Key takeaways
- A Learning Plan is the whole term for one unit, one row per session.
- It is built from the Curriculum (outcomes, content, hours) and the Occupational Standard (benchmarks).
- The table columns are: week, session, session title, learning outcome, trainer activities, trainee activities, resources and references, learning checks, and reflections.
- Work out sessions from total unit hours ÷ hours per session, then fit them to your timetable.
- It is the parent document: Session Plans, the Record of Work and assessments all come from it.
The Learning Plan is the most important planning document a CBET trainer writes. It's the document your head of department approves at the start of term, the one session plans are written from, and the one auditors compare your record of work against. This guide explains what a learning plan is, walks through every field and column of the standard template, and shows you how to build one step by step.
What is a Learning Plan?
A Learning Plan is a structured, term-long plan for delivering one unit of competency. It breaks the unit into weeks and sessions, and for every session states what will be learned, how it will be taught, what trainees will do, which resources are needed, and how learning will be checked.
Think of it as the map for the unit. The curriculum tells you what must be covered and how many hours you have; the Occupational Standard tells you the standard trainees must reach; the learning plan tells everyone when and how it will happen this term, with this class.
One unit, one plan
If you teach three units this term, you need three learning plans. Each one covers a single unit from its first session to its final assessment.
Why the Learning Plan matters
- It proves coverage. Every learning outcome and every key performance criterion must appear somewhere in the plan, so nothing in the unit is missed.
- It paces the term. It spreads the unit's hours sensibly across the weeks you actually have, including time for assessment.
- It drives every other document. Session plans are written from its rows, the record of work follows its sessions, and assessments test the outcomes it schedules.
- It is checked. Heads of department approve it, and quality assurance teams and auditors compare it against your record of work and assessment evidence.
- It supports continuity. If another trainer takes over the class, the plan shows exactly where the unit is and what comes next.
What you need before you start
- The unit's Curriculum
For the learning outcomes, the content under each outcome, the total unit hours, suggested delivery and assessment methods and recommended resources.
- The unit's Occupational Standard
For the unit description (skill or job task), the elements and the performance criteria you'll use as benchmarks.
- Your timetable and class details
Number of weeks in the term, which days the class meets, how many sessions per week, class name, number of trainees and level.
- The template your institution uses
Usually the Ministry recommended template or the KSTVET format.
Not sure what elements and performance criteria are? See CBET terms explained. Need the official documents? Use the free CU/OS Downloads page.
The header: every field explained
The top section of a learning plan identifies the unit, the class and the people involved. Here's what each field means and where to get it.
| Field | What to write | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Course / programme name | The full programme, e.g. "Diploma in Electrical Engineering" | Curriculum cover |
| Unit of competency | The unit title exactly as printed, e.g. "Apply Basic Electronics" | Occupational Standard |
| Unit code | The unit's code, copied exactly | OS / curriculum |
| Name of trainer | Your name | You |
| Institution | Your institution's full name | You |
| Level | The KNQF level of the programme, e.g. Level 5 | Curriculum |
| Date of preparation / revision | When you wrote the plan, and when you last updated it | You |
| Number of trainees / class | The class size and class name or code | Your class list |
| Total unit hours | The hours allocated to the unit | Curriculum |
| Number of sessions | How many sessions you'll deliver (see the next section) | Calculated |
| Skill or job task | What the unit enables a worker to do, summarised from the unit description | OS unit description / curriculum unit summary |
| References | The main textbooks and materials for the whole unit, so you don't repeat them in every row | Curriculum recommended resources |
| Benchmark / criteria to be used | The key performance criteria the unit is assessed against | Occupational Standard |
Common header mistake
Don't copy the document's cover heading (e.g. "REPUBLIC OF KENYA" or "TVET CDACC") into the unit title. Use the unit's own title from the OS, such as "Apply Basic Electronics".
