Content Planning for microLESSONSä
(You may download a Word document version of this page here.)

1. Identify your learners.

2. Brainstorm: identify some problem areas in your curriculum subject.
Examples: a section of a topic that is very hard to teach in a traditional manner; an abstract topic; a difficult problem to solve; something that is best taught by using lots of visuals or animations. Make sure your topic is relevant to the school curriculum.

3. State clearly the objectives that you hope to achieve.
When you write objectives, state what the students can do at the end of the lesson. Remember this is a microLESSON. Therefore, try to satisfy one or two objectives only. Use Bloom’s taxonomy to formulate higher level objectives.

4. Choose appropriate examples, scenarios, case studies, stories, questions or problems that will help you to achieve the objectives.
Develop your ideas and stories here. Sketch out your plan and discuss it with your tutor for feedback. Be innovative! Check previous examples of microLESSONS to get some ideas. You can prepare storyboards to help in your planning.

5. Design student activities that will promote thinking rather than just recall of information.
Powerpoint presentations can also be linked to an Excel spreadsheet, a Word document, a web page with Java applets, etc. You can also use the Internet as a resource for your lessons.

 
Checklist for appropriate content

Does your microLESSON follow any of the following formats?

Problem-based learning
 Where the students are given ill-structured problems and are required to source for information to solve the problems or to suggest possible solutions to the problems.

Case-based learning
 Where students are given well-defined problems or scenarios from which they have to source for information in order to suggest possible solutions.

Resource-based learning
 Where students can source for print or non-print resources that will provide them with a better understanding of the task at hand. This category can also be part of problem-based learning and case-based learning.

Simulation-based learning
 Where students take into account the information given or source for information in order to "experience" a situation from which they learn.

Collaborative-based learning
 Students can be asked to work in pairs or in small groups on an exercise. For example, tasks can be assigned to different individuals and they work on different pieces of the "puzzle". Later they come together to construct the entire "jig-saw puzzle".

Note: the examples shown to you during the tutorials or provided at the website will better illustrate the format of the microLESSON.
(You may download a Word document version of this page here.)

 

Checklist for design and layout

Is the font size appropriate?

Are the words readable?

Is there too much text on each slide?

Do the colours complement?

Are important details highlighted?

Are visuals relevant to the content?

Have you included any thinking strategies for the students to use as a guide?

Are you using animations?

If so, are they necessary/relevant?

You have not over-used letter animations (e.g. letters appearing like typewriter with sound, or camera effect with sound, or swivel!)

Do you have hyperlinks?

If so, have you tested the links?

Do you have navigation tools (menus, arrows, buttons, etc.)?

Are the instructions for navigation or learning activities clear?

Are the slides appealing to your target audience?

Have you shown your slides to anyone for comments?

(You may download a Word document version of this page here.)

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