Course Design: Lesson Plan Matrix

List out every instance of your class meetings this semester. Your list will probably be much longer than we have space for here; these twelve are just to provide a sample:

#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12

Place one-word reminders of these meetings (perhaps the date?) into the shaded boxes along the left side of the chart below.

The top row of shaded boxes represents the Course Objectives you developed in earlier worksheets; place one-word reminders of each objective into these boxes.


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Place checkmarks in the white boxes whenever a specific class addresses one of the Course Objectives. In this fashion, you can judge whether all the objectives are being met equally.

Are there some class meetings which aren’t doing much to meet objectives? If so, do they still belong? Use this tool to make sure you are meeting your objectives.

You can also use this tool for a specific lesson plan. Break down the session into your activites, and see how your activities relate to the course objectives. If they aren't useful, you may want to rethink them.

A healthy matrix will have some checkmarks in every row, and some in every column, but will not be completely filled in. Over-reliance can be as large a problem as under-representation.