How to work out the number of sessions
The number of sessions links the curriculum's hours to your real timetable. Work it out in two directions and reconcile them.
1. From the curriculum's hours
Sessions needed ≈ total unit hours ÷ hours per session. A 60-hour unit taught in 2-hour sessions needs about 30 sessions.
2. From your timetable
Sessions available = teaching weeks × sessions per week. Twelve weeks with this unit timetabled for two 2-hour sessions a week gives 24 sessions.
3. Reconcile the two
If you have fewer sessions available than the hours need (24 vs 30 in the example), plan to combine content, use practical blocks of longer duration, or raise it with your head of department. If you have more, plan extra practice, revision and portfolio work. In either case, reserve sessions for assessment, portfolio of evidence (POE) review and make-up sessions. Some institutions give specific guidance on what proportion of hours should be planned as sessions; follow it where it exists.
Spread assessments out
A common pattern for a 12-week term is three assessment points, for example around weeks 4, 8 and 12, so every learning outcome is checked soon after it's taught.
The table: every column explained
The body of the learning plan is a table with one row per session (or block of sessions). These are the columns in the standard template and what goes in each.
| Column | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Week | The week of term. Many plans start teaching from week 2, after orientation and registration. | Week 2 |
| Session no. | Sessions numbered consecutively through the term, as scheduled on the timetable, often with hours. | 1 & 2 (4 hours) |
| Session title | A short name for what the session covers, taken from the curriculum content. | Types of electrical circuits |
| Learning outcome | "By the end of the session, the trainee will be able to:" followed by specific, observable outcomes. | Identify series, parallel and series-parallel circuits |
| Trainer activities | What you will do: introduce, demonstrate, guide, supervise practice, give feedback. | Demonstrate connecting a series circuit; guide groups |
| Trainee activities | What trainees will do. In CBET this should be active: practise, discuss, perform, present. | Connect and test series and parallel circuits in pairs |
| Resources & references | Tools, equipment, materials and specific references for this session. | Breadboards, resistors, multimeters, chart of symbols |
| Learning checks / assessment | How you'll confirm the outcome was achieved, and any assessment method. | Oral questions; trainees identify circuit types correctly |
| Reflections & date | Filled in as the term runs: what happened, deviations, and make-up sessions. | Covered as planned; sessions 7–8 moved to week 5 |
Plans also usually include specific rows for assessment and POE review, and end with a sign-off block: submitted by (trainer), approved by (head of department), date and official stamp.
A worked example (first rows)
Here is how the first rows of a learning plan for Apply Basic Electronics might look. Notice how each row traces back to a learning outcome in the curriculum and to criteria in the OS.
| Week | Session | Session title | Learning outcome | Trainee activities | Learning check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1–2 | Introduction to electric circuits | Define an electric circuit; identify electrical quantities and their units | Group discussion; match quantities to units | Oral questions; short quiz |
| 2 | 3–4 | Types of circuits | Identify series, parallel and series-parallel circuits | Build and compare circuits on breadboards | Trainees identify circuit types correctly |
| 3 | 5–6 | Ohm's law | Apply Ohm's law to calculate current, voltage and resistance | Measure with multimeters; solve problems in pairs | Calculations checked against measurements |
| 4 | 7–8 | Assessment 1 | Learning outcome 1 | Written and practical tasks | Marking scheme / observation checklist |
Illustrative example. Your sessions and timings follow your own curriculum and timetable.
How to create a Learning Plan, step by step
- Collect the unit's Curriculum and OS
Check that both documents are for the same unit and that the unit code matches.
- Fill the header
Programme, unit title and code, trainer, institution, level, class, number of trainees, total unit hours, skill or job task, references and benchmarks.
- Work out your sessions
Divide the unit hours by the session length, compare it with your timetable, and reserve sessions for assessment, POE review and make-up.
- List the learning outcomes in order
Take them from the curriculum's summary of learning outcomes. Note the hours for each, so bigger outcomes get more sessions.
