Frequently Asked Questions on the New Lesson Planning Guidelines
A simplified guide for teachers, department heads, instructional leaders, and school administrators on lesson planning and learning design under DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026.
The new guidelines do not remove lesson planning. They simplify it through the ILAW Framework—Intentions, Learning Experience, Assessing Learning, and Ways Forward. The policy focuses on sound instructional decisions, learner needs, assessment evidence, and reflection rather than lengthy forms and compliance-driven paperwork.
What learners need to learn and demonstrate.
How learners will engage with and understand the lesson.
How evidence of understanding and progress will be gathered.
What the teacher will improve, reteach, extend, or adjust.
Annex B of the Order provides a lesson-planning guide, but it is not the sole required national template. A lesson plan may use another appropriate format as long as the essential ILAW components are evident, coherent, and aligned.
General Questions about the New Guidelines
1 What is DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026?
DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026 contains the Guidelines on Lesson Planning and Learning Design. It establishes a more flexible, efficient, and context-responsive approach to lesson preparation for teachers and Alternative Learning System implementers.
2 Does the new Order remove the requirement to prepare lesson plans?
No. Lesson planning remains a professional responsibility. The major change is that the plan should serve as a useful instructional tool instead of becoming a lengthy compliance document.
3 What is the main purpose of the new policy?
Its main purpose is to improve teaching and learning by helping teachers plan clear learning goals, meaningful learning experiences, appropriate assessments, and evidence-based next steps while reducing unnecessary paperwork.
4 Who is covered by the guidelines?
The guidelines apply to teachers and ALS implementers in public elementary and secondary schools, DepEd-operated Community Learning Centers, DepEd-recognized ALS providers, and basic education units of state and local universities and colleges. Private schools are encouraged to adopt the guidelines in accordance with their institutional policies.
5 What is the ILAW Framework?
ILAW is the simplified lesson-planning framework adopted under the Order. It stands for:
- I — Intentions;
- L — Learning Experience;
- A — Assessing Learning; and
- W — Ways Forward.
These four elements help ensure that learning goals, activities, assessments, and instructional next steps are connected.
6 Is Annex B the only official lesson-plan template?
No. Annex B is an example of how a lesson plan may be organized. It is a reference guide and should not be interpreted as the only national format. Schools may adapt it or use another suitable format, provided that the essential ILAW components are evident and aligned.
7 Does every teacher have to use exactly the same lesson-plan format?
No. The Order recognizes that lesson-plan format and level of detail may vary depending on the teacher’s experience, instructional situation, learner needs, content, resources, strategies, and learning modality.
8 When will the new guidelines be fully implemented?
Teachers may continue using the former DLL or DLP formats until the end of the first term of School Year 2026–2027. Full implementation of the revised lesson-planning guidelines begins in the second term of the same school year.
Frequently Asked Questions from Teachers
9 Can I still use my existing DLL or DLP during the transition?
Yes. The transitory provision allows the use of the DLL or DLP formats under DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2016 until the end of the first term of SY 2026–2027.
The Order does not require teachers to prepare both the old and the new format for the same lesson.
10 How long should a lesson plan be?
The Order does not prescribe a required number of pages. A lesson plan should contain enough information to show the teacher’s instructional thinking and enable effective lesson delivery.
A concise and coherent plan may be sufficient. More detail may be useful when the content, learners, strategy, resource, or learning modality is new, unfamiliar, or complex.
11 Must every box or prompt in Annex B be completed?
No. The note in Annex B allows teachers to use brief notes, integrated responses, or omit sections that are not applicable. Teachers should not invent information merely to fill every space.
12 Can one lesson plan cover more than one class session?
Yes. A competency may span several lessons, and one learning plan may cover one or more sessions, provided that the intended learning progression, activities, assessments, and next steps remain clear.
13 What should be written under Intentions?
Intentions should identify the relevant learning competencies, curriculum standards, and manageable learning objectives. The objectives should consider learner readiness, instructional context, and the available learning time.
14 What belongs under Learning Experience?
Learning Experience may include:
- appropriate learning resources;
- a brief pre-lesson activity;
- the planned lesson flow;
- scaffolding and checks for understanding;
- integration and contextualization;
- inclusive learning supports; and
- adjustments based on learner responses.
15 Must the teacher follow the written lesson flow exactly?
No. The teacher may adjust instruction based on learner responses, questions, misconceptions, progress, and emerging needs. The plan guides instruction, but it should not prevent the teacher from making sound professional decisions during the lesson.
16 Should formative assessment appear only at the end of the lesson?
No. Formative assessment and checks for understanding should be used throughout the learning session. The evidence gathered should help the teacher decide whether to clarify, adjust, provide support, or proceed with the lesson.
17 Is reflection required after every lesson?
Reflective practice is part of Ways Forward. After a lesson or session, the teacher should examine the learning evidence and identify appropriate next steps such as reteaching, remediation, enrichment, extension, or adjustment.
