Trends and Issues in IDT

ID Trends in Business and Industry, P-12 and Higher Ed

The context of ID in the business and industry field is greatly motivated by the desire to have greater benefits with regards to the costs. On the other hand, in the P-12 field there is no monetary benefit for the cost. But one should note that the P-12 field does prepare and create the foundation for the business world. The higher education field is closely related and is an extension of the P-12 educational realm. Higher education is a broad umbrella that covers many components not only related to teaching but also to researching. Let’s look at the components of the three trends.

Business and Industry

The textbook goes into detail explaining the different elements that make up the ID. Of course it’s not one size fits all. The authors in this chapter present the most important gears that make the ID machine work. First is the client. The client or clients are the decision makers who finance the owner who is the manager of the target audience. The subject-matter expert can also be useful to provide the instructional designer with necessary content. And of course the last person is the trainee (whose performance is expected to improve).

Of course there are some humps on the road. One of the constraints is the context. The designer might not have enough time or client support in order to do a good job. The designer needs to have a well written design. This is important in order to create a good client-designer relationship. By the way, designers sometimes are from within the business or outsourced.

Other contextual constraints are the availability of tools and techniques, the different viewpoints or philosophies of the client or designer, and the lack of expertise. With regards to the expertise, I was surprised by the statement that in general it takes about ten years to achieve mastery in any profession. But the point is that instructional designers (novice and old chaps) need to consider the elements of time and practice. I clearly saw and still see this in the education field. The experienced teachers seem to carry out the lessons without much effort. But this is because he or she has fine tuned all the intricate matters.

Issues in corporate design and development

Sometimes designing instruction has to cross the culture barriers, especially in the business world. This implies not only a language difficulty but also a number of other factors that need to be considered to effectively design a project. I can see how this also can carry over to the educational field; and particularly in bilingual education where one encounters quite a number of students come from a different context. Here the teacher (designer) needs to analyze the learner in order to find common grounds as well as well as sensitivity to his adaptation to the new context.

ID in the P-12 Educational Realm

Contrasting the business and industry chapter with the P-12 chapter, I could observe that the former went into detail covering all the angles of the process in a wide aspect. Meanwhile the  P-12 approach goes into the design more so than the players involved in the design.

                     

The fact that the federal government has mandated that school districts follow certain regulation with regards to technology is another contrast with the business and industry sector. NCLB regulations forces districts who receive federal funds to implement technology not only with regards to the students but also the teachers. In the business world the mere competitiveness forces companies depending on their needs to incorporate technology into their workforce. Business and industry benefit from the technology savvy worker who has been through the public school system. Employing a person who understands and is familiar with technology is of course cost and time effective.

The initial purpose of introducing computers was to help teachers introduce new technologies and at the same time improve student learning. The use of technology in the classroom is to assist the teacher and not replace the teacher.

The ASSURE and the NTeQ Models

These two models are associated with the classroom subdivision of ID.These two models like any other models are effective to the degree in which they are followed. Plans are just plans until they are carried out. The instructional model I implement has a closer resemblance to the ASSURE model. I really like how it’s laid out (the steps), how it touches on the important steps and that it’s to the point.
This section also mentions the results of programs related to technology implemented in Florida, Michigan and Tennessee.  The three states that implemented Ed-Tech had the following objectives: create real-world projects that enhance standards, gain twenty-first-century knowledge and skills with increased achievement, and engage students in critical thinking with increased learning as an outcome. I’m sure there was a lot of invested money and time. Here again the question arises between cost vs benefits. But according the results the students were more significantly engaged in activities than other comparison groups.

Post-Secondary Field

This class is an example of the current trend in higher education, e-learning. As the text pointed out, the faculty members are being trained more towards content than towards pedagogy. While on topic, I can see how e-learning in post-secondary education is framed around constructivism. At this stage most of the learners are at the same level of understanding (more less) in order to carry out critical and meaningful outcomes.
With regards to the varied cases presented in this section of the text, I found Mr. Nemoto’s online course quite useful. The course helps orient students who are not familiar with online courses. Personally, I probably needed that class when I started taking online courses. Depending on the diversity of the student body background, there needs to be some foundations set so all university students have an equal understanding of how these courses work. McDonald’s situation is different as her ID responsibilities revolved around training and developing tertiary instructors. Mr. Albion’s case shows the distinct situation of tertiary education compared to the model used in the United States. His assignments are quite numerous which keeps him sharp. Finally, Mr. Dempsey describes the good, the bad, and the ugly and gives insight into some of the politics of higher education.    

