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6. Alignment Table

How to use this activity

This activity supports practical application of the concepts in your lesson.

  1. Download this activity as a docx file
  2. Work through the activity step by step. Keep your answers concise and focused
  3. Return to your lesson when you are done.

What to do: Create a first draft linking each learning outcome to evidence, activities, and assessment

Expected output: A first draft of the alignment table

Approximate time: 20–30 minutes

Used in

Before you start

You will typically need:

  • Outputs from earlier activities (if applicable)
  • Notes from your current lesson
⬇ Download as .docx

Instructions

Use this as an initial alignment check — a way to see whether your outcomes, activities, and assessments connect. You will refine this table after developing activities and assessment in later lessons.

You will use

Alignment mapping

Outcome Activity Assessment Aligned? (Y/N) Notes

Fill in the table based on what you currently do. For each outcome, record the activity that addresses it and the assessment that checks it. If a cell is empty, that is a gap worth noting.

Diagnose

  • Where are the mismatches between what you teach and what you assess?
  • Which outcomes are taught but never assessed?
  • Which outcomes are assessed but never directly taught?
  • Pick one outcome from Activity 5: Learning Outcomes and trace it through: is the path from outcome to activity to assessment coherent?

Improve

Update the table to fix the alignment issues you found. For each gap, decide whether the problem is a missing activity, a missing assessment, or an outcome that no longer belongs.

For one row in your table, list the content learners would need to successfully participate in the activity. Note anything you were tempted to include that does not directly serve the activity — that is content you can cut or move.

If you are creating a new training

Start with your outcomes from Activity 5: Learning Outcomes. For each one, draft what activity could address it and what evidence would show a learner has met it. Leave the Assessment column as a placeholder if you have not yet designed assessment — you will return to fill it in after Lesson 9.

  • Pick 2–3 of your strongest outcomes and fill in the table for those first.
  • For each, ask: what would a learner need to do to demonstrate this outcome? Write that in the Activity column.
  • What would you look for as evidence that the outcome was met? Write that in the Assessment column.
  • For one row, list the content learners would need to successfully participate in the activity. If you find yourself listing content that doesn't directly enable the activity, set it aside — it may not belong in the training.

Translation to your learners

  • Does this alignment hold in your learners' real context? Consider whether the activities are feasible and whether the assessments are meaningful given your learners' backgrounds, resources, and constraints.

Context check

  • What breaks alignment in practice? Think about time limits, infrastructure, group size, or other constraints that could make a well-aligned plan fall apart during delivery.

Reflection

  • Where is alignment weakest in your current design? What does that tell you about where to focus your revision effort?

Reuse in later sections

Iteration

Return to this table after completing Activity 10: Assessment Plan. At that point, fill in or revise the Assessment column based on your assessment design work from Lesson 9.