| Course | NURS 6321 Curriculum Development, Assessment, and Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 5 |
| Paper type | Lesson plan |
| Length | About 680 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NURS 6321 Week 5
Lesson Plan: Seeing the Trend in Three Sets of Observations, a 90-Minute Orientation Session
Student Name
College of Nursing, Walden University
NURS 6321: Curriculum Development, Assessment, and Evaluation
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Lesson Plan: Seeing the Trend in Three Sets of Observations, a 90-Minute Orientation Session
Session Header
Objective (Week 3, objective 2): working from one patient's last three rounds of observations and notes, the new nurse names each parameter that is moving and which way, in 4 of 5 cases. Learners: 10 newly hired nurses in week 2 of orientation, who can already calculate the early warning score. Setting: the education center's skills room, tables for pairs, one projector. Instructor: one clinical nurse educator.
Session Plan
Table 1 sets out the session minute by minute. Transitions have their own rows and minutes.
Table 1
Timed Plan, 90 Minutes
| Minutes | Instructor does | Learners do | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-5 | States the objective and why it matters: most patients who deteriorate show a trend over hours before any single value alarms | Read the objective on the handout; write one question | Handout with objective; projector slide |
| 5-7 | Transition: moves learners into five pairs | Move to paired tables | Table cards numbered 1-5 |
| 7-22 | Worked example: projects patient A's three observation sets and thinks aloud, circling each changing value and stating its direction | Annotate their own copy of patient A as the instructor speaks | Patient A packet (three sets, notes); red pens |
| 22-37 | Circulates; answers only with questions | In pairs, complete patient B, where the first two steps are already done | Patient B completion packet |
| 37-40 | Transition: returns attention to the front | Stop and turn chairs forward | Timer |
| 40-50 | Formative check: hands out patient C; collects cards at minute 50 | Alone, write on an index card the changing parameters and their direction | Patient C packet; 10 index cards |
| 50-52 | Transition: sorts cards into pass and miss while learners stretch | Stand, refill water | Answer key for patient C |
| 52-72 | Runs path A or path B (see below) | Path A: pairs solve patients D and E unaided; E is stable, as a distractor. Path B: follow a second worked example, then complete one problem | Patients D and E packets; patient C projected for path B |
| 72-75 | Transition: calls pairs back to plenary | Return to front-facing seats | Timer |
| 75-85 | Plenary: each pair names one trend; instructor links the trend to next week's objective on likely causes | Present one trend in one sentence | Whiteboard |
| 85-90 | Exit ticket: collects for the preceptor file | Alone, write a one-sentence trend statement for patient F | Patient F card |
Why the Session Runs in This Order
A worked example precedes independent problems because novices learn a new procedure faster by studying solved examples than by solving problems from the start, since unguided problem solving uses working memory that would otherwise go to learning the pattern (Sweller & Cooper, 1985). The completion problem in minutes 22 to 37 fades that support before learners work alone. Every activity was chosen backward from the objective's criterion, so the exit ticket asks for exactly the performance the objective names (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Patient E is stable on purpose: a nurse who sees deterioration everywhere will call too often, and the objective asks for correct identification, not suspicion.
Formative Check and Alternative Path
Pass condition: at least 8 of the 10 cards name both the rising respiratory rate and the falling urine output in patient C, and state their direction. Patient C's heart rate and temperature change only slightly, so a card listing those alone misses the pattern. Checking at the midpoint lets the instructor change the rest of the session while there is time to act, which is the purpose of formative assessment (Black & Wiliam, 1998).
If 8 or more pass, the session runs path A: two unaided problems, including the stable distractor. If fewer than 8 pass, it runs path B. The instructor projects patient C, shows the two missed parameters beside the two that distracted learners, and points out that respiratory rate and urine output are the values new nurses most often overlook. Pairs then complete patient D only; patient E is dropped. The plenary and exit ticket keep their times in both paths, so the session still ends at minute 90 with evidence for every learner.
