Instructional Design: Quick and Dirty

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Instructional Design Quick and Dirty

• Sean Pollack
• Faculty Development Center

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Instructional Design

• Describe your first experience, or a recent
  experience, designing a course
• Imitation, borrowing, experimentation
• This is completely legit, and not a bad way to
  learn. . . But its not systematic

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Instructional Design

• Terminology comes from industry, especially
  software design and training has made headway in
  higher education. . .
• Not a new concept. Course design has been
  around for a long time
• ID uses a series of analytical processes to
  anticipate learner needs, develop and sequence
  the necessary materials, implement the results,
  and evaluate at all phases.

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The classic ID flow chart
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ID Limitations?

• Problems with models
• All learners are different (and differences
  matter)
• Learners often choose their own path, design
  notwithstanding
• Environmental factors are often left out of
  models
• BUT, ID is where you examine theory to formulate
  practice. . .

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An extreme example of contrasting learning
theories

• Positivist ideas about learning
• Learning situations are closed systems
• Learning is the transfer of knowledge
• Causality is predictable (if a student learns x,
  then she can do y)

• Constructivist Learning
• All learning is social and socially determined
• Knowledge resides in people and their experiences
• Much of learning is stolen

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ID breaking it down

• Who are my students?
• Complicating factors
• What are my learning objectives?
• Complicating factors
• What are my materials? How will they be
  experienced?
• Mode of instruction, structure, and activities
• How will I know if they have met the objectives?
• Assessment techniques
• How will I know if this is working?
• Evaluate, revise, re-implement

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Who are my students?

• Traditional? Older? Workers? Majors/non majors?
• Level of preparation?
• Learning styles?
• Diversity ethnic, gender, class
• Attitudes toward subject matter?
• Who are you?
• Where are you in your professional development?

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Students preparation

• How do we help students who lack preparation for
  the class?
• How do you deal with hostile or indifferent
  attitudes? Is attitude adjustment a legitimate
  learning goal?

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What are my objectives?

• How do you know what these are?
• Objectives must be measurable
• You can only measure those objectives that can be
  reached within the time frame of the course
• If I am a student in your class, what must I show
  you to demonstrate my attainment of the
  objectives? (describe your objectives in
  performance terms)

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What are my objectives?

• Stating objectives
• Use active verbs
• To write
• To identify
• To classify
• To solve
• To build
• To compare/contrast
• To complete

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What are my materials? How will my students
experience them?

• How do the materials advance the students toward
  the learning objectives?
• You are designing learning experiences, not just
  assignments/lectures.
• Teaching activities what the teacher does
• Learning activities what the learners do (rather
  than see, or read, etc.)
• How do these experiences of the material
  encourage shared production of knowledge?

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Excursus a digression, an appended explanation
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Excursus Technology and Course Design -Questions

• What portions of the course material can be
  successfully put online?
• What might be gained by moving this class to a
  partially or wholly internet mediated
  environment? What might be lost?
• How will my use of online components or other
  information technology improve this course, if at
  all?

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Excursus Technology and Course Design

• Courses are not just content. Information is
  not the same as knowledge.
• Medium matters. It affects perception,
  assimilation, experience, even the attitude of
  the learner.

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Excursus Technology and Course Design

• Know your own comfort level and willingness to
  experiment. Anticipate your students level of
  comfort.
• Stages of Development in Integrating Technology
  (Sandholtz, Ringstaff, Dwyer).
• Entry figuring it out
• Adoption finding the right tools
• Adaptation integration of technology into
  traditional classroom tasks
• Appropriation replacing old ways with new.
• Invention Confidence-gtAmbition-gtExperimentation
  -gt Evidence of improved student learning

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Assessment How will I know when they are meeting
objectives?

• What types of assessments do you use in your
  classes?
• What types of assessment techniques will help you
  measure the progress toward learning objectives?
• Graded? Ungraded?

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Assessment How will I know when they are meeting
objectives?

• Good fit between objectives, content, and
  assessments used?
• Students sometimes complain that tests dont
  reflect the content or the objectives.
• Classroom assessment
• Silent survey on comprehension
• Be clear, consistent, and make the case for your
  assessment techniques and guidelines

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Evaluation How will I know if this is working?

• Evaluate your plan before implementation
  (colleagues can help)
• Evaluate student outcomes and progress at all
  stages (i.e. do you see a change?)
• Allow students to give their feedback thru formal
  (anonymous) channels, and informal channels
  (build this into the syllabus) and with your
  communication tools (if you use them).

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Making Adjustments

• Revisit your objectives can they be reached in
  the time allotted with the resources available?
• What resources are available for those who need
  extra help? For those who need enrichment?
• Community resources? Web resources?
• Colleagues can help you evaluate and revise

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Summary Finks 5 Principles

• Challenge students to HIGHER LEVEL LEARNING.
• Use ACTIVE FORMS OF LEARNING.
• Give FREQUENT IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK to students on
  the quality of their learning.
• Use a STRUCTURED SEQUENCE OF DIFFERENT LEARNING
  ACTIVITIES.
• Have a Fair system of Assessing and Grading
  Students
• http//www.ou.edu/idp/tips/ideas/design.html

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A FewLinks and Resources on ID

• Instructional Design Theories, Models, Practice
• Theory
• "What is Instructional Design Theory?"
  lthttp//hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/peterdl/ID20
  Theory.htmgt
• Models
• "Instructional Design Models" lthttp//carbon.cuden
  ver.edu/mryder/itc_data/idmodels.htmlgt
• "Intructional Design for Online
  Learning"lthttp//illinois.online.uillinois.edu/ION
  resources/instructionaldesign/index.htmlgt
• Practice
• University of Oklahoma's Instructional
  Development Program lthttp//www.ou.edu/idp/tips/te
  chniques.htmgt