Workshop example
A teacher training workshop presentation for a half-day session
A morning of CPD on designing active learning lessons, for facilitators, heads of department and trainers. It sets out the evidence, three principles for every active lesson, a lesson redesigned before and after, the session timings and what teachers take back to their classrooms.
Education17 slides · shown in the Harvest template (Premium)
Start free: 2 decks, the first 3 slides of each written. Every slide and PowerPoint download with Premium.
The deck, slide by slide
Every slide as it is designed in Harvest, with its text written out beside it.
01Cover
Designing Active Learning Lessons
Half-day teacher CPD workshop · 9:00–12:30 · Room B14 · Clara Jensen and Tomás Rivera
02Agenda
This morning's plan
- Why active learning works
- Try it: think-pair-share
- Redesign a lesson
- Gallery walk feedback
- Plan your next lesson
03Section
Why active learning works
Students remember what they do, not what they hear.
04Key numbers
Active lessons cut failure rates by a third
A large review of 225 studies found students in lecture-only classes were 1.5 times more likely to fail.
- 3.5 h — Workshop length
- 4 — Hands-on activities
- 1.5× — Failure risk in lectures
- 24 — Teachers taking part
05Chart
More teachers keep using active tasks a term after the workshop
Chart: Teachers trained, Still using weekly across Spring 25, Summer 25, Autumn 25, Spring 26.
- Teachers trained: Spring 25 16 · Summer 25 20 · Autumn 25 22 · Spring 26 26
- Still using weekly: Spring 25 9 · Summer 25 13 · Autumn 25 16 · Spring 26 22
Last spring, 22 of 26 teachers still used active tasks every week, one term after the workshop.
06At a glance
The workshop at a glance
- You will leave with a redesigned lesson — Bring a lesson you teach next week. By 12:30 it will have at least two active tasks, timings and a quick check for understanding.
- 4 activities — Try each one yourself.
- Groups of four — Mixed subjects.
- 20-min break — At 10:40.
- 1 lesson plan — Ready to teach.
07Points
Three principles for every active lesson
We will practise each one during this morning's activities.
- Every student does something every ten minutes: write, discuss, sort, solve or explain to a partner.
- Tasks are short and timed, with a clear output, so groups know exactly what done looks like.
- Close every task with a quick check, such as mini whiteboards or exit tickets, before moving on.
08Two columns
What to bring, and what you will take away
Bring
- One lesson you teach next week
- Your scheme of work
- A laptop or printed plan
Take away
- A redesigned lesson plan
- Ten ready-made activity cards
- Peer feedback from your group
09Comparison
The same lesson, before and after a redesign
Before
- 30 minutes of teacher talk
- Questions to the whole class
- Worksheet to finish at home
After
- 10-minute input in two chunks
- Think-pair-share on each idea
- Exit ticket in the last 5 min
10Table
Today's sessions and timings
Time Session Format Lead 9:00 Why it works Short input Clara 9:35 Think-pair-share Try it Tomás 11:00 Redesign Group work Both 12:00 Gallery walk Feedback Clara 11Timeline
From this workshop to your classroom
- TodayRedesign one lesson and get feedback from your group.
- Next weekTeach the lesson and note what students did and said.
- Week 3Observe a colleague's active lesson for twenty minutes.
- Week 6Share results at the follow-up session after school.
12Process
How to redesign any lesson
- PickChoose one lesson objective that matters most.
- ChunkSplit your input into two short parts.
- ActivateAdd a task after each chunk for every student.
- CheckEnd with a quick check of understanding.
13Composed
One morning moves you from theory to a lesson ready to teach
- Arrive: Bring a lesson you teach next week (You)
- Learn: Short input on active learning (Facilitators)
- Try: Do the activities as a student (Facilitators)
- Redesign: Rework your lesson in groups (You)
- Share: Gallery walk and peer feedback (You)
Timings
- 9:00: input and first activity
- 10:40: break
- 11:00: redesign and feedback
Activity Time Output 1 Think-pair-share 15 min Three shared ideas 2 Card sort 20 min Ranked strategies 3 Lesson redesign 50 min New lesson plan 4 Gallery walk 25 min Two pieces of feedback Ground rules
- Phones away: Except for timers
- Try everything: Be the student first
- Kind and specific: Feedback names one change
By 12:30: Every teacher has a lesson to teach
14Image
Gallery walk: learn from each other
Groups pin their redesigned lessons on the wall. Everyone walks round with sticky notes and leaves one strength and one suggestion.
- 25 minutes, in pairs
- Two notes on every lesson
Image: Teachers walking past lesson plans pinned on a classroom wall with sticky notes
15Team
Your facilitators today
- Clara Jensen, Lead facilitator. Teaching and learning lead.
- Tomás Rivera, Co-facilitator. Science teacher, 12 years.
- Nadia Haddad, Group coach. Supports humanities groups.
- Ben Adeyemi, Group coach. Supports maths groups.
16Quote
What teachers said after the last workshop
“I changed one lesson the next morning. My quietest class talked more in an hour than they had all term.”
17Closing
Teach it next week, share it in week six
Thank you for taking part. Please complete the two-minute feedback form before you leave.
Make your own version
Arcdeck starts from this topic in Harvest. Change it to yours, edit the storyline, and every slide is written for you.
Also works in
The same deck in other templates made for this kind of presentation.
Questions
Plan the activities on the slides, not around them: this example gives the redesign task, the gallery walk and the timings their own slides, so the room always knows what to do next. Keep the theory to the first half hour.