References
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
Sweller, J., & Cooper, G. A. (1985). The use of worked examples as a substitute for problem solving in learning algebra. Cognition and Instruction, 2(1), 59-89. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci0201_3
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
What the NURS 6321 Week 5 instructions ask for
The fifth NURS 6321 week has students plan one teaching session. Name the objective and learners, set out timed activities, explain the sequence and include a formative check with a plan for learners who struggle. Alignment is marked first, so a lively activity that does not serve the objective loses points. Cite instructional design sources in APA 7. Timing to the nearest five or ten minutes is usually enough. Write the plan so another instructor could teach from it. The formative check should test the objective directly. Explain each activity's purpose in a phrase. A table with time, activity, instructor action, learner action and purpose is the usual layout. The rationale and formative check follow as short paragraphs.
How this NURS 6321 Week 5 example is built
The plan fits on two pages and is written for somebody else to teach from. A header names the session objective, the learners and the setting. The body is a table with four columns: elapsed time, what the instructor does, what the learners do, and the materials in play. Transitions are given their own rows and their own minutes, which is why the column totals ninety rather than seventy five. Roughly halfway through sits a formative check with a stated pass condition, described precisely enough that the instructor knows what they are looking for. Directly under it is the alternative path, naming what happens to the remaining time if most of the room misses the check. Nothing in the plan asks the instructor to improvise.
Where the marks sit in the NURS 6321 Week 5 rubric
Alignment is the first thing marked, meaning whether the activities in the middle of the session actually serve the objective at the top, and a plan whose most enjoyable activity has nothing to do with the objective loses there. Feasibility is the second heavy row, and timing is where it is won or lost, since a plan allotting fifteen minutes to an exercise that has never taken less than thirty reads as untested. Points also go when materials are described in general terms rather than named, when the formative check has no pass condition attached, and when the plan is written in language only its author could follow. Where a rubric asks for differentiation, one sentence about supporting struggling learners is not enough to earn the row.
Common NURS 6321 Week 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Lesson plans score poorly when activities drift from the objective. Check each one against it. A second weakness is no formative check. Add one that tests the objective. Writers also skip the alternative path. Plan what happens when learners miss. Avoid long lectures for skill objectives. Use practice. Show timing. A sequence from a worked example to guided cases to independent cases shows why the order matters. Close with how you will know learners met the objective. Make sure the independent practice uses cases learners have not seen.
Get a NURS 6321 Week 5 example written to your instructions
Tell us the session length, the objective it serves and the setting, whether that is a skills laboratory, a seminar room or a synchronous online class. The plan returns timed to the minute with the check written and the alternative path drafted, in a table you can rework rather than rebuild. The first plan is free and comes back inside 24-48 hours.
More NURS 6321 papers and MSN samples
- NURS 6321 Week 1: Discussion Post
- NURS 6321 Week 2: Needs Assessment
- NURS 6321 Week 3: Learning Objectives
- NURS 6321 Week 4: Curriculum Map
- NURS 6321 Week 6: Assessment blueprint
- NURS 6321 Week 7: Rubric draft
- NURS 6321 Week 8: Discussion post
- NURS 6321 Week 9: Evaluation plan
- NURS 6321 Week 10: Curriculum design
- NURS 6321 Week 11: Peer critique
- NURS 6331 Week 5: Accessibility audit
- NURS 6241 Week 5: Stakeholder Map
- NURS 6341 Week 5: Evidence appraisal
- NURS 6231 Week 5: Care Delivery Model Review
NURS 6321 Week 5 questions, answered
How detailed does the timing need to be?
Detailed enough that the minutes add to the session length without rounding. Five minute granularity is standard and is what the example uses, with transitions given their own rows. A plan whose parts total seventy minutes for a ninety minute class has either forgotten something or is intending to improvise, and both readings cost marks on feasibility in most classrooms.
Should the plan be written for another instructor to use?
Assume yes, since that assumption is what forces the useful detail out. Written for its author, a plan can say discuss the case and be perfectly clear to one person. Written for a colleague, it has to say which case, in what grouping, for how long and with what question in front of them. Rubrics in this area reward the second version consistently.
What belongs in the formative check?
Something that produces a visible response from most of the room in under five minutes, along with the condition that counts as passing it. The example uses a short calculation with a threshold stated. A check without a threshold is an activity, since the instructor has no basis for deciding whether to continue as planned or move to the alternative sitting underneath it.
Where can I find a free NURS 6321 Week 5 sample paper?
The trend-spotting lesson plan is printed here with the header, the timed session, the rationale for order and the formative check.
Who are the learners in NURS 6321 Week 5?
Ten newly hired nurses in week two of orientation who can already measure vital signs accurately but need to see trends.