The following material is based on the UCLA Office of Instructional Development Workbook titled "Planning a Class Session: A Guide for New Teachers." The salient parts of this workbook are reproduced on this web page. If you would like a more complete version of the workbook, including space for writing notes and answering questions, you can download a copy in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format.
Planning a Class Session: A Guide for New Teachers
What do I need to do to prepare for class?
How can I be sure I reach my students?
What's the best way to organize information I feel is important?
How can I get the students involved in the material?
How can I make sure they understand it?
What problems am I likely to encounter?
What can I do about it?
How can I be sure I reach my students?
What's the best way to organize information I feel is important?
How can I get the students involved in the material?
How can I make sure they understand it?
What problems am I likely to encounter?
What can I do about it?
Entering a classroom without planning what you want to accomplish is like heading cross country without a map. You can do it, but it is rarely a very efficient way to travel. Faculty do indeed report that they enjoy teaching most when they are well prepared, although the vast majority of them begin their teaching careers without a clear idea of how to plan a class session effectively. Accordingly, the following groups of questions were designed to help you prepare for the class sessions you will teach. As you proceed through the following pages, keep in mind that certain kinds of information and strategies are fundamental to all successful teaching plans. The questions that follow are offered only as an aid to locating and identifying the information that will be most useful in your own planning process.
The Big Picture
A bird' s-eye-view of the terrain you are about to cover is always helpful. Subsequent planning activities will depend to a considerable extent on how systematically you address three basic questions—What do your students already know? What do you want your students to learn? Why is it important for them to learn it?
A bird' s-eye-view of the terrain you are about to cover is always helpful. Subsequent planning activities will depend to a considerable extent on how systematically you address three basic questions—What do your students already know? What do you want your students to learn? Why is it important for them to learn it?
What do your students already know?
One of the most useful things you can do before you begin thinking about specific activities for a particular class is to reflect on who your students are and what they can reasonably be expected to know and do. For example, if you are scheduled to teach English 4, a course designed for students who did not meet the University's minimum criteria for freshman composition, asking them to analyze the symbolism in Ulysses is probably unreasonable, especially as a first assignment. Conversely, if you are teaching a 400-level course in statistics, it is doubtful that your students will need to review basic arithmetic or algebra.
One of the most useful things you can do before you begin thinking about specific activities for a particular class is to reflect on who your students are and what they can reasonably be expected to know and do. For example, if you are scheduled to teach English 4, a course designed for students who did not meet the University's minimum criteria for freshman composition, asking them to analyze the symbolism in Ulysses is probably unreasonable, especially as a first assignment. Conversely, if you are teaching a 400-level course in statistics, it is doubtful that your students will need to review basic arithmetic or algebra.
What misconceptions about the course material may be common? How deeply rooted will these misconceptions be? What will be the stumbling blocks to student mastery of the material? Your reflections on these questions at this point need not be extensive or elaborate. However, even a few minutes reflecting about who your students are and what they know will bring focus to the rest of your planning activities.
What do you want your students to learn?
Not all topics and activities in a particular subject are of equal importance. Nor are all chapters in the textbook of equal value. Therefore, when planning a particular class session, you need to think about what it is that you want the students to walk away with at the end of that session. Trying to cover too much is a far more common error than trying to cover too little. Be selective. Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to cram everything you know about a subject into a single class session. It probably took you far more than 50 minutes to learn what you know, and there is no reason to believe that your students will learn it any faster. If you can't organize all the material you want to cover under 2-3 major points or objectives per class session, go back and start pruning.
Not all topics and activities in a particular subject are of equal importance. Nor are all chapters in the textbook of equal value. Therefore, when planning a particular class session, you need to think about what it is that you want the students to walk away with at the end of that session. Trying to cover too much is a far more common error than trying to cover too little. Be selective. Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to cram everything you know about a subject into a single class session. It probably took you far more than 50 minutes to learn what you know, and there is no reason to believe that your students will learn it any faster. If you can't organize all the material you want to cover under 2-3 major points or objectives per class session, go back and start pruning.
Why is it important for them to learn it?
Where does the material covered in this session fit in the course as a whole? What is the relationship between this material and the rest of the course or subsequent professional activities? Examining and thinking about these relationships can give strength and substance to your planning and consequently to everything you do in the classroom. Articulating your rationale to the students can help to motivate learning as well. Obviously, if you can't find something compelling to say about the importance, significance, or utility of the material at hand, you may want to reexamine the syllabus.
Where does the material covered in this session fit in the course as a whole? What is the relationship between this material and the rest of the course or subsequent professional activities? Examining and thinking about these relationships can give strength and substance to your planning and consequently to everything you do in the classroom. Articulating your rationale to the students can help to motivate learning as well. Obviously, if you can't find something compelling to say about the importance, significance, or utility of the material at hand, you may want to reexamine the syllabus.
Filling in the Details
Once you have a general map for where you are going and your rationale for going there, you can begin to fill in details of how you are going to get there and what you will take note of along the way. How extensive and detailed your plan needs to be is largely a matter of personal choice. But for the most part, it is useful to think of as many relevant details as possible and then select those that will work best. Keep in mind what your students already know as you are deciding which examples will be the most revealing for them. For instance, making an analogy between the null hypothesis and the legal imperative of "presumed innocent until proven guilty" can greatly aid understanding among those who are new to the study of statistics. But it may not be the first illustration to come to a statistician's mind. In other words, the details or illustrations you will use in any class may not be the first ones that occur to you. Therefore, it is generally useful to spend a fair amount of time brainstorming for examples and then selecting those you expect to work best.
