AI Lesson Planning - Evaluating Lessons

Introduction

WHY Important

Fine tune current toolbox. Aid quality review by educators to ensure that the activities lead to intended outcomes, as well as identify needs for each student.

WHAT Will Be Learned

The focus will be on:

Close read of lesson
Review objective alignment
Student-centered activities
Differentiation
Pedagogy (e.g. stations, playlist, menu)
Alignment to POG

Planning lessons is an integral part of what teachers do. Executing learning experiences that engage and aid learners to be successful is what we strive for. Generative AI can aid with giving feedback and helping educators reflect on ideas, adaptations, and adjustments to lessons that lead to high quality lessons.

Tools (optional)

Examples of tools that may be useful for this task:

Reflective Practices

Many of the suggestions shared in Reflective Practices can be done by crafting a prompt that is specific to what you want accomplished. Here is a reference guide:

General Tips for Designing Prompts. Elvis Saravia. April 2024 (Video - 10:33)

Here is the related Prompt Engineering Guide. This link specifically relates to the video.

Reflective Practices
1.	The Fundamentals of Backward Planning, ASCD., September 2019 (Article) 3 Steps to Writing Better Lesson Plans, Edutopia., June 2023 (Article) 3 Basic Steps of Backward Design Lesson Plans [+FAQs], University of San Diego: Professional and Continuing Education. (Article) What is backward design? Kristine Kershaw. (Video - 2:30) from an in depth video playlist: Backwards Planning & Understanding by Design (UBD). Explore this list of articles and videos that communicate the core components of planning lessons. The articles represent voices of one of the architects, K12 educator, and a university educator. Why Should I Read This? One approach to evaluating lessons by AI is to look at three core components for the lesson - desired learning results, acceptable evidence, and an aligned lesson plan - and evaluate their alignment. Assessing activities and strategies are best done based on the soundness of the three components for Backward Design.	How can I ensure qualitative effectiveness of my lessons? Ethical Use When using AI to evaluate lessons, it’s important to assess what bias it brings, including sources it used to base its recommendations. This can be done through prompts that ask AI to share the sources it uses to evaluate and make suggestions.	Explore the Backward Design principles as shared in these references to the depth that you wish to explore. Reflect on your use of the three components in planning by reviewing one or more lessons. Identify the components and evaluate how they synergise. Craft a prompt or use the one shared below to explore the qualitative alignment of a lesson in your curriculum.
2.	How to Assess a Lesson Plan, Solution Tree., July 2019 (Article) Explore six qualities for a well structured lesson plan. Reference any of the focus areas when using AI to collect feedback on current lessons for potential revisions and/or adaptations. Why Should I Read This? The shared qualities offer concrete components of a good lesson plan that can be supported by AI for analysis and recommendation for changes and resources.	How can I evaluate lessons for high quality improvements that meet academic expectations? Ethical Use AI can be a valuable feedback partner. Quality responses are based on what we ask to focus on. Focus on qualitative components, based on concepts like Backwards Design, can help ensure alignment of suggested ideas. The relationship between the educator and AI should be collaborative. Therefore it’s important to always review recommendations with a critical eye for accuracy and alignment to the learning expectations.	Choose a lesson to review. Identify one or more qualities to review and list them in order for assessment. Craft one or more prompts to focus on just 1-2 qualities at a time. You will need to upload or share the lesson for AI to review as part of the prompt. Reflect on the results using a critical eye as a collaborative partner for accuracy and bias. Ask follow up questions as needed. Repeat the process with the next 1-2 qualities.
3.	Evaluating Learning Resources, UBC Education Library, November 2020 (Video - 4:21) Based on this reference page, the video offers a range of criteria and ideas for evaluating resources to be used in lessons. The ideas shared are universal for any school or district that you work for. Why Should I Read This? It’s important to review resources for their value and alignment to the lesson it’s included. The video offers a wide range of suggestions and ideas from which helpful insights can be applied in your respective work environment.	How can I determine if a resource will support my lesson for student achievement? Ethical Use The first resource we find useful might not be the best choice, unless we review its alignment to the learning expectations and/or acceptable evidence. This alignment comes before the value of engagement. If the alignment is present, then it’s worth the time to adapt the resource as needed to support engagement. Misaligned resources can create more work with reteaching because the intended focus does not occur.	Make a list of 3 ideas taken from the video or from the list in the table of the reference page. Choose one of the ideas to evaluate a resource or activity in your lesson. Craft an AI prompt that aids in evaluating alignment to the learning expectations and/or acceptable evidence, as explored with Backwards Design. Reflect on the results with a critical eye for how the AI made its decisions.

Reflective Practices

References

Guiding Reflection Questions

Suggested Action Steps

The Fundamentals of Backward Planning, ASCD., September 2019 (Article)

3 Steps to Writing Better Lesson Plans, Edutopia., June 2023 (Article)

3 Basic Steps of Backward Design Lesson Plans [+FAQs], University of San Diego: Professional and Continuing Education. (Article)

What is backward design? Kristine Kershaw. (Video - 2:30) from an in depth video playlist: Backwards Planning & Understanding by Design (UBD).

