Reflection EDTC 6020 Principles of Instructional Design

 Standard:

From ISTE

Technology Facilitation Standard II. (TF-II)

Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences. Educational technology facilitators plan, design, and model effective learning environments and multiple experiences supported by technology.

A. Design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners. Candidates:

1. Provide resources and feedback to teachers as they create developmentally appropriate curriculum units that use technology.

2. Consult with teachers as they design methods and strategies for teaching computer/technology concepts and skills within the context of classroom learning.

3. Assist teachers as they use technology resources and strategies to support the diverse needs of learners including adaptive and assistive technologies.

Description of Assignment:

     EDTC6020 was taught by Dr. Sharon Smaldino in the spring of 2013. The culminating product for this class was an assignment titled Instructional Design Project.  The Instructional Design Project is a report documenting the steps and decisions made to design, develop, implement, and evaluate a period of instruction.   The report includes the context analysis, learner analysis, and task analysis as they are described by Brown and Green (2011). The data gathered in these three reports was then used to develop and show justification for instruction for a particular audience. The report also included a sample of the instruction and a description of how the learners and instruction were evaluated. The steps for the development of this instruction followed the ADDIE model for instructional design as described by Brown and Green (2011).  

I chose to work with another EDTC6020 student on this assignment.  We used Google Docs and met in person weekly for three weeks to write the report. We co-taught the instruction that we developed on making flipcharts using ActivInspire software for the Promethean Interactive Whiteboard to fellow sixth grade teachers at our school.  

Example of Standards:

     This Instructional Design Project demonstrates my ability to plan, design, implement, and evaluate effective instruction as stated in Technology Facilitation Standard II.  The artifact clearly shows the application of the instructional design process applied in an educational setting.  I used the ADDIE model for planning this Instructional Design.  ADDIE is the acronym for the five parts of an Instructional design plan: Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (Brown & Green, 2011).  The project emphasized the front end analysis that was then used to develop learning objectives and the strategies for instruction. The context analysis answered the question “Why is this instruction necessary?” For the learner analysis a questionnaire was given to a group of sixth grade teachers.  Using the data from the questionnaire along with the observations made by our school administration, my partner, Ellen Matthews and I determined that training on the use of ActivInspire software was needed. The learner analysis determined that very expensive Promethean ActiveBoards were not being used due to lack of knowledge and low confidence levels of the teachers on this technology.  Next, I worked with our schools technology facilitator to conduct a task analysis for creating flipcharts for the Promethean Board.  This gave us the structure for our instruction.  We chose a period of direct instruction that used modeling and provided time for teachers to practice the new skill with support from experts.   We also illustrated to the teachers how this software solves specific problems in teaching students.  For example being able to save flipcharts for reuse or reference for absent students.  Teachers were more interested in learning the content when they understood the advantages of the technology over a regular whiteboard.  Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Brush, Strycker, Gronseth, Roman, Abaci, vanLeusen, Shin, Easterling, & Plucker (2012) suggest that effective professional development for teachers has three components, “(1) the training focused on technology skills and experiences within an educational context, (2) the training provided opportunities for “hands on” work with the particular technology resource, and (3) the training was consistent with specific and authentic needs and problems teachers faced in their professional contexts” ( Ottenbreit-Leftwich, et al, 2012, ¶5). We successfully incorporated all three of these components. The instruction concluded with each participant then giving a demonstration of their learning as a final evaluation of student mastery.  Using Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain my partner and I categorized the learning as application (Brown & Green, 2011).  This along with the time constraints for the instruction justified our use of direct instruction.

     The standard states “Assist teachers as they use technology resources and strategies.”  Choosing to help my fellow sixth grade teachers use their Promethean Board was a need identified by school administration in the context analysis and by the questionnaire used in the learner analysis. This instruction directly assisted these teachers to use technology to improve their instruction. Brown and Green (2011) describe “Just–in- time teaching”( p. 123) as direct instruction that addresses a topic for which the students have asked for help.  The learner analysis revealed that teachers needed assistance learning how to use the new Promethean Board that had been installed in their classrooms.  This instruction was a solution to this problem.

Changes:

     The process and steps required for this project were pretty much prescribed by the instructor of the course and followed the ADDIE model presented in the course text.  My ISD project closely followed the rubric that was provided for the assignment and therefore there really isn’t anything I would change. Perhaps widening our target audience to include teachers from other grade levels would have helped to make the evaluation data more reliable because we would have a larger sample size.  Certainly, the issue with the need for training on the Promethean Board software is not limited to sixth grade teachers at this school.   However, for my first ISD experience I felt the size of the target audience was just right.  The upfront analysis followed the guidelines found in Brown and Green (2011) and experts were consulted for the context and task analyses.

Representative of future career goals:

     At the time of this project I was working as a classroom teacher with the desire to obtain a position in Onslow County as an Instructional Technology Coach.  This process has helped prepare me for the duties of an Instructional Coach that would include providing professional development in technology for teachers.  The ADDIE model found in Brown and Green (2011) can be applied to any instructional situation and will have lasting impact on my professional practice. 

References

Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2011). The essentials of instructional design connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Brush, T. A., Strycker, J., Gronseth, S., Roman, T., Abaci, S., & Plucker, J. (2012). Preparation versus practice: How do teacher education programs and practicing teachers align in their use of technology to support teaching and learning?.Computers & Education, 59(2), 399-411. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.01.014.

Nancy Curley

Digital Teaching and Learning Coach

Onslow County