Design Guide: Part 1 - Lesson Description

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Overview

Your first task in revising your lesson is to ensure the Lesson Description conforms with the requirements as described in Part 1 of the Design Guide, as well as the changes you are making to the lesson within your revision. As noted on the OER Commons website Links to an external site., providing descriptive information about your lesson greatly increases its discoverability by users looking for open educational resources. The OER Commons content management system uses the descriptive information you include to match relevant resources to a user's search for materials. Since this section acts as our end users’ first glimpse into the contents of your lesson, it is critical that you provide accurate and thorough details to inform their search.

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Please open your copy of the Design Guide, and turn your attention to Part 1: Lesson Description Links to an external site.. The following offers guidance for completing the sections within the Lesson Description to provide an effective lesson overview.

Lesson Title: What’s in a Name?

The first section of the lesson over asks you to list the lesson title. Though this may seem like a straightforward step, please keep a few important considerations in mind as you create a lesson title:

  1. How well does the title reflect the content and skills this lesson addresses?
  2. Does the lesson title use keywords that will improve its likelihood of being listed in searches on this topic?
  3. Have you chosen an appropriate lesson context for adult learners?

The first two considerations above are closely related: be sure that the title reflects what you’re teaching and uses words to help others find it. For example, imagine you are making a lesson that includes writing effective concluding statements (e.g., College and Career Readiness Standards for Grade Level B, English Language Arts / Literacy, Writing strand, Anchor Standard 1, Supporting Standard d). You could choose a catchy title, such as “Wrap-Up Your Writing in Style!” However, this title does not use keywords that effectively communicate the target skills or context of the lesson.

The third consideration above asks that you think about the context within which to frame your lesson. In addition to selecting a set of skills to teach adult learners, you’ll also be selecting the context in which to frame those skills to the life experiences, varied interests, and needs of our adult learners

APA guidelines recommend that titles should be fewer than 12 words and should not contain abbreviations or words that do not serve a purpose. While you are not expected to follow APA formatting for this project, do try to use these suggestions to develop a title that is succinct and which efficiently and effectively communicates the topic of the lesson to others.

Abstract

The abstract should be a short written summary of your lesson to help others find your lesson during a search, and quickly assess the lesson focus. Think of the abstract an “elevator pitch” that will help instructors searching for lessons quickly decide if your lesson will meet their needs. Target a brief paragraph that defines your intended learner audience, and describes the lesson purpose, and knowledge or skills covered in your lesson. Include a brief summary of the lesson’s:

  • Context: How this lesson fits within the context of the larger field of study and the academic curriculum* (e.g., “This writing lesson focuses on writing informative/explanatory texts that not only develop the topic with facts and definitions, but also include concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.”)
  • Relevance: How this lesson is relevant to what the target audience of learners needs to be able to do in future work and study (e.g., “This lesson will help prepare learners to effectively examine a topic and write to clearly convey ideas and information”.)

* Note: The College and Career Readiness Standards offer guidance on how to compare where your lesson fits within the context of lessons aligned to standards at higher and lower Grade Levels.

It helps to refer back to this abstract as you are designing the lesson. Think of the abstract as a target to be reached or achieved. If you find you are straying from this purpose, it is a signal to either re-evaluate your purpose or re-evaluate your design. In crafting your abstract, make sure you are answering the following questions:

  • What is the topic of the lesson?
  • Who is the target learner audience?
  • How will the learners benefit from taking your instruction?
  • What will be covered in this lesson?

Learner Audience / Primary Users

This section should describe the intended learner audience / primary users for this lesson. As we have mentioned several times during the course, it is important to develop a clear conception of your audience before you begin your design, and work toward refining that conception as you move through the design process. As we covered in Module 1, it is critical to begin the design process by considering who your learners are, the contexts in which they’re learning, and their goals. Always keep your primary users in mind as you craft your lesson. We have shared personas to consider, but it is up to you as the designer to internalize this, and to describe your own conception of the instructors and learners as people who will be using your instruction.

Educational Use

The education use should include “Curriculum/Instruction”. Additional educational uses can be added, if applicable. OER Commons offers the following additional options: Assessment, Professional Development, Informal Education, Other.

Language

The selected language should include “English”. Include additional language(s), if applicable.

Material Type

The selected material type should include “Instructional Material”. Additional material types can be added, if applicable. OER Commons offers the following additional options: Activities and Labs Assessments, Audio Lectures, Case Study, Data, Full Course, Games, Homework and Assignments, Images and Illustrations, Interactive, Lecture Notes, Lesson Plans, Module, Primary Source, Readings Reference, Resource Review, Simulations, Specimen, Student Guide, Syllabi, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Textbooks, Unit of Study, Video Lectures, Other.

Keywords

  • Designers for Learning
  • Adult Education
  • [Type list of additional keywords here.]

