Since version 4.5.0, the Core (free) Sensei plugin has offered a range of lesson patterns – predefined templates that provide different styles and layouts to present your course content.
Sensei Pro introduced premium lesson patterns in version 1.3.0 with advanced features and customization options. These Pro patterns enable you to create more immersive course experiences and cater to specific teaching styles and content types.
Lessons patterns are available with and without Learning mode enabled.
How to add a lesson pattern
From your wp-admin page, head to Sensei LMS > Lessons > New Lesson.
The system will ask you to name the lesson, and then it will automatically open a screen view where you can select the different lesson patterns available:
In the screencast above, you can see the lesson patterns available on Sensei Pro (see below).
You can select a lesson pattern also from your Course page: upon adding a new lesson to your course, you will be prompted to name your new lesson, and the screen with the lesson patterns will appear:
Once a lesson pattern is applied to a lesson, it can’t be changed to a different pattern.
Lesson Patterns available on Sensei Core (Free)
Video Lesson
The Video Lesson Pattern comes with Video Block pre-configured so you can upload and embed video lessons directly within your course content. Core Sensei plugin supports embedding any media block supported by WordPress core. For more, see this documentation page.
Check also the tutorial page to get started with video courses.
Discussion Question
This lesson pattern is built to add a question and collect student answers. The goal is to promote interaction among learners.
The Discussion Question box is the most crucial part of this pattern. In the post-editor text box, draft your discussion question or scenario. This should be a question or topic that will initiate a conversation among learners.
Lesson with Quiz
The Lesson with Quiz pattern is useful for assessing students’ understanding of the course content. It has two main sections:
The Lesson Content section is where you’ll include the primary learning material. This section covers all the essential points that learners need to understand. The lesson content is divided into various subtopics for easy comprehension.
The Quiz section follows the lesson content and contains various questions about the lesson material.
Zoom/Meeting
With this pattern, you can schedule a new Zoom Meeting and a live lesson. Once you create the meeting on the Zoom site, Zoom will provide a unique URL.
Next, you go to your Sensei lesson (with the pattern already added) and add the Zoom link as a link in the Join Meeting button. Alternatively, you can customise the layout as you prefer.
Zoom offers a recording option. If you choose to record the lesson, you could later upload this video to the lesson page, allowing your students to revisit the lesson content at their convenience.
Note: this is manual integration between Zoom and Sensei and doesn’t allow the level of integration that some plugins offer, like automatic scheduling, reminders, or attendance tracking.
Files to Download
The Files to Download allows students to download files for a lesson. It can be useful if you have supplemental materials you want your students to access offline.
Once you select the Files to Download pattern, you will find the Under the “Lesson Information” section. Under that, there is a “Files” box. Click “Upload File” to add your desired files.
Note: remember to update the lesson every time you add or delete a file. Students can see and download these files when they view the lesson.
Default Lesson
The default lesson pattern is an empty page: you can start from scratch to create your lesson!
Sensei allows a lot of customization to fit your specific needs. You can read more about lessons on this page.
Lesson Patterns available on Sensei Pro
Flashcards
The Flashcards pattern is perfect for teaching definitions, important points, languages, or any concept that can be learned via prompt-and-response.
Flashcards can also be used like a quiz: for each question, you can input the question on one side (the ‘flashcard’ front) and the answer on the other (the ‘flashcard’ back).
The Flashcard lessons leverage the Flashcard Block.
Tasklist
The Tasklist pattern guides learners through a linear process or helps them memorize and understand a list of concepts.
You might use bullet points or numbers to list all the tasks, concepts or topics the students need to check off as they progress through the lesson.
Timed Quiz
With the Timed Quiz pattern, students will have a set time limit to complete the quiz question(s).
In the quiz settings, there’s an option for you to set a time limit. This is where you can implement the Timed Quiz feature.