- Break each outcome into session titles
Use the content listed under each outcome. One content area usually becomes one or two sessions.
- Write specific outcomes for each session
Use observable verbs (identify, connect, measure, calculate, demonstrate), never "know" or "understand".
- Plan trainer and trainee activities
Make trainees active in every session: practice, discussion, group work, demonstrations back to you. See active learning in CBET.
- Add resources and learning checks
List what you need for each session and how you'll know trainees achieved it.
- Schedule the assessments
Place assessment sessions after the outcomes they test, and check every key performance criterion is covered by at least one.
- Review, submit and keep it live
Get approval from your head of department, then update the reflections column every week as the term runs.
Ministry vs KSTVET learning plan templates
Two layouts are common in Kenyan TVET institutions:
- The Ministry recommended template, the widely used national layout with the header fields and columns described above.
- The KSTVET format, used by some institutions, which follows its own form layout and adds fields such as the trainer's admission number.
The content of a good plan is the same in both. Use the one your institution asks you to submit; if you're unsure, ask your head of department.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Vague outcomes such as "understand electronics". Write what the trainee will be able to do.
- Trainee activities that just say "listen and take notes". CBET sessions should be participatory.
- Missing outcomes or criteria. Tick off every learning outcome and key criterion against the plan before you submit.
- No assessment sessions, or all assessment bunched at the very end of the term.
- A plan that never changes. The reflections column is meant to be filled in weekly, recording deviations and make-up sessions.
- Mismatched unit code or title between the plan, the OS and the curriculum.
Creating a Learning Plan faster with CBET Planner
Writing a learning plan by hand for every unit takes hours: copying outcomes, counting sessions, filling every column and formatting the table. CBET Planner does the heavy lifting:
- Upload the unit's Curriculum and Occupational Standards
DOCX works best. CBET Planner reads the unit title, code, learning outcomes, elements and performance criteria, and shows them so you can confirm or correct them.
- Enter your class details
Weeks, lessons per week, class days, trainees and level.
- Choose the template and output
Ministry or KSTVET; one document (KES 40) or one document per week as a ZIP (KES 100).
- Pay with M-Pesa and download
Preview, then download an editable Word file or a PDF. Edit anything before you submit.
Once you have the plan, the next step is planning each lesson. Continue with Part 4: What is a Session Plan?
Frequently asked questions
What is a learning plan in CBET?
A learning plan is the term-long plan for one unit of competency. It lists every week and session of the term with the session title, learning outcome, trainer and trainee activities, resources and references, learning checks or assessments, and a reflection column, all traced back to the unit's curriculum and Occupational Standard.
What is the difference between a learning plan and a session plan?
The learning plan covers a whole unit across the whole term, one row per session. A session plan zooms in on a single one of those rows and plans that one lesson in detail, usually using the BOPPPS stages with timings.
How do I calculate the number of sessions in a learning plan?
Start from the total unit hours in the curriculum and divide by the length of one session. For example, a 60-hour unit taught in 2-hour sessions needs about 30 sessions. Then check that against your timetable: weeks in the term multiplied by sessions per week. Leave room for assessment, portfolio review and make-up sessions, and follow any guidance your institution gives.
Where do the benchmarks in a learning plan come from?
Benchmarks, or the criteria to be used, come from the Occupational Standard. They are the key performance criteria under the unit's elements, and they tell anyone reading the plan the standard each session is working towards.
Which learning plan template should I use, Ministry or KSTVET?
Use whichever your institution asks you to submit. The Ministry recommended template is widely used; some institutions use the KSTVET format, which adds fields such as the trainer's admission number. The content is the same; the layout differs.
Can I generate a learning plan automatically?
Yes. CBET Planner reads your unit's Curriculum and Occupational Standards and generates a complete learning plan in the Ministry or KSTVET template, as one Word document for KES 40 or one document per week (ZIP) for KES 100. You can review and edit it before submitting.