Organizing Key Concepts for Learning

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Imagine that you've just led a training session. Unfortunately, it didn't go as well as you'd hoped.

First, you forgot to cover some important points in your presentation. Then, you ran out of time to answer questions, because you had to change your session "on the fly" to cover the points you'd missed.

All in all, you're not sure that people learned what they needed to know, and you wish you'd had a clearer plan for the session.

In this article, we'll look at how to plan a training session effectively.

What is a Training Session Plan?

A training session plan – also called a learning plan – is an organized description of the activities and resources you'll use to guide a group toward a specific learning objective.

It details the subject matter that you'll teach, how long each section should take, the methods of instruction for each topic covered, and the measures you'll use to check that people have learned what you needed them to learn.

It can be as simple as a brief outline, or more complex, with scripts, prompts, and lists of questions that you plan to ask.

Why Use a Training Session Plan?

It takes time to plan a good training session. However, you and your trainees will benefit from this preparation.

As you plan, you visualize each step of the class. This helps you ensure that you've thought about everything that you need to say, and that you present information in a logical order. You'll also be able to prepare for points that people might find difficult to understand.

After your session, you can use your plan to work out what went well – and what didn't – so that you can adapt it for future lessons.

Last, a training session plan will be invaluable for a substitute instructor, if you can't make it to class.

How to Develop a Session Plan

To develop a session plan, it's useful to use a standard training plan template. This helps you organize material consistently over sessions, and avoid duplicating topics.

You can download a lesson plan template here. Then, to plan your session, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Define Learning Objectives

Your first step is to specify what you want your trainees to learn, and determine how you will measure this.

Think about these questions:

What are the most important concepts or skills that trainees need to understand by the end of the class?
Why are these concepts and skills important?
How will you know that they have understood these correctly?

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/planning-training-session.htm