A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what students need to learn and how it will be done

effectively during the class time. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop
strategies to obtain feedback on student learning. Having a carefully constructed lesson plan for
each 3-hour lesson allows you to enter the classroom with more confidence and maximizes your
chance of having a meaningful learning experience with your students.

A successful lesson plan addresses and integrates three key components:

• Learning Objectives
• Learning activities
• Assessment to check for student understanding

A lesson plan provides you with a general outline of your teaching goals, learning objectives, and
means to accomplish them, and is by no means exhaustive. A productive lesson is not one in
which everything goes exactly as planned, but one in which both students and instructor learn
from each other. You may refer to an example of a 3 hour lesson plan here.

EFORE CLASS: STEPS FOR PREPARING A LESSON PLAN

Listed below are 6 steps for preparing your lesson plan before your class.

1. Identify the learning objectives

Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for 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 instruction (i.e. topics).
Typically, it is written in a language that is easily understood by students and clearly related to
the program learning outcomes. The table below contains the characteristics of clear learning
objectives:
 Characteristic Description

Clearly stated tasks Free from jargon and complex vocabulary; describe specific and achievable tasks (such as ‘describe’,
‘analyse’ or ‘evaluate’) NOT vague tasks (like ‘appreciate’, ‘understand’ or ‘explore’).

Important learning goals Describe the essential (rather than trivial) learning in the course which a student must achieve.

Achievable Can be achieved within the given period and sufficient resources are available.

Demonstrable and Can be demonstrated in a tangible way; are assessable; achievement and quality of achievement can be
measurable observed.

Fair and equitable All students, including those with disabilities or constraints, have a fair chance of achieving them.

Linked to course and Consider the broader goals - i.e. course, program and institutional goals.
program objectives

The Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (link) is a useful resource for crafting
learning objectives that are demonstrable and measurable.

2. Plan the specific learning activities

When planning learning activities you should consider the types of activities students will need
to engage in, in order to develop the skills and knowledge required to demonstrate effective
learning in the course. Learning activities should be directly related to the learning objectives of
the course, and provide experiences that will enable students to engage in, practice, and gain
feedback on specific progress towards those objectives.

As you plan your learning activities, estimate how much time you will spend on each. Build in
time for extended explanation or discussion, but also be prepared to move on quickly to different
applications or problems, and to identify strategies that check for understanding. Some
questions to think about as you design the learning activities you will use are:

• What will I do to explain the topic?

• What will I do to illustrate the topic in a different way?
• How can I engage students in the topic?
• What are some relevant real-life examples, analogies, or situations that can help students
understand the topic?
• What will students need to do to help them understand the topic better?
Activity Type Learning Description
Activity

Interaction with content Drill and Problem/task is presented to

practice students where they are asked to
provide the answer; may be timed
Students are more likely to retain information presented in or untimed
these ways if they are asked to interact with the material in
some way. Lecture Convey concepts verbally, often
with visual aids (e.g. presentation
slides)

Quiz Exercise to assess the level of

student understanding and
questions can take many forms,
e.g. multiple-choice, short-
structured, essay etc.

Student Oral report where students share

presentation their research on a topic and take
on a position and/or role

Interaction with digital content Game Goal-oriented exercise that

encourages collaboration and/or
Students experiment with decision making, and visualise the competition within a controlled
effects and/or consequences in virtual environments virtual environment

Simulation Replica or representation of a

real-world phenomenon that
enables relationships, contexts,
and concepts to be studied

Interaction with others Debate Verbal activity in which two or

more differing viewpoints on a
Peer relationships, informal support structures, and teacher- subject are presented and argued
student interactions/relationships
Discussion Formal/informal conversation on
a given topic/question where the
instructor facilitates student
sharing of responses to the
questions, and building upon
those responses

Feedback Information provided by the

instructor and/or peer(s)
regarding aspects of one’s
performance or understanding

Guest Feelings, thoughts, ideas and

Speaker experiences specific to a given
topic are shared by an invited
presenter

Problem solving and Critical thinking Case Study Detailed story (true or fictional)
that students analyse in detail to
Presenting students with a problem, scenario, case, challenge identify the underlying principles,
or design issue, which they are then asked to address or deal practices, or lessons it contains
with provides students with opportunities to think about or use
knowledge and information in new and different ways Concept Graphical representation of
Mapping related information in which
 common or shared concepts are Many activities
linked together can be used to
engage
Real-world Planned set of interrelated tasks learners. The
projects to be executed over a fixed period
and within certain cost and other activity types
limitations, either individually or (i.e. what the
collaboratively student is
doing) and their
Reflection Reflection Written records of students’
journal intellectual and emotional examples
The process of reflection starts with the student thinking about reactions to a given topic on a provided below
what they already know and have experienced in relation to regular basis (e.g. weekly after are by no
the topic being explored/learnt. This is followed by analysis of each lesson)
why the student thinks about the topic in the way they do, and means an
what assumptions, attitudes and beliefs they have about, and exhaustive list,
bring to learning about the topic. but will help
you in thinking
through how best to design and deliver high impact learning experiences for your students in a
typical lesson.

It is important that each learning activity in the lesson must be (1) aligned to the lesson’s learning
objectives, (2) meaningfully engage students in active, constructive, authentic, and collaborative
ways, and (3) useful where the student is able to take what they have learnt from engaging with
the activity and use it in another context, or for another purpose.

3. Plan to assess student understanding

Assessments (e.g., tests, papers, problem sets, performances) provide opportunities for students
to demonstrate and practice the knowledge and skills articulated in the learning objectives, and
for instructors to offer targeted feedback that can guide further learning.

