My new book The Science of Lesson Planning: High-Impact Practices That Deepen Student Learning is coming this fall!
Coming September 2026, published with ISTE+ASCDWhy do so many well-designed lessons still fall flat? Not because we don’t care. Not because we didn’t prepare.
Most of us were trained in lesson planning—what am I doing tomorrow? Very few of us were trained in lesson designing—what will my students experience, and what will that experience do to their thinking?
That’s the gap this book closes. Five phases, ten key features, drawn from cognitive science and twenty years in classrooms and beside teachers. It isn’t about inventing new ideas; it’s about making sense of the best ones we already have.
In short, this is the book I always wished I had.
Praise for The Science of Lesson Planning
“As educators who are actively shaping lessons in today’s classrooms, we cannot stress enough how critical this book is. It brings to the forefront the essential elements of planning lessons firmly grounded in the brain science of how students learn.”
— Michael and Nita Creekmore, Creekmore Conversations, authors of Every Connection Matters
“Lori Cohen has written a craft book teachers need. Research-grounded without being weighed down by jargon, useful without being prescriptive, and personal without losing the teacher’s edge. This book demystifies the process and returns it to the people who do the work.”
— Joe Truss, Racial Equity Consultant, Truss Leadership LLC
“My practices around lesson planning and assessments have been transformed! I am immediately co-creating rubrics with my 8th-grade English students.”
— Angela Fabregas Valdez, 8th Grade Core Teacher, Gale Ranch Middle School
“Lori Cohen has provided what educators have long needed: a single, trusted guide that brings together decades of research and multiple instructional frameworks into a cohesive approach to lesson planning. For busy educators, it is destined to become an indispensable companion.”
— Maureen Chapman, co-founder and co-director, cor creative partners, co-author of Leaders of the Class
“The 10 key features in the planner empower teachers to be intentional and flexible at the same time. I can’t wait to give Teacher Induction mentors the resource they’ve been looking for.”
— Elizabeth Steele, Curriculum Specialist, Induction, Elk Grove Unified School District
“Whether you’re in your first year or your thirtieth, this book will sharpen your practice and deepen your purpose.”
— Allison B. Schultz, Coordinator, Center for Teaching and Learning, The Episcopal Academy
Start before the book arrives
The Science of Lesson Planning app is the free companion to the book. Plan a lesson through the four planner elements with coaching at every step. Troubleshoot one that isn’t working by tracing the symptom back to the key feature behind it. Research connections for the content you’re teaching. Or bring a draft to Ms. Cohen’s Desk for a Glow-Grow-Go read against the ten key features.
No purchase required. Everything in it comes from the book.
Dive deeper with a workshop!
Learn more about the companion workshop to this upcoming book- Transformative Lesson Planning.