A lesson plan is the roadmap to show the teacher how to effectively begin a teaching session. Then, to get feedback on student learning, he or she can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies . Having a lesson plan allows you to enter the classroom with more confidence and maximizes your chances of having a meaningful learning experience with your students.
A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates three key elements:
A lesson plan gives you a general overview of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and ways to achieve them, and is by no means exhaustive. A productive lesson is not one in which everything goes eactly as planned, but one in which students and instructor learn from each other.
1. Identify learning objectives
Before planning your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives of the lesson. A learning objective describes what the learner will know or be able to do after the learning experience rather than what the learner will be exposed to during the learning. Typically, it is written in language that is easily understood by students and clearly linked to the learning outcomes of the curriculum. The table below contains the characteristics of clear learning objectives following Bloom’s taxonomy :
2. Plan specific learning activities
When planning learning activities, you should consider the types of activities that students will need to engage in in order to develop the skills and knowledge needed to demonstrate effective learning in the course. Learning activities should be directly related to the course learning objectives and provide experiences that will allow students to engage, practice, and obtain feedback on specific progress toward those objectives.
As you plan your learning activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each one. Allow time for in-depth explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move quickly to different applications or problems and identify strategies that check for understanding. Here are some questions to think about as you design the learning activities you will use:
3. Plan to assess student understanding
Assessments provide opportunities for students to demonstrate and practice the knowledge and skills outlined in learning objectives, and for instructors to provide targeted feedback that can guide further learning.
Planning for assessment helps you know whether your students are learning. This involves making decisions about:
the weighting of individual assessment tasks and the method by which individual task judgments will be combined into a final grade for the course
providing feedback: giving feedback to students on how to improve their learning, as well as feedback to instructors on how to refine their teaching
4. Create a realistic timeline
A list of ten learning objectives is unrealistic, so narrow your list down to the two or three key concepts, ideas, or skills you want students to learn in the lesson. Your list of prioritized learning objectives will help you make decisions on the spot and adjust your lesson plan as needed. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline:
Estimate how much time each activity will take, then allow extra time for each.
When preparing your lesson plan, next to each activity, indicate how much time you expect it to take.
Allow a few minutes at the end of the lesson to answer any remaining questions and summarize key points.
Plan an additional activity or discussion question in case you have time left
Be flexible – be prepared to adapt your lesson plan to suit students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan
5. Plan the closing of a lesson
Closing the lesson provides an opportunity to solidify student learning. Closing the lesson is useful for both instructors and students.
