Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 25/02/2026
Subject: Business
Lesson Topic: the changing role of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in operations management
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe how key IT tools (ERP, MES, IoT, APS) transform operational processes.
  • Explain how AI applications (predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, RPA, computer vision) improve decision‑making in operations.
  • Analyse the impact of IT and AI on strategic decisions such as location choice, process design, and capacity planning.
  • Evaluate the measurable benefits and potential risks of integrating IT and AI in operations.
  • Apply a simple ROI formula to assess an AI‑based maintenance investment.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Printed handout of the TechGear Ltd. case study
  • Laptops with internet access (ERP simulation demo)
  • Sample IoT sensor data set (CSV)
  • Short video demo of AI predictive maintenance
  • Worksheet for ROI calculation
 Introduction:
Imagine a factory that can predict equipment failures before they happen and automatically re‑schedule production. Building on students’ prior knowledge of basic operations management, this lesson will explore how IT and AI are reshaping those processes. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe the tools, compare traditional and digital approaches, and calculate the ROI of an AI investment.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑Now (5'): Quick quiz on traditional operations tools and their limitations.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10'): Overview of core IT tools (ERP, MES, IoT, APS) with slide examples.
  3. Group activity (12'): Using a provided comparison table, teams list advantages of IT‑enabled over traditional approaches.
  4. AI demo (10'): Show video of predictive maintenance and demand‑forecasting models; discuss key concepts.
  5. Case study analysis (15'): Teams examine the TechGear Ltd. data, calculate percentage improvements, and discuss strategic implications.
  6. ROI practice (8'): Worksheet where students compute ROI for an AI‑based maintenance system using the given formula.
  7. Plenary (5'): Recap of key points; exit ticket – one sentence describing the biggest benefit of AI in operations.
Conclusion:
We reviewed how IT provides the data infrastructure while AI turns that data into actionable insight, reshaping strategic operational decisions. Students now submit an exit ticket summarising a key benefit and are assigned a short homework: research a real‑world company using AI in its operations and prepare a one‑page summary of the impact.