Planning a Class Session

Planning a Successful Class Session: Principles and Practices

By carefully planning each session, instructors can ensure that they are meeting specific learning objectives, engaging students in meaningful activities, and assessing their understanding effectively. The principles of backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), commonly used for course planning, are particularly applicable to class session planning as they emphasize starting with the end goals in mind and then working backwards to develop activities and assessments that align with those goals. This approach helps ensure that each session is purposeful, relevant, and contributes to the overall learning outcomes of the course.

Principles of Backward Design:
  1. Determine the key learning objectives for the class session.
  2. Decide how student understanding will be assessed.
  3. Design learning activities that will help students achieve the learning goals.

 

Steps to Plan your Class Session

1Identify learning goals:
  • Review the course objectives and the role of the session within the course structure.
  • Define learning outcomes for the session as they relate to the course.
  • Determine what you want students to know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the session.
2Define assessments:
  • Choose assessments that align with the learning goals.
  • Consider formative assessments to check understanding during the session.
3Understand student knowledge and skills:
  • Identify specific knowledge and skills that students must have for the session.
  • Determine which skills and knowledge are required but uncertain in students, and how you will address these gaps.
  • Consider pre-assessment or diagnostic activities to gauge students' readiness and address any gaps.
4Designing learning activities for the session:
  • Define clear objective for the activity:
    • Clearly define the learning objectives of the activity. What specific knowledge or skills should students gain?
  • Define expected outcome:
    • Determine what the outcome of the activity should look like.
    • How will students demonstrate their understanding (in writing, presentation, oral report, etc)?
  • Engagement strategy:
    • Decide how students will engage with the activity.
    • Will they work individually, in pairs, or in groups?
    • How will this promote engagement and collaboration?
  • Time planning:
    • Ensure the allocated time allows for sufficient exploration and understanding of the concept.
  • Assess student readiness:
    • Consider if students have all the necessary knowledge and skills to perform the task independently. If not, consider the scaffolding or support required to ensure their success.
  • Showcase outcome:
    • Define how students should showcase the outcome of the activity.
    • Will it be a written submission, presentation, or oral report? This helps students understand the purpose and audience of their work.
  • Step-by-Step planning:
    • If the activity requires several steps, repeat all of the above for each step of the activity. This ensures that each step contributes to the overall learning goals.
  • Provide Clear Instructions:
    • Clear instructions help students understand what is expected of them and how they can succeed in the activity.
5Session Outline and Timing:

Ensure that your class session is well-structured with clear parts and is paced to ensure dynamic engagement and understanding.

Introduction and relevance:
  • Start with an introduction outlining the learning outcomes.
  • Establish relevance to previous and following sessions.
  • Connect the session's content to other areas where skills might be applicable, emphasizing practicality.
Main Body: Key learning activities
  • Design engaging activities aligned with learning objectives.
  • Consider different learning styles and preferences.
  • Ensure activities are interactive and promote active learning.
Reflection:
  • Allocate time for students to reflect on their learning.
  • Encourage them to connect the content to their experiences or future applications.
  • Use prompts or questions to guide reflection.
Recap:
  • Summarize key points, reinforcing learning objectives.
  • Link the session's content to the overall course goals.
  • Provide a preview of the next session to maintain continuity.
Feedback:
  • Encourage students to provide feedback on the session.
  • Use feedback to improve future sessions and course design.
References

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Ascd.