Before we move on …

As we found out in the course introductions, participants in this course have a range of experiences as educators, learners, and instructional designers. Given this diversity of experience, we anticipate different reactions to this course, and our recommended instructional design process. For some, this will be their first time creating educational resources for a lesson. Others will be familiar with the lesson planning process, but possibly not the one we are taking here. That is fine. Our goal was contemplate a range of experience levels and a diversity of approaches.

What is your instructional design experience? Before we begin Module 2, take a moment to consider your experience designing and developing instruction or a learning plan. There are no right or wrong answers, but your reflection on these questions will set the stage for the material we are about to cover.

• How comfortable are you with writing a lesson plan?
• Do the terms anchor standard, lesson objective, guided practice, and evaluation of student mastery sound familiar to you?
• On the graphic below, where would you place yourself regarding your proficiency in designing a lesson plan?
• How do you think your level of experience will influence the lesson you design?

Your First Design Decisions

Many of the decisions affecting the success of a lesson take place well before the lesson is implemented with learners. Careful planning at the lesson design stage makes student learning easier, more effective, and more enjoyable. Let’s start the decision making process by considering the project requirements.