Lesson plans for connecting the dots.

Asking student to come up with the big question or the big idea is really about helping them understand the link between outcomes and activities or assessments. Linking these big ideas to activities and concepts can be difficult to work out at first. The slideshow below is designed to support teachers to help students understand the link between outcomes, teaching and checking for understanding.

It might be useful to work through an example like this to work out exactly what it looks like when you have designed something that teaches effectively. Or you could use a work sample eg a learning design the student has made up and ask them to identify the bits of the sequence:

That explain what you will be able to understand or do by the end of the sequence
That tell or show something
That allow the learner to show you what they understand

Please comment and add your ideas for helping students understand the learning process? We will be using these ideas with students in the next few weeks and I’ll share those that the students enjoyed.