Aug 18 2021

I’ve Been Lesson Mapping Since 1990

My Illinois Bell clients in 1990 had already seen me facilitate teams of Master Performers and Other Subject Matter Experts in Analysis and Design activities – plus facilitate teams of stakeholders in Project Steering Teams – in a couple of my Curriculum Architecture Design projects back in 1986. They had a new sticky project – with a dose of politics on top.

Given this opportunity – I created what eventually became a “Lesson Map” – although the original name was different. I was in a hurry to respond and didn’t have time to consider the “robustness” of my initial naming conventions – for this visual tool nor the cells within it – that came soon thereafter.

Modular Curriculum Development (MCD) is the midlevel PACTSM Process and is our most traditional ISD process. It has six phases and four key gates.

The macrolevel analysis and design work from the Curriculum Architecture Design (CAD) (if done prior) is brought to the midlevel of design detail in the MCD process.

These midlevel designs, while quite detailed, still leave room for creativity and some flexibility for the T&D developers. They will be expected to continue with the most micro analysis and design activities while working with the master performers and subject matter experts to create instructional content.

The Lesson Map

The Lesson Map is a visual device used by the Design Team. When facilitating a Design Team to map out the lessons, we always attempt to start with an application (a test and/or exercise) based on the Performance Model. We then work backward to define the demos needed to help the learners pass the application activity, and then define the information needed to help them make sense of the demo.