A Study of Teacher Planning

and the variety of instructional materials available, the emphasis on meeting objectives of the school or the district, and the wide range of student aptitudes to be found in most classrooms (1). Recently, it has become popular to describe teachers as problem-solvers and decision-makers (2, 3). Indeed, many educational researchers have contended that the most important teaching skill is decision-making (4). One consequence of this view is the temptation to portray the teacher as a rational information-processor who is continually making diagnoses, testing hypotheses, and making decisions. This notion of teaching may describe some moments of teaching better than others; and the moments that the model describes may be few and far between, for the teacher may seldom have opportunities for logical, rational behavior in the classroom. The swift pace and the immediacy of the teacher's interactions with pupils often preclude the rational, purposeful thinking that is normally associated with problem-solving and decision-making (5). To understand teaching as a purposeful, reflective activity, it is necessary to look at those times when thoughtful behavior is most likely to occur. The description of the teacher as problem-solver and decisionmaker may be most appropriate during the preactive phase of teaching (6). Preac-