Reflection for EDTC 6020:  Principles of Instructional Design

Instructor:  Dr. Sharon Smaldino

State the competency, or standard that is appropriate for your degree and licensure area.

AECT Standards, 2012 version

AECT Standard 3 (Learning Environments):  Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments.

Indicators:

• Creating:  Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and research-based best practices.
• Using:  Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources to provide optimal conditions for learning based on principles, theories, and effective practices.
• Assessing/Evaluating:  Candidates use multiple assessment strategies to collect data for informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment.

Describe the requirements for the artifact.

            Principles of Instructional Design, taught by Dr. Sharon Smaldino in the spring 2013, focused on the systematic process of instructional design.  Task analysis, learner and context analysis, and the development of instructional strategies were included in the focus.  Our text, The Essentials of Instructional Design:  Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice was written to guide readers through the principles of the instructional design process (Brown & Green, 2010).  Using this text as a guide, our goal for the final project was to go through the entire systematic instructional design process, using all of the different components.  Although all components were included in this project, our focus was on the front-end analysis, including the needs analysis, learner analysis, and task analysis, as well as the instructional strategies.  I completed this project with my classmates and colleagues, Melinda Moody and Beth Elliote. 

Explain how your artifact is a good example of the objective, competency, or standard.

            My EDTC 6020 instructional design project demonstrates my ability to design products and make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources based on learning principles, research-based best practices, and theories  (AECT Standard 3, Creating; AECT Standard 3, Using).  Gagne created nine events of instruction that details the steps needed for effective learning (Brown & Green, 2011).  Using these events throughout our instructional strategies, we were able to provide the necessary conditions for learning that allowed students to be successful.  We started by activating prior knowledge.  According to Fisher, Frey, and Lapp (2012), in order to promote continuous learning, teachers must validate and extend students’ background knowledge.  Using the prior knowledge students already had about opinions gave us a foundation for adding the new information about writing opinion papers.  Our instructional strategies also included the use of a graphic organizer so that the students could visually organize their thoughts.  Graphic organizers make learning more meaningful as they show the thought process of the mind and can make this information more distinct for the students (Egan, 1999).

            This instructional design project really helped me to see the importance of assessment and evaluation before, during, and after instruction.  Through the needs analysis, we were able to evaluate the actual needs of the students to determine the content focus for instruction.  The learner analysis allowed us to see where problems in the learning may occur and where differentiation in instruction or the environment may be needed.  Jackson and Lambert (2010) state it is important to collect assessment data throughout a unit so that students whose progress is inadequate can be quickly identified.  By using the graphic organizer as a tool, we have created a way to formatively assess the learning of the students as they work through the opinion writing.  Having the students write a completed opinion piece at the end gives us a summative assessment.  This allows us to decide where the learning may need to go next.  Through the use of these various assessments, I show my ability to use multiple assessment strategies to collect data for informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment (AECT Standard 3, Assessing/Evaluating).

Discuss how you might change the content, strategy, or design of the artifact.

            This instructional design project was my first attempt at creating instruction using the instructional design process.  I believe this particular product shows room for a lot of change.  One of the most important things I feel is missing from this product is the incorporation of technology.  Using technology, when teaching writing, has many benefits.  According to Peck and Dorricott (1994), it can increase the quantity and quality of writing through the decrease of phobias, the ease of taking creative and grammatical risks, and the reduction of frustration.  Students also feel a sense of accomplishment with the professional quality of the finished product when writing is completed using technology.   I feel that incorporating technology into this instructional design will not only increase the quantity and quality of the writing, but also the motivation of the students to write.  Through my experience as a teacher, I have learned that students become much more motivated when technology is involved.

Discuss how the artifact is representative of future and career goals and plans.

            EDTC 6020 has taught me how to apply the instructional design principles to actual instruction.  I have learned that this is important in order to create effective instruction that meets the needs of the learners.   Before taking this class, I would assess the needs of the learners, although I don’t think the process I used would have been considered a needs analysis.  My assessment of learners was very vague and my instruction based on this assessment did not always meet the needs of the students.  I feel that developing focused needs analysis allows me to pinpoint the needs of the learners, therefore directing the instruction towards those specific needs. 

            I have also learned that it is important to include specific events, such as stating objectives, activating prior knowledge and providing feedback, when creating instructional strategies.  In the past, I would often create strategies that I felt would help to teach the content; however, I would not activate prior knowledge or provide appropriate feedback.  This class has taught me that each event in instruction is important and serves a specific purpose and that the inclusion of these events will create learning that is more successful.

References

Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2011). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.

Egan, M. (1999). Reflections on effective use of graphic organizers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 42(8), 641-645.

Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2012). Building and activating students' background knowledge: It's what they already know that counts. Middle School Journal, 43(3), 22-31. 

Jackson, R. R., & Lambert, C. M. (2010). How to support struggling students. Alexandria, Va: ASCD. 

Peck, K. L., & Dorricott, D. (1994). Why use technology? Educational Leadership, 51(7), 11.