Learning path · I'm planning a session

Planning a learning or facilitation session

You have a session to lead and want participants to leave with something they can use in their work.

By the end, you will have a reusable session plan with a clear objective, an activity based on real work, something useful participants can take with them, and access arrangements made in advance.

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Your path

Six steps to work through in order

Begin with what participants will useUse Ask to consider what participants should leave with and how to shape the session around that result.Ask a question
Consider community contextIf relevantIf the session centers Minnesota communities, use the relevant brief with care and stay within its stated limits.Explore Minnesota Communities
Choose practical resourcesUse the session plan template, facilitation learning guide, and access checklist as needed.Session plan template · Facilitation that leads to practical use · Access checks before a session
Draft your session planInclude the objective, activity, work participants will complete, accessibility arrangements, and follow-up. Use the downloaded checklist to write your answers in a tool you normally use. This page does not save them.
Review your workConfirm that participants will leave with something useful, the access arrangements are specific, and the follow-up has a date.
Find the right person when neededIf another perspective would help, use Find the right person to identify the responsible role or office. Staff consultation request forms are closed.Find the right person or office

Make the work meaningful

What a useful result looks like

Still needs work:

Slides without time to practice
No useful work for participants to take with them
Controls or directions shown only with icons

Ready to use:

A clear objective, practice with real work, and notes on assistive technology and plain language

Privacy: Do not record or score individual participants' beliefs. If you gather feedback, report only combined results that cannot identify anyone. This page does not save your answers or progress. Notes saved through an earlier version may still be in this browser's site data; this page does not show or delete them.

Published checklist

Session plan

Browse and download only. This published checklist is not a form. Staff notes are not saved here.

Browse and download only. This checklist is published from the knowledge base. Staff notes are not filled in or saved on this page.

Session title and audienceIn the published checklist
Learning objective (one sentence, observable)In the published checklist
Activity with participants' real workIn the published checklist
Useful work participants will leave withIn the published checklist
Describe what they will complete and how they will use it next.
Accessibility arrangementsIn the published checklist
Consider captions or CART, materials shared in advance, alternatives to dragging or timed activities, plain-language slides, and text labels for every control.
Who helped shape or will co-facilitateIn the published checklist
What you chose not to assume about participantsIn the published checklist
Note what you still need to learn about participants' needs and experience.
Who is responsible for follow-upIn the published checklist
Name who will learn whether participants were able to use what they completed.
Follow-up dateIn the published checklist

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Six steps to work through in order

Begin with what participants will useUse Ask to consider what participants should leave with and how to shape the session around that result.Ask a question

Consider community contextIf relevantIf the session centers Minnesota communities, use the relevant brief with care and stay within its stated limits.Explore Minnesota Communities

Choose practical resourcesUse the session plan template, facilitation learning guide, and access checklist as needed.Session plan template · Facilitation that leads to practical use · Access checks before a session

Draft your session planInclude the objective, activity, work participants will complete, accessibility arrangements, and follow-up. Use the downloaded checklist to write your answers in a tool you normally use. This page does not save them.

Review your workConfirm that participants will leave with something useful, the access arrangements are specific, and the follow-up has a date.

Find the right person when neededIf another perspective would help, use Find the right person to identify the responsible role or office. Staff consultation request forms are closed.Find the right person or office

What a useful result looks like

Still needs work:

Slides without time to practice

No useful work for participants to take with them

Controls or directions shown only with icons