Lesson-planning is an important practice as you prepare for class sessions. Whether you teach in person, remotely, or a mix of both, students notice careful consideration of time, engagement, and adherence to course learning objectives. These tips associate with the Backward Design process for courses. In particular, lesson-planning is an important part of mapping course learning objectives to evidence of learning and the design of the learning environment (e.g. classroom, learning management system, and other points of contact).
MSHE instructors Peggy Burke and Stephanie Brehm contributed to these tips on lesson planning. Contact Chris Neary about how any tips apply to your course or if you want to add ideas!
Consider the following when planning your lesson
- What are your learning goals and objectives for this lesson?
- How will activities help students attain their learning goals?
- Pay attention to class size. Smaller classes require students to prepare more for discussion, whereas larger classes inspire breakout-group activity then full-class debrief.
- Be intentional about timeframes
- Devote more time to covering concepts of greater importance or that are more complex
- What learning is more effective with my guidance?
- What learning is more effective as they converse with one another?
- When teaching remotely, components typically must be briefer to accommodate shorter attention spans remotely.
- What experiences and narratives do students bring to the planned topics and day?
- Use asynchronous discussions to inspire topics to talk about during class. Identify what resonates with students, or expand on a notable insight a student provides in the asynchronous discussion.
Engagement techniques in class
- One great conversation-starter is that each student prepares one discussion question each week.
- Consider a student to serve as a discussion leader.
- In breakout groups, develop questions for discussion. Share in full group to spark class conversations.
- Ask students to think and write silently for 1 minute (or 5 minutes if you want a deeper perspective) questions, insights, or ideas to spark full-class conversation.