1 The 50 Minute Instructor How to Write a Lesson Plan Presented by Vibiana Bowman and Patricia Libutti Rutgers University Libraries April 25, 2003 © 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 2 Lesson plan ????? Pedagogical tool used by K-12 teachers. At college and university level professors “profess.” Interest in lesson plans in higher education with advent of teaching modules, (for distance learning and computer based instruction.) Instructional technology courses make heavy use of modular planning techniques. Useful for teaching specific skills or how to use specific resources.

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 3 Why do I need to write a lesson plan? Specific component of your overall bibliographic instruction curriculum. Lesson plans serve as a teaching tool and a marketing tool. Activities reinforce your educational goals and objectives. Useful in establishing priorities for time and resources for the instructor and faculty member

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 4 OK! So how do I write a lesson plan? Remember that it is a specific component of your overall bibliographic instruction curriculum. Plan out your strategy for the year, the term, the unit, and then the lesson plan. A lesson plan has a specific: objective, time frame (usually around an hour), expected outcome, and some form of assessment.

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 5 Parts of the lesson plan: Educational objectives Resources- materials needed Set Induction – introduction or “the hook” Methodology – how you are going to teach Assessment Closure – summing up, feedback, and reinforcing the important points

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 6 Through the looking glass…the lesson plan for teaching the lesson plan: Objective: participants will learn to write a lesson plan. Intended Audience: professional librarians interested in bibliographic instruction. Resources: handouts, notepads and paper, PowerPoint presentation, laptop computer, projector, screen.

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 7 …the lesson plan for teaching the lesson plan (cont’d): Set Induction: Discuss purpose of this session, assess participants background experience; introduce necessary vocabulary and concepts. Methodology: Presentation of material with PPT; discussion of concepts with participants; active learning exercise – preparing sample lesson plans. Assessment: Discussion of group activities Closure: Feedback from groups; reinforce important concepts. Source: Cruickshank, Bainer, and Metcalf, The Act of Teaching, Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000.

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 8 Elements of the lessons plan – a closer look! Teacher Methodology Presentation – teaching as a performing art! Discussion – the Socratic method Active and interactive learning – hands-on learning

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 9 More on methodology… People learn in different ways (different learning modalities): Audio Visual Tactile Combinations Don’t forget about different cultural perspectives!!!

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 10 Let’s try it out- a sample activity (large group) Presentation – The POP Institute and the World’s First Male Pregnancy Discussion Questions What clues do you have about these pages? Where do the links go? What about the magazine citations? What is independently verifiable? More presentation – diagramming the URL Assessment – discussion and feedback and compare results.

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 11 Diagram of a URL Source: istrators/urldia3.gif

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 12 Now it is your turn to write a lesson plan! Break up into small groups. Use the materials assigned to write a plan as a group: –Pads and paper –Sample web pages –Handout of the URL diagram –Template of a lesson plan Assign a note-taker and a presenter. Be ready to discuss and assess the activity back in the large group.

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 13 Assessment and Closure Activities

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 14 In conclusion: Make your lesson plan a MESS: M Manageable (especially with regard to your time allotted) E Engaging and/or entertaining S Simple S Specific

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 15 Resources for ideas, lesson plans and activities Books Web Sites

© 2003, Vibiana Bowman and Patricia O’Brien Libutti 16 Thank you! To the Instructional Services Group of Rutgers University Libraries, Chairperson Leslie Murtha and to Donna Wertheimer, Paul Robeson Library, for all her assistance in getting sources and examples to use in this presentation. Vibiana Bowman and Patricia Libutti