Facilitators: Ashley Thompson (TLS) & Nina Doré (TLS)

When it comes to lesson planning, it’s not uncommon to begin with the question, What content do I need to cover? This “content first” approach, however, can conflate “knowledge dumping” with learning. In contrast, a student-first lesson plan begins with the question, What do I hope students will be able to do with the content and how will I know they are able to do it? By reframing the question, you can begin to move toward a learner-centered teaching approach.

In this workshop, we will introduce three practical, theory-driven models for student-centred lesson planning (CLAASS, Gagne’s nine steps, 5e) and additional variations for specific lesson types (e.g., problem-based learning, experiential learning). These models will help you “chunk” your class time into lessons and mini lessons that prioritize meaningful and intentional student engagement. We will also provide opportunities for you to practice building your own lesson plan with input from your peers.

By the end of this workshop, our goal is for you to be able to:

Describe the elements of an effective lesson plan.
Discuss the provided lesson planning models & their advantages for teaching & learning​.
Develop a first draft of a lesson plan for your course.