In this section you can find useful professional development resources – including articles, webinars, podcast episodes, research and teaching tips and tools – all to help you develop your skills and knowledge of Planning lessons and courses. 

What does 'Planning lessons and courses' involve?

This professional practice covers what a teacher needs to do before the lesson or course begins and is informed by Understanding my context and Understanding my learners. It includes: 

• defining intended learning outcomes and course objectives that meet your learners' needs and take into account their diversity 
• planning a broad outline for a sequence of lessons that links a lesson to those before and after it and includes the recycling of learning content
• identifying, selecting and planning for the use of appropriate learning modalities to achieve the intended learning outcomes (e.g. synchronous, hybrid, virtual, in-class, homework, etc.)
• selecting, developing and/or adapting appropriate activities, resources and learning materials (e.g. coursebook, digital resources, board work) that: 
  • engage your learners 
  • take into account their diversity 
  • achieve the intended teaching purposes, and, where appropriate, reflect real-world scenarios and global issues (e.g. climate change, poverty, migration)
• planning for inclusive and differentiated learning (e.g. for different ability levels or early finishers)
• planning for feedback and assessment
• dividing lessons into coherent and linked stages with realistic estimates of timing
• selecting and planning for various interaction patterns throughout the lesson (e.g. groupwork, pair work, individual work)
• anticipating problems that may arise during the lesson and planning how to respond to these
• planning classroom language (e.g. giving instructions, using language at an appropriate level for your learners, using multiple languages, translanguaging)
• planning activities that help your learners to develop agency, autonomy and learning strategies
• planning activities that help your learners develop their 21C skills / core skills
• reflecting on the effectiveness of your planning. 

You can follow a pathway through selected materials available on planning lessons and courses.