Planning for assessment allows you to find out whether your students are learning. It involves
making decisions about:

• the number and type of assessment tasks that will best enable students to demonstrate
learning objectives for the lesson
o Examples of different assessments
o Formative and/or summative

• the criteria and standards that will be used to make assessment judgements
o Rubrics

• student roles in the assessment process

o Self-assessment
o Peer assessment

• the weighting of individual assessment tasks and the method by which individual task
judgements will be combined into a final grade for the course
 o information about how various tasks are to be weighted and combined into an
overall grade must be provided to students
• the provision of feedback
o giving feedback to students on how to improve their learning, as well as giving
feedback to instructors how to refine their teaching

To learn more about designing assessment, click here.

4. Plan to sequence the lesson in an engaging and meaningful manner

Robert Gagne proposed a nine-step process called the events of instruction, which is useful for
planning the sequence of your lesson. Using Gagne’s 9 events in conjunction with Bloom’s
Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (link) aids in designing engaging and meaningful
instruction.

1. Gain attention: Obtain students’ attention so that they will watch and listen while the
instructor presents the learning content.
o Present a story or a problem to be solved
o Utilize ice breaker activities, current news and events, case studies, YouTube
videos, and so on. The objective is to quickly grab student attention and interest
in the topic
 o Utilize technologies such as clickers, and surveys to ask leading questions prior to
lecture, survey opinion, or gain a response to a controversial question
2. Inform learner of objectives: Allow students to organize their thoughts regarding what
they are about to see, hear, and/or do.
o Include learning objectives in lecture slides, the syllabus, and in instructions for
activities, projects and papers
o Describe required performance
o Describe criteria for standard performance
3. Stimulate recall of prior knowledge:
o Help students make sense of new information by relating it to something they
already know or something they have already experienced.
o Recall events from previous lecture, integrate results of activities into the current
topic, and/or relate previous information to the current topic
o Ask students about their understanding of previous concepts

4. Present new content: Utilise a variety of methods including lecture, readings, activities,
projects, multimedia, and others.
o Sequence and chunk the information to avoid cognitive overload
o Blend the information to aid in information recall
o Bloom's Revised Taxonomy can be used to help sequence the lesson by helping
you chunk them into levels of difficulty.
5. Provide guidance: Advise students of strategies to aid them in learning content and of
resources available. With learning guidance, the rate of learning increases because
students are less likely to lose time or become frustrated by basing performance on
incorrect facts or poorly understood concepts.
o Provide instructional support as needed – as scaffolds (cues, hints, prompts) which
can be removed after the student learns the task or content
o Model varied learning strategies – mnemonics, concept mapping, role playing,
visualizing
o Use examples and non-examples

To find out more about scaffolding student learning, click here

6. Practice: Allow students to apply knowledge and skills learned.

o Allow students to apply knowledge in group or individual activities
o Ask deep-learning questions, make reference to what students already know or
have students collaborate with their peers
o Ask students to recite, revisit, or reiterate information they have learned
o Facilitate student elaborations – ask students to elaborate or explain details and
provide more complexity to their responses
7. Provide feedback: Provide immediate feedback of students’ performance to assess and
facilitate learning.
o Consider using group / class level feedback (highlighting common errors, give
examples or models of target performance, show students what you do not want)
 o Consider implementing peer feedback
o Require students to specify how they used feedback in subsequent works
8. Assess performance: To evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional events, test to see
if the expected learning outcomes have been achieved. Performance should be based on
previously stated objectives.
o Utilise a variety of assessment methods including exams/quizzes, written
assignments, projects, and so on.
9. Enhance retention and transfer: Allow students to apply information to personal
contexts. This increases retention by personalising information.
o Provide opportunities for students to relate course work to their personal
experiences
o Provide additional practice

5. Create a realistic timeline

A list of ten learning objectives is not realistic, so narrow down your list 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 of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for
each
• When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you
expect it will take
• Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up
key points
• Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left
• Be flexible – be ready to adjust your lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what
seems to be more productive rather than sticking to your original plan

6. Plan for a lesson closure

Lesson closure provides an opportunity to solidify student learning. Lesson closure is useful for
both instructors and students.

You can use closure to:

• Check for student understanding and inform subsequent instruction (adjust your
teaching accordingly)
• Emphasise key information
• Tie up loose ends
• Correct students’ misunderstandings
 • Preview upcoming topics

Your students will find your closure helpful for:

• Summarizing, reviewing, and demonstrating their understanding of major points

• Consolidating and internalising key information
• Linking lesson ideas to a conceptual framework and/or previously-learned knowledge
• Transferring ideas to new situations

There are several ways in which you can put a closure to the lesson:

• state the main points yourself (“Today we talked about…”)

• ask a student to help you summarize them
• ask all students to write down on a piece of paper what they think were the main points
of the lesson

DURING THE CLASS: PRESENTING YOUR LESSON PLAN

Letting your students know what they will be learning and doing in class will help keep them more
engaged and on track. Providing a meaningful organisation of the class time can help students
not only remember better, but also follow your presentation and understand the rationale
behind the planned learning activities. You can share your lesson plan by writing a brief agenda
on the whiteboard or telling students explicitly what they will be learning and doing in class. Click
on link here for tips and techniques to facilitate an interactive lesson.

AFTER THE CLASS: REFLECTING ON YOUR LESSON PLAN

Take a few minutes after each class to reflect on what worked well and why, and what you could
have done differently. Identifying successful and less successful organization of class time and
activities would make it easier to adjust to the contingencies of the classroom. If needed, revise
the lesson plan.