Reflections may be written as brief notes, bullets, or annotations. They do not have to be lengthy essays.
18 Are extended learning activities required in every lesson?
Not necessarily. The Order states that teachers may provide extended learning opportunities when these are appropriate for reinforcement, remediation, enrichment, curiosity, or additional support.
19 Can teachers use a shared or collaboratively prepared lesson plan?
Yes. Collaborative planning and the sharing of lesson plans are encouraged. A shared plan may be recognized as valid evidence of preparation when participating teachers understand it, adapt it to their learners, and are capable of implementing it effectively.
20 Can teachers use lesson exemplars or materials prepared by others?
Yes. Teachers may use lesson guides, exemplars, or instructional materials from DepEd offices or external partners as references. However, the teacher remains responsible for reviewing, adapting, and validating the plan according to the learners’ needs and context.
21 Can Artificial Intelligence be used in preparing a lesson plan?
AI may be used only as an auxiliary support tool and must not replace teacher judgment. Fully AI-generated lesson plans are not allowed.
Teachers may use AI for limited or guided tasks such as grammar checking, formatting, improving clarity, organization, or translation after the teacher has made the essential instructional decisions.
AI use must be declared, and all AI-generated content must be reviewed, validated, and adapted by the teacher before use.
22 How should lesson plans address learner diversity and inclusion?
Lesson plans should consider learner readiness, strengths, interests, barriers, disabilities, learning difficulties, giftedness, language, culture, and other relevant contexts.
Reasonable accommodations and modifications should be provided when necessary. Individualized Education Plans should serve as important references when planning for learners with disabilities.
Questions from Department Heads and Instructional Leaders
23 How should department heads review lesson plans?
Lesson plans should be reviewed qualitatively. The review should focus on:
- alignment and coherence of the ILAW components;
- responsiveness to learner readiness and context;
- appropriate use of learning design principles;
- use of assessment evidence;
- reflection and instructional next steps; and
- areas where coaching or technical assistance is needed.
Review should not focus solely on document completeness.
24 Can the Lesson Planning Rubric be used to score or rank teachers?
No. Annex A is intended as a self-check, reflection, coaching, and developmental feedback tool. The Order expressly states that it should not be used as a compliance checklist or scoring tool for paperwork completion.
25 Must every learning design principle appear in every lesson?
No. The Order states that not all learning design principles are expected to be evident in every lesson. Teachers should apply them intentionally over time according to learner needs and the nature of the lesson.
26 What support should be given to newly hired or newly assigned teachers?
They may receive structured support through:
- instructional coaching;
- collaborative lesson planning;
- mentoring;
- lesson exemplars and models;
- LAC sessions; and
- guidance on the learning design principles.
Additional support should not result in expanded templates, excessive documentation, or unnecessary administrative burden.
27 Are short classroom walkthroughs required to be rated?
No. The Order encourages frequent, non-rated, formative walkthrough observations, usually lasting approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Their purpose is to understand how lesson plans are enacted and to provide timely developmental feedback, not to create the pressure associated with formal performance evaluation.
Questions from School Heads and Administrators
28 May a school require additional lesson-plan forms or attachments?
Schools, CLCs, divisions, and regional offices should not require additional or expanded lesson-plan templates, supplementary forms, or documentation beyond the simplified standards in the Order.
Local processes should support teaching and learning rather than recreate the paperwork burden that the policy is intended to reduce.
29 What are the school head’s main responsibilities under the Order?
School heads should:
- provide regular opportunities for collaborative planning;
- position instructional leaders to support teachers;
- lead qualitative reviews of lesson plans;
- use review findings for coaching and technical assistance;
- protect time for lesson preparation;
- reduce unnecessary documentation;
- organize reflective professional discussions; and
- assess teachers’ instructional support needs continuously.
30 How should lesson plans be stored or archived?
Lesson plans may be archived in digital or printed form for reference, reflection, professional learning, research, and instructional coaching.
A three-year retention period is recommended, although plans considered exceptional or useful as professional-development samples may be retained longer. The archiving system should be organized at the school level.
The reform will fail if schools merely replace the old form with a new compliance form.
The real change under DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026 is not the appearance of the template. It is the shift from document-centered checking to purposeful instructional planning, professional reflection, collaboration, assessment-informed decisions, and developmental coaching.
A longer lesson plan is not automatically better. The stronger plan is the one that clearly connects what learners need to learn, how they will learn it, how progress will be checked, and what the teacher will do next.
Department of Education. DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026: Guidelines on Lesson Planning and Learning Design.
This article is a simplified explanatory guide. It does not replace the complete DepEd Order, its annexes, subsequent DepEd issuances, or applicable regional and division-level guidance. In case of inconsistency, the official issuance shall prevail.
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