWE
By Robert L. Mhango (EDO)
Email: roljmhango@gmail.com
Phone: +265 882 109 081/ 992 608 790

2. The Syllabus
What is a syllabus?
It is an outline of topics or concepts for a subject to be
covered in a specified period of time in a class (Mtunda
& Safuli, 1986). Syllabus designs vary dependent on the
education system in practice.
Types of Syllabi
• Examination Syllabus
• Teaching Syllabus

3. The Teaching Syllabus
• The teaching syllabus is one that teachers use to prepare
lessons.
Elements of a teaching syllabus:
• A statement of the general aims of teaching the subject.
• A statement of specific objectives or intended learning
outcomes.
• A statement of entry skills or requirements needed by
pupils in order to learn the subject.
• A statement of topics or concepts in logical order
• A description of suggested teaching/learning aids
• A description of suggested teacher/pupil activities
• A list of reference books

4. Functions of the Syllabi
• It’s a means through which the government controls
equity in education provided in schools so that all pupils
receive the same education.
• It’s a guide that enables teachers prepare good schemes
of work which lead to effective lesson preparation and
successful teaching.
• Syllabi allow school authorities to check whether the
desired standards are reached.
• Syllabi help in limiting the scope of examinations. Those
responsible for setting summative assessments base
their questions on the content of each syllabus.

5. Schemes & Records of work
Schemes of Work:
• The interpretation of the syllabus indicating the amount of
ground the teacher is likely to cover during a term (Mtunda &
Safuli, 1986).
• The schemes of work is the teacher’s translation of what is
outlined in the syllabus into teachable units (Dodd, 1970). For
effective teaching & learning;
- The scheme shows the topics or concepts to be covered
(scope); &
- The order in which they are to be covered (sequence) &
- The estimated time to be spent on each topic
Therefore; the teacher prepares a scheme of work for the
subjects s/he is to teach before the school session begins.
Always make sure that the work is presented in the order that
promotes the pupils’ understanding.

6. Components of Schemes & Records of Work
in Malawi
• Preliminary details called the ‘Preamble’ these are details such as:
Class, subject, Number of lessons (periods) per week, term or year.
• Main body of scheme of work. This has four sections i.e. headed:
week number and dates; success criteria; work planned; methods &
references. This layout is the same for all subjects.
Components of the Records of work:
This section has two main components:
• Work actually covered/Done: under this section, the teacher gives
details of all that the pupils learnt during each lesson. The details
include;
-All the knew knowledge covered,
-The processes the learners went through
-The skills the learners have achieved at the end of each lesson

7. Remarks
Under remarks, the teacher records:
• The Successes,
• The failures of his/her lesson, and
• The plan of action to be taken for failed lessons
• An explanation on why you were unable to complete a
lesson
The above information is taken from the ‘self evaluation’ &
the ‘lesson evaluation’ a teacher carries out each time s/he
completes delivering a lesson (this component will be
looked into during lesson planning).

8. Factors to Consider When writing Schemes
of Work
• The syllabus
• Class ability
• Teaching Materials
• Pupils’ previous experiences
• Time
• School Calendar
• Annual calendar

9. Importance of Schemes of Work
1. A schemes of work (work plan) guides teaching and
hence learning. It comprises of sequentially arranged
topics. The teacher finds it easy to prepare lessons,
making the task of learning more meaningful. Unlike if
there were no schemes of work.
2. Since a scheme is prepared in advance, the teacher has
more time to plan, select and develop those
experiences that may require more time and attention.
3. The preparation of a scheme of work enable the head
teacher & other education authorities (education
advisors) to check the quality of learning in schools
4. It provides continuity sequence in the learning process. Due to
frequent transfers of teachers in some countries, a class can
be taught by several teachers, therefore the new teacher finds
teaching easy if a scheme of work is available.

10. Importance of Schemes of Work Cont’d
5. Teachers of different subjects are able to
coordinate (through consultations and co- planning)
their efforts if schemes of work are available. E.g., a
common topic in geography and agriculture can easily be
handled under one subject area to curb redundancy.
6. A scheme of work will also enable teachers
plan work that addresses learners according to
their needs relative to cultural differences to
ensure equity E.g. Rural versus urban children.
NB: Schemes should be revised every year to adapt it to the
different groups of pupils. Experience may also inform the
teacher on where and how to make improvements.
Remember, knowledge is not static! (Mtunda & Safuli,
1986, p.19)

11. Functions of Records of Work
1. It provides the ministries of education with a means of checking
what is going on in schools in terms of what the students are
learning.
2. It is also a means of accountability. Every teacher is answerable to
the government and society at large. It is evidence that the
intended learning is actually taking place in schools. Hence records
of work protect teachers from criticisms and embarrassments by
government and society.
3. RoW help to remind the teacher what s/he has already covered
with the class.
4. In case of transfers or change, the successor knows how far the
work in the scheme has been covered. It is therefore imperative
that the teacher on posting hands over the schemes & records of
work to the head teacher before leaving. Remember, these
documents are a property of the school.
5. Records of work show the different stages of the work covered and
time spent on each lesson. Hence it is a source of valuable
information for the teacher for reference in the proceeding year.

12. SAMPLE SCHEMES OF WORK
• Refer to sample schemes of work to consolidate elements covered
today on schemes of work.

13. SCHEMES OF WORK ASSIGNMENT
• Develop a simple scheme of work on the two sheets given just for one
week in your group of three by using the teacher’s guide that you are
having. The assignment for 1 hour (11:00am to 12:00 noon)

14. SCHEMES OF WORK REVISION
Together we swim or sink

15. SCHEMES OF WORK, LESSON
PLAN AND RECORDS OF WORK
• As said, schemes of work is generated from the syllabi and reference
books (Teacher’s guide, learner’s book, etc).
• Lessons are planned using the schemes of work that week and they
break the content further into teachable activities within the period.
• After teaching a lesson, the teacher evaluates the lesson and provide
their judgement on what transpired. This guides them next course of
actions.
• The evaluations of all the lessons in that week inform the teachers
whether the lessons were successful or not. Then they guide them
what to be next in the following week.

16. SAMPLE OF RECORDS OF WORK
• Refer to sample records of work to consolidate elements covered
today.
• Assume that you taught this week and use the sheet to evaluate
what transpired. One sheet positive, the other negative.

17. REVISING TOGETHER THE RECORDS OF WORK
EDO,,,,,,

18. THE END
Any Question
Goodbye