Durand ETEC 424

Instructional Design Documents vs. Lesson Plans

There are many ways in which a teacher puts together lessons to accomplish the objective

for the students. Most typical is the lesson plan. A lesson plan is a detailed step-by-step guide

that outlines the teacher's objectives for what the students will accomplish during the course of

the lesson and how they will learn it. (Cox, 2018) However, with differentiation now a key

objective Universal Designs have also come into play. “The Universal Design for Learning

(UDL) is a learning model intended to engage all learners in the classroom regardless of ability

in order to provide individuals with an equal opportunity to learn.” (Gorman, 2015)

A lesson plan involves setting goals (outcomes) and contains the specific steps that are

needed to reach the goals (i.e., must teach numbers before you can teach addition.) Lesson plans

are usually detailed steps that outline the goal for each day based on the unit being taught.

Lesson plans can be differentiated based on the student population, but typically are not. A

lesson plan provides the essentials such as the Theme, the Essential Question, the Daily

Objectives and the Student Can Do Statements. It also provides the actual plan (page numbers,

worksheets, videos, etc.)

On the other hand, Universal design plans are meant to ensure personalized learning

regardless of ability level and tend to be more vague. Additionally, they take the manner of

learning (visual, auditory, kinestetic, etc.) into account. As such, it involves the incorporation of

resources such as books, internet applications, videos, and software. Basically, it is a form of

including e-learning in the classroom, something that can be paced according to student needs or

done independently. According to Ayesha Habeem Omer (Omer, 2016), an Instructional Design

Document answers questions such as:

 Durand ETEC 424

 What is the purpose of the course?

 What are learners expected to know/do at the end of the course?

 Who is the audience?

 How will the course be accessed?

 What will be the instructional strategy adopted?

 What are the interactive elements used?

 How will learners be assessed?

Thus, in conclusion, there is a common basis for each document, but each serves a different

purpose.

Works Cited

Cox, J. (2018, February 5). Here's What You Need to Know About Lesson Plans. Retrieved from

ThoughtCo.: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-lesson-plan-2081359

Gorman, N. (2015, June 5). Popular Learning Designs: What's the Difference and How to

Implement. Retrieved from Education World: https://www.educationworld.com/popular-

learning-designs-whats-difference-and-how-implement

Omer, A. H. (2016, November 12). An Outline For Creating An Instructional Design Document.

Retrieved from eLearning Industry: https://elearningindustry.com/outline-creating-

instructional-design-document