Global Trends

It seems fitting that in a course where planning and hypotheses play an important role that we should theorize about the future. Again one of the aspects that I have enjoyed about this class is the way in which the instructional process has been dissected and studied to the point of predicting outcome. Having said this one should look at models, simulations, variables, and theorize about the future.

As time goes by, new inventions or societal changes have affected the way things are done. They say good education is the basis for a better future. Would this be the solution? How about educated people doing harm or hurting other people? Is education the ultimate solution? Even today I saw a news report about the poor conditions in which people live and work in Bangladesh to manufacture clothing for companies from the United States. So, even though we are talking about the achievements of twenty-first century technology in education, we still have these societal dilemmas that could be easily solved if appropriate steps were followed. 

I watched the short video mentioned in chapter 23 about the history of the world. Even though this is not the time and place to discuss theories of the creation our planet, I do believe it was well done. The music towards the end was making me nervous, but I think that was on purpose to show how fast our world is changing. In the video, agriculture seems to be a big role player in the changes in society. The chapter presents the works and findings of Mr. Visser in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I really liked a couple of lines he wrote stating that he “learned by doing” and in his first observation about learning he mentions the impact of informal learning as meaningful learning. I know this might not be related to the present topic but I totally agree. 

Technology with the help of the internet has helped create a global village, where the distances have been greatly reduced. I think that, with the new advances in communication and technology, we still have hope in the future. The awareness and change has to be a grass root effort as well as an effort by those in leadership. The leadership needs to agree on programs that support sustainability. More and more ordinary citizens need to be educated in this matter. I think the United States should play a more meaningful role in this aspect. It’s not an easy fix but we should always be hopeful and do our part. 

 All of the ID models and case examples demonstrate the work and effort behind every distinct program. There is so much going on behind the curtains of instruction. When I connect  to my present responsibilities as a teacher, I find myself motivated to be more analitycal in my instruction. I cannot help but visualize my classroom and my students as I read parts of the textbook. When the lessons designs are better prepared and better delivered, then the results should be that much greater. 

In the age of Accountability: Performance and Results

Evaluating Performance

There are a number of factors involved in evaluating performance and results in the educational field. The perspective of a district superintendent is different than a principal’s view which in turn is totally different than the view of a teacher with regards to evaluation. The important factor here is the systems of performance and evaluation work together to get clear and better results, easier said than done. But that is the objective or goal; and as long as many as possible are aiming and working towards that goal then the closer everyone is to hit the mark.

The book presents different evaluation designs that appeared to be quite intimidating for a classroom teacher. I don’t mean it in a negative way. I think that these kind of detailed evaluations are not used by most teachers. But I’m sure my principal and those in charge of macro managing use these program evaluations. They need to know which programs are working or not, they need to know if they need to move a principal or a teacher to another position. And it’s also important for classroom teachers and professors to know and use them in their own class context. 

I searched the internet and found out that the Kirkpatrick evaluation model was the most widely “talked” about, especially in the education field. And I can see why. I think the four levels are quite comprehensive.

I found two other models that I want to write about and describe how I could use them in my classroom.

Objectives Based Model

This model, also called by some the Goals Orientated Model, is credited to R.W. Tyler. It begins with the objective statement. The objectives may be directed by the client, formulated by the evaluator or specified by the service providers. The goal of this model is to determine whether the program’s goals have been achieved. Results inform how to handle new instructional theory (revise, adopt, reject).
In designing and evaluating a program one should a) set goals, b) derive specific behavioral objectives from the goal, c) establish measures and instruction to the objectives, d) reconcile the instruction to the objectives (strategies), and finally e) evaluate the program against attainment of these objectives.

 The flow chart below shows the Objectives Based sequence. 



The table below shows a model using an objective from the math curriculum in third grade. Most times the goal would have more than one objective and consequently more than one measure, strategy and evaluation.

 

Goal	The student uses place value to communicate about increasingly large whole numbers in verbal and written form. (3.1)
Objectives	A) The student will read, write (in symbols and words), and describe the value of whole numbers through 999, 999
Measures	TSW : read a set of  four, five and six digit numbers- write a set of four, five, six digit numbers
Strategy	TTW use promethean flip chart and introduce thousand family. Students practice reading larger than three digit numbers using number cards.
Evaluation	Depending on the class and individual outcome

The way I would use this model would be according to the weekly objectives put forth in our district online curriculum. The plan would be to have a spread sheet similar to the table above with the objectives, strategies and evaluation columns for the weekly instruction. Then at the end of the unit conduct a summative evaluation and see what percentage of the class met the criterion.  

