Flexible Pacing

In planning and developing the learning packages, the sequence in which the materials are made available to the learners must be logical (as it is with traditional lesson planning), and it should allow learners to progress at a flexible pace. Expecting learners to proceed at a "flexible pace" is not the same as progressing "at their own pace". Flexible pacing recognizes that not every learner will complete a given set of learning activities in the same length of time, but it also recognizes that the teacher will monitor the time the learner is taking for various activities and assignments to ensure that adequate progress is being made. Working "at their own pace" often implies that there are no timelines attached to the learning, which may be quite appropriate for some learners in some situations. The planning and delivery of college LBS is based on flexible pacing for the learners, which is especially important for the large number of learners in college programs who have post secondary or employment goals but who have very limited experience with time management as it relates to completing school work or employment-related tasks.

Learning Styles

The individualized packages of resources that colleges use often integrate various media: print-based, audio visual, and computer-mediated. To some degree this allows teachers to address various learning styles, but it is always difficult to plan and create all resources to address all learning styles. This is true of any classroom, not just a college LBS classroom. Some materials used in colleges are commercially produced and purchased, but often they are produced "in-house" to accommodate the parameters of the program and the goal paths of the learners in the program.

Pre-Determined Academic Criteria

One other challenge in lesson planning in college LBS programs is that teachers who develop learning materials for learners with further training goals (which is the largest goal path in the college sector) must often integrate the outcomes of the LBS levels and domains with pre-determined academic criteria for direct entrance into further training or for movement into an Academic Upgrading program such as ACE (Academic and Career Entrance).

Overall, what it really comes down to is that college LBS teachers take what would normally be delivered in a "stand-up" lesson and find alternate ways to facilitate the delivery of the same information on an individualized, continuous intake basis in large classes that accommodate multiple LBS levels and subjects at the same time.