Planning a Class Session

Teaching Activities

Advice on planning class sessions most often divides a session into phases and provides ideas on how to plan each phase.

The beginning of the class session: Introduction

  • Share with the class the learning objectives for that class session.
  • Provide a brief overview of the lecture’s content either verbally, with a handout, or through an outline on the board.
  • Use an introduction that will catch the students’ interest. For example:
    • Raise a question to be answered by the end of the session.
    • State an historical or current problem related to the lecture content.
    • Explain the relationship or relevance of lecture content to laboratory exercises, homework problems, professional career interests, the real world, etc.
    • Relate lecture content to previous class material.
  • Provide a compelling anecdote related to class content (e.g., an interesting fact, case, or news story).
  • Present a controversial or compelling question related to course content for students to think about.
  • Conduct a class demonstration relevant to the material presented that day.
  • Define or explain unfamiliar terminology.
    • Ask students a question or use an activity to gauge their knowledge of the subject or their ideas about it.
    • Ask students to summarize what they learned last class.

The body of the class session: Content

  • Divide class time into segments, estimating how much time you will need for each segment. (Each segment should be approximately 15 minutes.)
  • Intersperse lecture segments with active learning opportunities (e.g., Think/Pair/Share; One Minute Paper; Pause Procedure) or no/low risk assessments.
  • Vary the type of activities; for example, have lectures, then small group discussion, then large-group synthesis of ideas.
  • Allow for some flexibility in timing to have time to respond to student questions and comments.
  • Determine the key points to be developed during the class session; do not try to cover too much or too detailed information.
  • Organize material in some logical order. Suggested organization schemes include:
    • Cause-Effect
    • Chronological
    • Topical
    • Problem-Solution
    • Compare-Contrast
    • Ascending-Descending
    • Rule-Example-Rule
    • Example-Example-Rule
  • Prepare examples to clarify and emphasize key ideas.
  • Provide transitions that show the relationships between key ideas.
  • Relate new material to material previously covered.
  • Relate new material to real world situations/problems.
  • Incorporate audiovisual or other support materials.
  • Throughout the lecture check on student understanding by
    • Asking students to answer specific questions.
    • Asking for specific questions from the students.
    • Presenting a problem or situation that requires use of lecture material to obtain a solution.
    • Watching the class for nonverbal cues of inattention, confusion, or misunderstanding (e.g., puzzled expressions, loss of eye contact, talking, clock watching, frantic note-taking, using a laptop or cell phone inappropriately, etc.)

The closing of the class session: Summary and conclusion

  • Answer questions raised at the beginning of the class.
  • Provide closure for the lecture. For example:
    • Briefly summarize lecture material and preview what lies ahead.
    • Ask students to summarize what they have learned.
    • Relate lecture material to past or future presentations.
    • Ask a student to summarize the lecture’s key ideas.
    • Ask students to generate real world applications for what they learned.
  • Restate what you expect the students to gain from the lecture material and review the class learning objective.
  • Ask for and answer student questions.
  • Ask students “What was the most important thing you learned today”.
  • Ask students “What question still remains in your mind?”
  • Ask students for their “muddiest points” or concepts on which they are still confused. These points can be discussed during a subsequent class.
  • Start preparing students for the next class by giving a preview and connecting what they learned during the present class with material to come.
  • Provide a question for students to answer at the beginning of the next session.

Time Management

Timing a class session can be challenging. On the one hand, a common problem for instructors is running out of time to cover all the topics they had planned to cover in a particular session. On the other hand, a lesson may go more quickly than expected, and the instructor can be left with time to fill. Here are some strategies for creating a realistic timeline.

  • Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each.
  • When preparing a lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take.
  • Select two or three concepts, ideas, or skills to cover rather than trying to include too much information.
  • Prioritize learning objectives, which will make it easier to omit topics if necessary.
  • Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points.
  • Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left.
  • Plan additional examples in case they are needed.
  • Be flexible – be ready to adjust a lesson plan to students’ needs and focus on what seems to be more productive rather than sticking to the original plan.

Sources

Indiana University Purdue University Indiana Center for Teaching and Learning Planning a Learning Session

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning

University of Florida Center for Teaching Excellence Class Wrap Up Activities

University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellence Planning a Lesson

University of Illinois/Urbana-Champagne Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning Planning a Class Session

Stanford University Teaching Writing Planning Class Activities

Lang, James. Small Changes in Teaching: The First Five Minutes of Class. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Advice, January 11, 2016.

Lang, James. Small Changes in Teaching:  The Last Five Minutes of Class. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Advice, March 7, 2016.