Content Analysis of the Lesson Plans Developed by Faculty of Ilam University of Medical Sciences in 2009

Introduction: Lesson plan is one of the key factors in the education process. The main purpose of lesson plan is to facilitate teaching and learning by establishing a good communication platform. This study performed a content analysis of the lesson plans developed by faculty members of Ilam University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this cross – sectional study, all 108 lesson plans developed by the faculty of Ilam University of Medical Sciences in the first and second semesters in 2009 were analyzed. The data was collected by a checklist covering 13 dimensions. Data analysis was done using t-test, and ANOVA. Results: Maximum and minimum ratios of the lesson plans belonged to schools of health (43.5%) and medicine (12%), respectively. The total average score of evaluation of the lesson plans developed was 67.94±16.57 (out of 100). The most common mistakes were related to objectives (45.4%), and evaluation methods (25.9%). The greatest shortcomings were related to dimensions of general and class regulations and policies (58.3%), preparation of learners before class sessions (55.6%), and assignments (40.7%). The dimensions of objectives in the lesson plans (89.9%), teaching methods (82.4%), and references recommended (82.4%) gained the highest scores. There was a significant relationship between faculty members’ academic ranks and evaluation scores of their lesson plans (p=0.03, CI95% =0.6-16.0). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, holding lesson plan workshops and using a standardized lesson plan templates could provide an appropriate basis for developing better lesson plans by the faculty.