The BOPPPPS Method
Effective lesson planning gives you the chance to document and revise lessons, improving as you go. BOPPPS is a trusted lesson planning approach to engage learners, increase retention, and promote active learning.
Try using this lesson plan template to help you bring BOPPPPS into your classroom.
Bridge-In
Grab attention. Use a video, audio clip, or a personal anecdote relevant to the topic to arouse students' interest in the topic. Rosegard & Wilson (2013) show that using a "hook" can greatly increase student retention of material.
Outcomes
Be obvious. Use concrete statements like "By the end of today's class, we will have analyzed the messages in a variety of commercials." Anderson, Hunt, Powell, & Dollar (2013) found that using statements like these helped students to better understand the purpose of the class. This resulted in motivation to “put in more effort” and work more “efficiently."
Pre-Assessment
Test the waters. Being able to gauge how new learning relates to what students know already is important. McClelland (2013) showed that deliberately activating prior learning with a few pre-questions can be very helpful. This is a great opportunity to try a Kahoot or Socrative activity in your classroom. Don't focus on what the 'strongest' students know or can do, but try to focus on what most learners seem to understand. If there are large gaps in the general knowledge in the classroom, this pre-assessment gives you the chance to address these immediately.
Presentation of New Material
This is your chance to share your knowledge and skills. You are the reason students show up to class, after all! "The lecturer’s presentation makes things human, quirky and interesting; makes it worth doing," (Wood, Joyce, Petocz, & Rodd, 2007). Find ways to ensure your lesson delivery is engaging and reflects your content expertise.
Practice and Participation
Provide practice and active engagement throughout. Try out some innovative active learning strategies. In an experimental study of three designs for one marketing course, Black, Daughtrey, & Lewis (2014) found that "active learning designs are likely to be more effective than traditional passive designs. In many cases, ...traditional lecture design produces outcomes that are statistically inferior to those of active learning designs."
Post-Assessment
This is your chance to get some formative assessment. Use it to demonstrate to yourself and to the class that learning has occurred, and to what extent. Ask questions using Kahoot or Socrative, or do a brief practice quiz in eConestoga. This is another chance to correct any misunderstandings students may have, either before the end of class or at the beginning of next class, to activate prior learning.
Summary
Have a clincher. "A strong and powerful ending often stays clearly in the students’ minds," yet Cheng (2012) found that few professors provide a rich ending. Many teachers find themselves out of time and stop suddenly. Try a memorable quote, an overall conclusion, a student testimonial, or an image that sums up the learning.