Library Educational Services

Planning a instruction session involves:

• Creating learning outcomes that will help you plan your instruction and assessment (Learning Outcomes)
• Thinking about the design of your class including the instruction and assessment (Instructional Design)
• Crafting the actual layout of the class itself (Nine Events of Instruction, below).

This is one method of structuring the design of a lesson plan.

1. Gaining attention
   • Help learners focus on the course and it needs to relate to the course.
   • Example: playing a 1 minute or less video on the topic; having a demonstration modeling the task to be learned
2. Direction
   • Explain or present learning objectives for the class.
3. Recall
   • Prime the learners for the new material.
   • Example: make sure everyone's technology is up and working properly; a question or discussion that builds the foundation for the information to follow.
4. Content (presentation of new material)
   • Content is the intro to Application feedback Levels 1-3. Together these four elements are the core mechanism for supporting retention and transfer of new material into long-term memory.
   • Presenting new material in a way that ensures that learners meet the learning objectives.
   • This can be taught any way you'd like.
5. Application feedback - Level 1 (guided learning)
   • Participation.
   • At this stage learner and teacher share equally in the process. (50:50 ratio)
   • Example: a large group discussion that involves working through a problem or discussing a concept.
6. Application feedback - Level 2 (eliciting performance)
   • Active learning, interactivity.
   • At this stage the learner takes on more responsibility. (70:30 ratio)
   • Learners are largely on their own and receiving feedback from peers and the teacher.
   • Example: Small-group or pair activities.
7. Application feedback - Level 3 (feedback)
   • Responsibility shifts to the learner with the instructor observing and answering questions or correcting errors when necessary but not leading the process. (90:10 ratio)
8. Evaluation (assessment)
   • A check-off that ensures the learner has met the learning objectives.
   • Every objective has to be evaluated or it isn't worth having as an objective.
   • Needs to be more than simple feedback (i.e., steps 5-7) to the learner.
   • Example: an exam, a graded worksheet.
9. Closure (retention and enhancing transfer)
   • Review the learning objectives and provide a recap.
   • Provide information about any additional courses to follow (e.g., if you are presenting in multiple sessions)
   • Generalizing information about the knowledge, skills, or abilities provided in the class (e.g., IL skills for more than this class but for any class)
   • Synthesizing or finding ways to change the context of the learners' knowledge, skills, and abilities. This helps learners find application of the learning objectives in a different frame of reference.

Source: Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction - FMI: https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/conditions-learning/ 

There are many lesson plan templates available. Choose what works best for you.