Planning a course

A course might involve just 2 or 3 sessions or a series of lessons over a year. It is important to have an overview of the course content and skills required to successfully achieve the outcomes.

Consider the following questions:

1. How long is the course (weeks or sessions)?

2. Does the course content divide into smaller sections?

3. What skills need to be developed over the course?

4. What is the level and experience of the students?

5. Is there a logical order to teaching the content?

6. Is the level of course appropriate to the level of the learner?

7. Determine the requirements of the awarding body

a. Hours of delivery

b. Mode of assessment

As you plan your course you should use the college's scheme of work.

Here is some guidance on completing the sections of the scheme of work:

Topic Content

This section is the what part of the scheme and should outline the content of each of the sessions throughout the course/unit/module of delivery. You should normally include a main heading (which might be taken from the awarding body specification or your own course breakdown) followed by a more detailed idea of what the session(s) will contain. Where possible it is beneficial to reference the relevant learning outcomes as laid out in the course specifications. (To include cross cutting themes and Habits of Mind)

This section is intended to identify areas that embed good practice within specific areas of the curriculum and should consider the following:

Habits of Mind

1. Persisting
2. Managing Impulsivity
3. Listening with Understanding and Empathy
4. Thinking Flexibly
5. Thinking About Thinking (Metacognition)
6. Striving for Accuracy
7. Questioning and Posing Problems
8. Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
9. Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision
10. Gathering Data Through All Senses
11. Creating, Imagining, Innovating
12. Responding with Wonderment and Awe
13. Taking Responsible Risks
14. Finding Humour
15. Thinking Interdependently
16. Remaining Open to Continuous Learning

Method and Resource

This section is the how part of the scheme and should outline the teaching and learning strategies you plan to use in the session (such as class discussion, lecturer-led exposition, role play, pair work or practical work). This is an important section for your planning as it allows you to use a range of activities over time to ensure variety and to include opportunities for differentiated learning. There is further discussion of this in the teaching strategies section.

Method of Assessment

This section has two purposes. First, you should describe the way you intend to use the activities in the session to assess progress in understanding and skills. This could include various types of formative assessment, such as question and answer, written responses, presentations or group discussions. Second, you should outline any homework, coursework or assignment work to be completed outside the session, including deadlines for work that is to be formally assessed. There is further discussion of this in the assessment section.

Review of Planned Progress

It is to be used on a weekly basis to record what progress has been made in the sessions. It is an on-going record of work. It might simply confirm that the activities and content have been covered, or might record any sections carried over or changed. This section is important in circumstances where classes are covered by another teacher at short-notice, but also provide useful information when planning to deliver the same course in the future. Some of you might prefer to keep a separate record of work. If so, it is vital that this is readily available in your work base.