Once you have a general map for where you are going and your rationale for going there, you can begin to fill in details of how you are going to get there and what you will take note of along the way. How extensive and detailed your plan needs to be is largely a matter of personal choice. But for the most part, it is useful to think of as many relevant details as possible and then select those that will work best. Keep in mind what your students already know as you are deciding which examples will be the most revealing for them. For instance, making an analogy between the null hypothesis and the legal imperative of "presumed innocent until proven guilty" can greatly aid understanding among those who are new to the study of statistics. But it may not be the first illustration to come to a statistician's mind. In other words, the details or illustrations you will use in any class may not be the first ones that occur to you. Therefore, it is generally useful to spend a fair amount of time brainstorming for examples and then selecting those you expect to work best.
How might you capture your students' interest in today's material?
What important connections will need to be made? How does this material fit into the course as a whole? Is it consistent with students' previous experiences and expectations? Should you plan to supply the necessary connections explicitly, or can you justify asking your students to make them independently? When and how should you help the students connect the information you are providing with the knowledge and skills they already possess? What activities might you plan to help them make those connections?
What important connections will need to be made? How does this material fit into the course as a whole? Is it consistent with students' previous experiences and expectations? Should you plan to supply the necessary connections explicitly, or can you justify asking your students to make them independently? When and how should you help the students connect the information you are providing with the knowledge and skills they already possess? What activities might you plan to help them make those connections?
What details and examples will you use to help support the 2-3 important points you have decided are central to this session?
If your students walk out of this session with only one new idea, skill, or concept, what would you like it to be? What concrete examples can you use to emphasize your main points? What classroom activities will best facilitate student learning? Can you think of any examples or activities that draw directly on your students' previous experiences?
If your students walk out of this session with only one new idea, skill, or concept, what would you like it to be? What concrete examples can you use to emphasize your main points? What classroom activities will best facilitate student learning? Can you think of any examples or activities that draw directly on your students' previous experiences?
How will the information and activities be sequenced?
Do the major points you want to make fall into any kind of natural order? Will temporal or historical order help students master the content? Is there some kind of underlying logical structure that you can use? How can you convey that structure to your students?
Do the major points you want to make fall into any kind of natural order? Will temporal or historical order help students master the content? Is there some kind of underlying logical structure that you can use? How can you convey that structure to your students?
What method(s) will help you accomplish these goals?
A good rule of thumb is that lectures are an effective mechanism for conveying information about and enthusiasm for a field, whereas problem-solving, small group, and discussion sessions are more effective at changing behavior and developing new skills. Given what you hope to accomplish, which method is most suited to your current objectives? How easily is this approach implemented with the size of group that you have? Are there any physical obstacles in the classroom that might impede implementation of your plan? Will you need more than one approach to accomplish your goals? How skillful are you with each of these approaches?
A good rule of thumb is that lectures are an effective mechanism for conveying information about and enthusiasm for a field, whereas problem-solving, small group, and discussion sessions are more effective at changing behavior and developing new skills. Given what you hope to accomplish, which method is most suited to your current objectives? How easily is this approach implemented with the size of group that you have? Are there any physical obstacles in the classroom that might impede implementation of your plan? Will you need more than one approach to accomplish your goals? How skillful are you with each of these approaches?
Gauging Your Progress
Closing on an appropriate note is almost as important as opening on one. There are many different ways you can bring the session to a logical conclusion. Even a mere summing up of key points will greatly aid students' retention of the material covered and bring closure to a class. After the class session is over, make a brief note of where you have been, the obstacles you encountered, and any unexpected moments of discovery—either your students' or your own. This information will be useful in subsequent planning for the course. Try asking yourself the following questions as you complete the preliminaries of planning for class.
Closing on an appropriate note is almost as important as opening on one. There are many different ways you can bring the session to a logical conclusion. Even a mere summing up of key points will greatly aid students' retention of the material covered and bring closure to a class. After the class session is over, make a brief note of where you have been, the obstacles you encountered, and any unexpected moments of discovery—either your students' or your own. This information will be useful in subsequent planning for the course. Try asking yourself the following questions as you complete the preliminaries of planning for class.
What checks of understanding will I include in the class session?
How will I judge successful performance or mastery of this material?
What are possible and reasonable questions I could use to assess mastery of this material at the end of the unit?
In summary, too many of us have been exposed to teachers who have prepared too little or possibly not at all. Simply talking off the top of your head can occasionally be entertaining, but it is rarely good instruction. Planning ahead for class by asking yourself a few key questions will ultimately provide not only a more positive learning experience for your students but also a more positive teaching experience for yourself.
Sample Session Plan
Course:______________________________________________
Session Number:____________
Session Number:____________
1. Session topic(s)
2. Session rationale and goal for students
3. Key instructional elements:
a. context setting introduction
b. instructional methods to be used
c. planned student participation
d. key checks for understanding
e. concluding wrap-up
b. instructional methods to be used
c. planned student participation
d. key checks for understanding
e. concluding wrap-up
4. Support materials needed (handouts, visual aids, technology, etc.)
5. Content outline
6. Main points to make or questions to ask
1.
2.
3.
2.
3.
7. Test questions arising from session (to be completed immediately after class)
1.
2.
3.