Explore this list of articles and videos that communicate the core components of planning lessons. The articles represent voices of one of the architects, K12 educator, and a university educator.

Why Should I Read This?

One approach to evaluating lessons by AI is to look at three core components for the lesson - desired learning results, acceptable evidence, and an aligned lesson plan - and evaluate their alignment. Assessing activities and strategies are best done based on the soundness of the three components for Backward Design.

How can I ensure qualitative effectiveness of my lessons?

Ethical Use

When using AI to evaluate lessons, it’s important to assess what bias it brings, including sources it used to base its recommendations. This can be done through prompts that ask AI to share the sources it uses to evaluate and make suggestions.

Explore the Backward Design principles as shared in these references to the depth that you wish to explore.

Reflect on your use of the three components in planning by reviewing one or more lessons. Identify the components and evaluate how they synergise.

Craft a prompt or use the one shared below to explore the qualitative alignment of a lesson in your curriculum.

How to Assess a Lesson Plan, Solution Tree., July 2019 (Article)

Explore six qualities for a well structured lesson plan. Reference any of the focus areas when using AI to collect feedback on current lessons for potential revisions and/or adaptations.

Why Should I Read This?

The shared qualities offer concrete components of a good lesson plan that can be supported by AI for analysis and recommendation for changes and resources.

How can I evaluate lessons for high quality improvements that meet academic expectations?

Ethical Use

AI can be a valuable feedback partner. Quality responses are based on what we ask to focus on. Focus on qualitative components, based on concepts like Backwards Design, can help ensure alignment of suggested ideas. The relationship between the educator and AI should be collaborative. Therefore it’s important to always review recommendations with a critical eye for accuracy and alignment to the learning expectations.

Choose a lesson to review.

Identify one or more qualities to review and list them in order for assessment.

Craft one or more prompts to focus on just 1-2 qualities at a time. You will need to upload or share the lesson for AI to review as part of the prompt.

Reflect on the results using a critical eye as a collaborative partner for accuracy and bias. Ask follow up questions as needed.

Repeat the process with the next 1-2 qualities.

Evaluating Learning Resources, UBC Education Library, November 2020 (Video - 4:21)

Based on this reference page, the video offers a range of criteria and ideas for evaluating resources to be used in lessons. The ideas shared are universal for any school or district that you work for.

Why Should I Read This?

It’s important to review resources for their value and alignment to the lesson it’s included. The video offers a wide range of suggestions and ideas from which helpful insights can be applied in your respective work environment.

How can I determine if a resource will support my lesson for student achievement?

Ethical Use

The first resource we find useful might not be the best choice, unless we review its alignment to the learning expectations and/or acceptable evidence. This alignment comes before the value of engagement. If the alignment is present, then it’s worth the time to adapt the resource as needed to support engagement. Misaligned resources can create more work with reteaching because the intended focus does not occur.

Make a list of 3 ideas taken from the video or from the list in the table of the reference page.

Choose one of the ideas to evaluate a resource or activity in your lesson. Craft an AI prompt that aids in evaluating alignment to the learning expectations and/or acceptable evidence, as explored with Backwards Design.

Reflect on the results with a critical eye for how the AI made its decisions.

AI Prompting Work Samples

Design or Automate

How can we verify alignment of our lesson activities to the three elements of Backwards Design and get suggestions for updates?

Use the following prompt in a Generative AI Chat Box of your choice to evaluate a lesson plan based on Backwards Design with a focus on one of six qualities for a quality lesson. Here is an example transcript using ChatGPT and a video walkthrough for your review only if you would prefer seeing one before creating your own. Free and paid versions of generative AI chat boxes may require different levels of prompting to complete the work. Both will work.

Prompt:

Act as a master teacher with extensive expertise with Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. Evaluate my lesson based on Backwards Design and the six lesson qualities. Begin by asking me the following questions one at a time. Do not ask the next question until I answer the current question. Ask me the following:

What is the subject and grade level?
What are the
1. desired learning results
2. acceptable evidence
List the lesson steps
Choose 1-2 of the six lesson qualities for evaluation based on the following options:
1. Clear Learning Objectives
2. Build on prior knowledge
3. Engaging opening activity
4. Effective strategies / activities
5. Closure that reviews or summarizes the learning by students
6. Quality assessments

Restate my answers.

Next, share the following analysis and include suggestions for improvement for each:

How aligned is the acceptable evidence (final assessment) to the desired learning results?
How aligned are the lesson steps to the learning results and prepare for the final assessment?
How aligned are the chosen 1-2 lesson qualities to the desired learning results and the final assessment?

Prompt me to ask follow up questions. If I click X then prompt me to review a new lesson.