Instructional Design

Presented by: Dean Blevin, Patti Lawrence, Cameron Murchison, Soong-Chan Rah, and Julia Speller

Introduction

This presentation will provide a way of holding the components of teaching methods, nature of learner, nature of community, and technology in a common design plan

The presentation will focus on hybrid or blended courses that combine face-to-face contact with distance online education

Good Instructional Design

1) Puts pedagogy before technology

2) Encourages reflective course preparation that anticipates learner needs

3) Motivates learning and provides

clearly assessed outcomes

4) Supports appropriate time management

Rational for Common Design Components

Primary concern in Instructional Design is establishing basic design components that guide the development of classes

A number of basic concerns must be addressed that create a “flow” of appropriate interaction between the teacher, learners, and content

Key Ingredients in Blended Learning Environment

Live events: synchronous, instructor-led learning with all learners at the same time

Self-paced learning: course components that engages individual learners at their own speed

Collaboration: environments in which learners are able to communicate with each other

Assessment: measure of learner’s knowledge

Performance support materials: reference and real-life materials learners use in real life situations

FOUR STEP process to Instructional Design

I) Undertaking Instructional Analysis

II) Setting Goals and Objectives

III) Selecting Teaching Strategies

IV) Administering Evaluations

I) Undertaking Instructional Analysis

A) Determine the suitability of online delivery with current technological capability

B) Direct attention to the audience through an investigation of ‘learner characteristics’

C) Explore technical skills of learners

D) Explore the pedagogical skills and motivations of the instructor

A) Determine Suitability

A hybrid format can be the remedy for learning that may not be appropriate for dedicated online learning

Create instructional goals that will guide the design: to indicate the areas of knowledge to be taught to pave the way for more concrete objectives later in the process

Questions that can guide the process include: What do learners know now and what do they need to know? What prerequisite knowledge, skills and understandings do

learners need? How can the course fill the gap between what is and what needs

to be?

(Source: Florida Gulf Coast University, Principles of Online Design http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/ )

B) General Characteristics of the Learner

Questions to guide this process include: What are the personal characteristics of the learners

(age, profession, background, family life, etc.)? What is the educational level of learners? For what purpose are the learners taking the

course? How will learners use/apply the knowledge gained in

the course? What do the learners already know about the topic?

Are there any prerequisite?

C) Technical Skills of Learners

Ability to navigate the internet Basic computer operations and concepts Capacity to install basic software applications

Questions that can guide this process are: What experiences do the learners have with online

courses? What level of technical skills do the learners have? Do the learners have the technology available to

access the course content and complete the coursework?

(Source: http://www.wake.tec.ne.us/dist_ed/internet/assessment.html)

D) Skills/motivation of the instructor

Must possess a realistic notion about their own learning curve for online course design

Must understand the need to be a “guide on the side” rather than a “sage on stage” to maximize dialogue and interaction

Questions that can guide this process are: How long will it take the instructor to develop the course? Will it require release-time or reduction of course load? What technical tools will instructor need? What is the level of IT support the instructor will require? What re-tooling or additional educational support will the

instructor need?

II) Setting Goals and Objectives

A) Goals are broad statements of instructional intent and Objectives are steps leading toward goals

- They should relate to the overall institutional purpose- And be prepared prior to the design of the teaching

strategies and evaluation plans

B) Relate goals to:- Cognitive content- Behavioral content- Affective content

(Source: http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/designDev.html)

II) Setting Goals and Objectives

A) They should guide the instructor- in the selection of course materials- in the determination of teaching strategies- in shaping assessment procedures

B) They should guide the learners- by summarizing what to expect- by spelling out what they are required to do- by detailing how they will be assessed

III) Selecting Teaching Strategies

Teaching strategies are needed for three major areas of online or blended formats stimulate reciprocity between instructor and learner enable interaction among students facilitate engagement of learner with subject matter

In addition to interactions and engagements teaching strategies should also Consider different learning styles Focus on the ways to generate active participation for

more affective learning

III) Selecting Teaching Strategies

Chart I Range of activities that reflect teaching

strategies in major areas

Chart II Three-fold division of teaching activities that

include Instructor/Learner, Learner/Learner, and Learner Content

Activity Instructor/Student Student/Student Student/Content

Web search √

Case Study √ √

Create Report √

Role Play √

Create Group Presentation √ √ √

Quizzes/tests √ √

Discussion/debate √ √ √

Journaling √ √

Guest speakers √

Simulations √

Games √ √

Learning objects √

Instructor/Student Student/Student Student/Content

synchronous chat sessions in the course that represent virtual office hours

learners co-generate assignments/discussions for the class

asynchronous audio/video clips of lectures from the instructor

“Ask the instructor” discussion forum/thread on the course Web site

Require learners to comment on discussion threads posted by other learners

links to other Web sites that provide material related to the course content

Instructors provide feedback on the learner's participation in class discussions

learners critique each other's assignments prior to submitting them to the instructor

multiple access practice exams

Provide a location on the course Web site for students to ask course related questions rather than fielding questions from individual students by e-mail

open-ended discussion questions in class or group forums

Use a variety of media (text, multimedia, audio, video, graphics, etc.) when designing content for a course Web site

Develop a "tickler file" of comments commonly used in course or topic areas that can be pasted into a discussion, thus saving time retyping those comments

class projects that require a collaboratively produced deliverable

Consider using learning objects collected by repositories such as MERLOT and CAREO

Comment on threads of learner discussions rather than trying to respond to every comment posted by learners

assignments where students develop summaries of class discussions

Create systems that allow students to have control over their interaction with course content (e.g. interactive CD-ROM materials, etc.).

Invite "virtual guest lecturers" to participate in class discussions

Give students responsibilities for evaluating each others' assignments

Incorporate student-generated content into the design of the course (add links to Web sites that students discover, post example projects from previous courses, etc.).

case studies, negotiation exercises, or debates on course-related topics

"ask the experts" discussion forums where students less experienced with the subject matter can post questions to their more experienced classmates

IV) Administering Evaluation

A) Formative element (evaluating while the program activities are forming or happening)

- Focuses on educational processes during course- Assesses the distance components or the f2f

interaction- Provides feedback of learner’s work (via online

grade-books, emails, announcements, discussion board posting)

- Debugging problems that hinder learners from full participation in blended learning

IV) Administering Evaluation

B) Summative element – provides both learners and instructor with a clear picture of the quality of their work in meeting the goals of the class- Should be clearly described and linked to course

objectives and/or learning outcomes- May include learner’s self-assessment and peer

feedback- Should assist instructor through faculty/course

evaluations, to modify for greater effectiveness- Should be tailored around levels of learning- Should use real-world scenarios and other technical

assessments for higher levels of learning

IV) Administering Evaluation

C) Rubrics specify levels of performance expected for several levels of quality as they: clarify teacher’s definitions of excellence and assists them

in planning how to achieve it communicate to learners what excellence is and how to

evaluate their own progress communicate performance goals to parents/stakeholders help teachers/assessors remain accurate, unbiased, and

consistent in scoring document the procedures used to judge students Course rubrics based on online environments may be

tailored to include f2f but the overall rubrics provide comprehensive parameters for engagement and learning.

(Source: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php)