As described on the OER Commons website, providing descriptive information about your lesson such as keywords greatly increases its discoverability, because their system uses these descriptors to find relevant resources when users search for materials. To help track resources created for this course, please include “Designers for Learning”, “Adult Education”, and additional words or short phrases to help define the content of the lesson.

Time Required for Lesson

The time required for lesson provides the instructor an estimate of the total time required for a learner at the intended level to complete all activities within the lesson, and is based on the time estimates you provide for the instructional activities in Section II: Lesson of this Design Guide. This allows the instructor to adapt and adjust the lesson as needed, and also ensures that they can cover the lesson in a single session with learners.

In her article titled Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site., Milkova offers the following suggestions for determining a realistic timeline for a lesson:

  1. Estimate how much time each of the activities will take, then plan some extra time for each.
  2. When you prepare your lesson plan, next to each activity indicate how much time you expect it will take.
  3. Plan a few minutes at the end of class to answer any remaining questions and to sum up key points.
  4. Plan an extra activity or discussion question in case you have time left.

Targeted Skills

As covered in Module 2 of the course, list the real-world skills (employability, career, life, etc.) that are covered in this lesson.

Learning Objectives

As was covered in Module 2, learning objectives define the desired learning outcome of your instruction by clarifying the skills and knowledge that learners are expected to acquire and be able to use at the end of the learning experience. In turn, the learning objectives guide you in developing appropriate learning experiences and resources for your learners, and lay the foundation for learner assessment (i.e. determining whether learners have achieved or mastered the learning objectives). As covered in Module 2, remember to focus on writing objectives that are specific, outcome-based, measurable, and describe the desired learner behavior. Use the College and Career Readiness Standards to help you refine the learning objectives for your instruction. Select action verbs based on Bloom's taxonomy that are applicable to the desired level of learning.

CCRS Alignment

As covered in Module 2 of the course, enter a summary* of how your lesson aligns with the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), including:

  • Subject: The subject should include the main subject area covered in the lesson (e.g., either English Language Arts / Literacy or Mathematics), as well as the domain (for Math) and strand (for English Language Arts / Literacy).
  • Grade Level: What grade level will be the focus of your lesson? (e.g., Grade Level A, B, C, D, or E)?
  • Domain or Strand:
    • Domain: If you want to design a Math lesson, what will be the domain?
    • Strand: If you want to design an English Language Arts / Literacy lesson, what will be the:
      • Strand (e.g., Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, or Language)?
      • Sub-strand, if you chose Reading and Writing (e.g., Reading of Informational Text, Literature, History/Social Studies Text, or Scientific and Technical text, or Writing of History/Social Studies, or Scientific and Technical subjects)?
  • Standard Description: Type the description(s) for the specific standard(s) and supporting standard(s) that align with your lesson as they appear in the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education document Links to an external site..

    *Note: When you index your general subject in OER Commons, you will have the following options to refine the scope: Math, English Language Arts / Literacy, Applied Science, Arts, Arts and Humanities, Business and Communication, Career and Technical Education, Education, History, Humanities, Law, Life Science, Mathematics and Statistics, Physical Science, Science and Technology, Social Science.

    A key goal of this design project is to help prepare adult learners for college and career readiness. Therefore, it is important that your instruction aligns with the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) anchor and supporting standards. This means the focus and objectives of your instruction must contemplate these educational standards.

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    This section of the Design Guide describes the specific grade level, subject, and educational standards your lesson will address. The grade level, subject, and educational standard you chose for your instruction should based on your knowledge, interest, and experience with the subject matter and lesson materials. As you complete this section, look back at the material from Module 2 regarding aligning your lesson to educational standards, and review the College and Career Readiness Standards report Links to an external site. to choose the anchor standard and supporting standard(s) for your lesson.

    Prior Knowledge

    The prior knowledge summary should tell the instructor what skills and knowledge the learner must have in order to start the lesson.

    Required Resources

    The required resources summary should tell the instructor what resources are needed in order for learners to complete the lesson, and what advance preparation is needed. List any types of software, hardware, print materials, or other objects that may be necessary during learning. This may include as access to a computer, presentation software, a projector for the instructor, a printed version of worksheets or handouts for the learners, or Internet access. This list will evolve as you move from the Design Proposal to the development of your prototype and final deliverable. Take nothing for granted in this section. You will likely need to revisit this section after you have drafted your Design Proposal and prototype to ensure you’ve listed all materials and accounted for any changes you may have made in the plan during the design process.

    Lesson Author & License

    List the names of the author(s) of this lesson, and specify the Creative Commons license. To ensure the broadest use of your work, we request that you select a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license (Links to an external site.).

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    When you are ready to apply a license to your lesson, consider using the Creative Commons License Builder (Links to an external site.) to ensure your selection matches your intent. In addition, if your final project is a remix, compilation, or derivative of other works, and contains a variety of CC licensed materials, keep track of the authors, sources, and licenses. If you have questions or comments about selecting a Creative Commons license for your project or how to remix resources of different license types, refer back to Module 3 of the course.