Lesson Plan: Concepts of Project Management

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Course Title:

  Project Management and Experiential Learning in Public Service

  Course Number:

  8607130

  Career Cluster:

  Government & Public Administration

  CIP Number:

  07449999CP

  Course Type:

  CAR-PREP - High School Career Preparatory

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “Journey of Jerry.” See CPALMS resource ID# 220023.

• Career Connection

  
  

  In the durable skills domain of critical thinking, students will practice gathering and analyzing reliable and valid information from multiple sources.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Describe the essential concepts of project management plans.
  • Conduct research by gathering and analyzing multiple sources related to concept of project management planning.

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Familiarity with basic concepts of a project.
  • Work in groups to solve a problem.
  • Find information (research) about specific content areas as needed using multiple sources.
  • Comprehend and compare nonfiction texts like articles.
  • Use and read digital texts.
  • Prepare and create presentations.

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What are the essential concepts of a project management plan?
  • Why are these concepts important for project management?

• Procedure

  
  
  1. Teacher can start by asking a question to engage thinking: What are some common activities required for project management planning?
     • Have students discuss their responses with a partner and then have volunteers share ideas with the class.
  2. Provide students with the case study, “Journey of Jerry,” (see CPALMS Resource ID#220023).
     • Have students read independently first and make notes in the margins. Then, have students partner, read and discuss in pairs.
  3. After students read the case study, ask students the following questions:
     • Why did Dr. Davidson want Jerry to be part of the project planning team? Was it a good decision? Why or why not?
     • What did Jerry miss in recommending a focus for the project in the first team meeting?
     • Did you think the specific objectives of the project in Sri Lanka adequately address the overall goal of the project? Why or why not?
     • What is required for the project objectives to be achieved?
  4. Ask students to form small groups (4 students per group, 5 as necessary). Present students with the following guiding question: What are the essential concepts of project management plans?
  5. Provide students with the attached handout. Inform students that each group member will be researching 2 (depending on group size) specific concepts of a project management plan and then sharing their research within their group.
  6. Provide groups with the following list of concepts to research and discuss. Each student will be responsible for two of the concepts on the list.
     • Project schedule / product delivery management
     • Project cost/budget
     • Time management
     • Human resource management
     • Risk management
     • Communication management
     • Quality management
     • Progress monitoring
  7. For each concept, the students should:
     • Define the concept.
     • Describe the importance or need to have the concept included in a project plan.
     • Cite an example of the concept.

  8. As students conduct research in their groups, have them take notes, indicating the citations and sources for their information. Students will then share notes and research within the group. After, each student should compile their research and discussions into a written summary that defines and describes the importance of each project management component. The provided handout also includes a peer evaluation, for students to evaluate peers on their group contributions.

  9. To bring the lesson to a close, ask students following questions:

     • • • How is this information helpful for you in your future job?
         • What types of professional careers require knowledge/ understanding of project management concepts?

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Students should explore multiple sources for information when they discuss about the questions in group.
  • Please share couple of examples of where/how students can find further information regarding emergency planning before closing the session.