Lift Session 2 Structuring SoW & Lessons

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Structuring Lessons & SOW

New Teacher Support Programme

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

Create a series of SMART Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) using appropriate Bloom’s verbs for your subject area

Evaluate two sample lesson plans and identify one strength and one area for improvement in each

All lessons should have

Beginning

Teacher activities

• ‘Hook’

• Baseline assessment

  • Modelling

    • Questioning

    • Recapping

    • Describing/demonstrating

Middle

Student activities 

• Coaching/role play

  • Practical activities

    • Listening

    • Challenges

    • E-assessments

End

End / Assessing the learning 

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Assessment of Learning (AoL)

• Provide feedback and advice at end of each ILO

  • Consolidate what has been learned

Example for a 1-hour lesson

What are Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)?

Start by thinking about:

How to build ILOs

Decide what you want your learners to be able to do when they complete your class. 

This will help you shape your learning activities and assessment tasks.

ILOs and constructive alignment

Remember that teaching does not always guarantee learning

• The connection between teaching and learning is not a simple one. Many factors can interfere with the achievement of outcomes:

• The existing knowledge of the learner

• The relevance or usefulness of the material

• The skills of the teacher

• The suitability of the challenge set

Constructive Alignment (Biggs, 2003)

• Constructive alignment starts with the notion that the learner constructs his or her own learning through relevant learning activities.

• The 'alignment' aspect refers to what the teacher does, sets up a learning environment that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes. 

Principles and best practices

As a general principle, a well-written ILO will have the following features:

• It will contain a behavioural action verb to guide students as to what specifically they will be expected to do (Bloom’s taxonomy (1956)

• It will be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-appropriate).

• Ask yourself: Can student and tutor easily know if they have achieved the ILO?

SMART Intended Learning Outcomes

• Specific – What EXACTLY does the student need to do?

• Measurable – How will the student know that they have done it?

• Achievable – Can they do it?

• Realistic – Have they enough time/resources to complete the activity?

• Time-constrained – How long do they have to do it?

Every ILO should be SMART

ILO 1

ILO2

When writing a series of ILOs consider

• The order you will arrange them in. 

• Do the ILOs build in complexity, both in terms of the knowledge content and what the students are expected to be able to do/demonstrate as their learning? 

• Often learning starts with the more basic elements that students build on as they move towards more complex learning and understanding. 

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Dr. Benjamin Bloom (1913–1999)

Educational Psychologist University of Chicago 

Aimed to cultivate students as masters of their subject, rather than ones who can only memorise and repeat facts.

Bloom’s Taxonomy : Aid to Writing ILOs

Carefully written ILOs can move students from simple knowledge-based tasks through to more complex activities

Moving from lower order thinking skills (LOTs) to higher order thinking skills (HOTs)

Bloom’s Taxomony (Revised)

Example ILOs for KNOWLEDGE Level

At the end of the lesson your students should be able to remember previously learned material

Suitable verbs: arrange, describe, label, list, name, order, recall, reproduce, state

Example: List the names of at least four hard fruits and put a star beside those that are in season

Example ILOs for COMPREHENSION Level

Students should have the ability to grasp the meaning of material

Suitable verbs: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, indicate, select, review, report

Example: In pairs, select two phrases from a word bank that describe the Health and Safety video shown and explain your choice to the class

Example ILOs for APPLICATION Level

Students should be able to use material previously learnt, in new and concreate situations

Suitable verbs: apply, choose, demonstrate, write, use, employ, illustrate, interpret, solve

Example: Write a formal letter to a hospital about changing the date of an appointment including the reason for writing and alternative days and times

Example ILOs for ANALYSIS Level

Students should be given the opportunity to break down material into its component parts so that its organisation structure may be understood.

Suitable verbs: analyse, appraise, calculate, categorise, compare, contrast, differentiate, examine

Example: Compare your ability to hold a 1 minute conversation on your health with that of your classmates and list one way in which you could improve

Example ILOs for SYNTHESIS Level

Synthesis refers to the ability to put parts together to form a new whole.

Suitable verbs: arrange, assemble, construct, create, develop, organize, manage, formulate

Example: Create a quiz to test your classmate’s skills in being able to identify the differences between formal, informal language and text language

Example ILOs for EVALUATION Level

Evaluation is when you write learning outcomes in the highest cognitive hierarchy.

Suitable verbs: appraise, predict, judge, select, evaluate, assess, choose, compare, defend

Example: In pairs, choose a for or against role and debate the topic ‘Internet shopping is best’.

Schemes of Work (SoW)

A Scheme of Work (SoW) lays out:

• what will be taught

• how it will be taught

• when it will be taught

• Covers a semester or full academic year

• It is the bridge between the curriculum and the actual day to day lessons

• Powerful way of staying organized and helps with planning your module/unit

Key Components of a Scheme of Work (SoW)

• Objectives: what students will learn

• Content: topics and subtopics to be covered

• Sequence: the order the lessons will be delivered

• Teaching methods: strategies and activities

• Resources: materials and digital tools

• Assessment: How learning is measured

Best Practices for Creating a Scheme of Work

• Use the SERC SoW template

• Start with the awarding body’s official unit specification guide

• Break down the learning outcomes and align each session with specific outcomes and assessment criteria

• Try to balance activities out to add variety

• Include cross-unit links where possible

Schemes of Work (SoW)

A Scheme of Work (SoW):

• Should be constructed by the team of teachers who are covering the unit/module

• Should be held centrally on the School Team Site and integrated into the system used e.g. MS Teams, Moodle

• Should be reviewed regularly and adjusted by the team in the light of the review

Knowledge in action

For your subject area, choose a topic and design a series of SMART ILOs which you could use in class in the coming weeks.

Review the sample lesson plans; comment on a minimum of one strength and one weakness in each plan.  Consider the implications for your lesson planning.

Review of learning outcomes

Create a series of SMART Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) using appropriate Bloom’s verbs for your subject area

Evaluate two sample lesson plans and identify one strength and one area for improvement in each

Further Reading & Support

• Allan J, (1996) Learning outcomes in higher education, Studies in Higher Education, 21, 1, 93-108

• Biggs J, (1996) Enhancing teaching through constructive alignment. Higher Education, 32, 347-364 

• Shabatura J, (2022) Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Outcomes Available from: https://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/

• Longer list of Bloom's verbs https://tips.uark.edu/blooms-taxonomy-verb-chart/

• LA Support Resources – Lesson Planning Guidance