EDTC 6020 Instructional Design Project
EDTC6020 Reflection
State the competency, or standard that is appropriate for your degree and licensure area.
AECT Standard 3 Learning Environment: Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments.
ISTE Standard C 2 b: Coach teachers in and model design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences using a variety of research-based, learner-centered instructional strategies and assessment tools to address the diverse needs and interests of all students.
Describe the requirements for the artifact.
EDTC6020 – Principles of Instruction and Design was taught by Dr. Sharon Smaldino during Spring Semester 2013. The text used was The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice by Abbie Brown and Timothy Green which provided an overview of Instructional Design principles, process, and practice. The focus of this course was an introduction to the systematic design of instruction. Working through a needs and task analysis, developing goals and objectives, designing and planning instruction, and developing formative and summative assessments and an evaluation were the tasks which lead to a completed Instructional Design Project. The project was not required to include technology but rather to work through the design process for a lesson that could be taught by myself and then evaluated and analyzed. The final project was a lesson for middle school science students that included the building of a balloon powered race car for the purpose of applying Newton’s laws of motion. The task analysis followed Dick, Carey, and Carey’s instructional analysis process with specific steps and subordinate skills to reach an identified goal (Dick, Carey & Carey, 2009, p. 40). Performance objectives were developed, and taking into account the learning context, and information processing of the learners, instructional strategies that followed the coupled inquiry approach (Martin-Hansen, 2002) were selected.
I found it interesting to learn about the many models that could be applied to design instruction. The model to be used will depend on the learners, the objectives of the learning, and the delivery system that will meet the needs of the learners. The identification and analysis of multiple factors determine the type of instruction as well as the technology, media, materials, and evaluation methods. Needs Analysis is one of three “pre-activities” (Learner Analysis, Needs Analysis, and Task Analysis) which is performed prior to any instruction. A needs analysis ultimately answers the question, Why are we doing this? A community of stakeholders, which can include everyone from the learner to a subject matter expert to a supervisor, provide input for the needs analysis. This information can be obtained through a variety of methods (performance analysis, goal analysis, performance assessment, Discrepancy-Based Needs Assessment, etc.) and is then analyzed to determine the desired change, who is requesting the change, where the desired change will take place, and ultimately if instruction will solve the problem or bring about the desired change.
Explain how your artifact is a good example of the objective, competency, or standard.
The Instructional Design Project is a good example of both AECT Standard 3 and ISTE standard 2b. These standards require demonstration of content pedagogy and effective learning environments. The focus of this project was lesson design following the Instructional Systems Design process and completing the front end analyses necessary for effective instructional design. The science pedagogy implemented in this lesson was coupled inquiry allowing students to create their own designs and modifications for the car. Learner centered instructional strategies were determined following the learner and task analysis. Following Bloom’s and Gagné’s theoretical constructs, tasks were established leading students to use higher order thinking skills (Brown & Green, 2011). Small groups were established for collaboration and communication of ideas. Students used critical problem solving to design and build their cars, analyze the design, and make modifications. Multiple assessment tools were used to evaluate the students and the instructional design. This led to some changes being made during the instruction and others noted for the next time this lesson is used. The establishment of an effective learning environment that considered the needs of the learner led to a diverse group of learners finding success with the selected tasks.
Discuss how you might change the content, strategy, or design of the artifact.
This artifact was a good exemplar for the competency/standard as it serves as a model for Instructional Systems Design. It included those analyses necessary for the establishment of effective lesson design, including a learning context analysis, learner analysis, and task analysis. From these the instructional strategies were selected and the instructional activity was developed. Upon reflection and further research, I see several areas where my artifact could be improved. It was not required to include the integration of technology into this lesson but if the technology is available, there are several ways this could be included. Using Vernier software and photogates, the speed of each vehicle could be determined accurately for comparison. This would be an additional factor to be considered in the design and building of the vehicles. 3-D software such as Google Sketch Up would be an excellent way for students to refine their design prior to building. Presentation software could also be used for student presentation of results following the activity.
Discuss how the artifact is representative of future career goals and plans.
It is my desire to become an Instructional Technology Facilitator in the near future and this artifact will be a good sample of my ability to use the Instructional Systems Design process to develop effective instruction. I would modify the original artifact to include the technology mentioned previously (Vernier Photogates, Google Sketch UP, etc.) not just to simply add technology rather to enhance the lesson with a means to make the data and designs more accurate and allow students a choice in how to present their project. This lesson could also be shared with other teachers who want an effective lesson and activity for applying Newton’s laws of motion.
References
AECT standards, 2012 version. (2012, July 16). Retrieved from
Brown, A., & Green, T. (2011). The essentials of instructional design: connecting fundamental
principles with process and practice. (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2009). The systematic design of instruction. (7th ed.). Upper
Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
ISTE standards coaches. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20- 14_ISTE_Standards-C_PDF.pdf
Martin-Hansen, L. (2002). Defining inquiry. NSTA WebNews Digest, Retrieved from
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