Qualitative Evaluation Model

The second evaluation is credited to Michael Patton. Patton’s model emphasizes the qualitative methods, such as observations, case studies, interviews, and document analysis. The importance is placed on the quality of the methods used in the evaluation. Associated with this model is the Dick and Carey model of instruction.

The components for the Dick and Carey model consist of nine procedural steps. The sequential steps for the design are as follows: (a) identify instructional goals, (needs assessment) (b) conduct instructional analysis and  identify entry behaviors (learners and contexts), (c) write performance objectives, (d)  develop criterion referenced tests, (e) develop instructional strategies, (f) develop and select instructional material, (g) design and conduct formative evaluations, (h) revise instruction based on the formative evaluations. Some have added another step that is the summative evaluation.

What I can observe from this model is the emphasis on good quality strategies, material and presentations. I could use this template to make sure I cover the grounds as I plan my lessons. Our district has an online curriculum support page where have a weekly lesson plan. This lesson plan is quite general and not meant to take the place of the individual teacher lesson plan. So we use this lesson plan as a guide and produce our own. I think this instructional design would be quite useful.

Questions Regarding Instructional Design

In considering instructional design evaluations, I think that like in any other industry or business one should pay extra attention at the outcome. And questions regarding the performance or process should initiate from the outcome. What is the goal of the program?

From an educational perspective one should look at the student outcome with regards to learning satisfaction and amounts of learning. This could be done in small measurements (year to year) or large cumulative measurements (at the end of high school). One would delve into the world of psychology when considering certain groups of learners. Some age groups have a distinct approach to learning. Learner satisfaction is viewed differently by a young learner in comparison to a high school or a graduate student. Learner satisfaction in some cases is relative to the context. So evaluating programs according to satisfaction is not a one size fits all.

When evaluating a program according to the amounts of learning, one needs to consider the difficulty of getting true measurements. In the last post we had to immerse ourselves into the postitivistic, relativistic and contextualistic views in education. In measuring the learner outcome we have a lot of relativism and contextualism that affects the outcome. I like to use the analogy of taking measurements in the concrete world. Consider measuring water. All the interested stakeholders need to agree when, where, how, and which standard of measurement to use. After all that agreement, it could be considered a true and objective measurement. But humans are not like water. And on top our standards of measurements change. In the old days leaner satisfaction was not an issue, whereas today it plays an important role. This too has to do with context. A boy climbing a tree in some other part of the world could be having as much fun as a boy playing a video game. The question is how to mesh learner satisfaction with great amounts of learning in the present.

The cost vs. the benefits does need to be considered in instructional programs. In chapter 14 the book talks about human performance and how programs try to improve by eliminating a service or decreasing costs. In today’s economics, companies that avoid the need for handling have greater economic outcomes. But with regards to instructional programs sometimes trying to cut costs could produce other difficulties. For example, if schools decide to cut the counselors position you might have a number of social difficulties in the classrooms and eventually affecting student performance. But at the same time, funding and educating young learners (pre-school) might have a more positive impact on the adult population. So, cost vs. benefits need to be carefully considered and studied.  

Regarding Performance

One of the hats a teacher wears is the performance consultant (PC) hat. Large companies have specific PC positions for their performance needs. As educators we need to be well trained and equipped with resources to solve the performance difficulties. Although teachers are incapable of solving all of the students needs in the class, teachers ought to be able to notice special needs or atypical needs in the learning process of his or her students. Even though experience is a great teacher, educators still need to be trained to be better equipped to detect performance deficiencies.

As I was reading about informal reading, I couldn’t help but associate it to the early Greek philosophers and their followers. In teaching, I try to make the learning experience as authentic as possible in the context provided. I think here is a great problem in the shifting educational sphere. Authentic learning happens in the classroom when the student can assimilate and claim understanding in some form or fashion.

Informal Learning Through Problem and Solution.

As I read the book, I cannot help but think about the context in which I work. I know that a lot of the content of the book relates to the commercial or business realm, but I constantly visualize and try to connect content from the book to my classroom, especially the class and situations from this past year since they are fresh in my mind.  

I think that if we look at someone in their everyday life we can see a plethora of daily problems that need to be solved; from deciding what to wear to how to answer to a crying child. Usually we don’t see them as problems but as routines.

Some performance problems that occur at my school are getting from our classroom to the gym or cafeteria or using the restroom time appropriately. This might not be an academic performance problem but it is an issue that needs to be addressed at the beginning of the year. I try to teach the practicality of the rules and routines by using authentic examples. If I want to teach the class the reason why and how we should walk in the hallways I use the following lesson. I would have half of the class go to the end of the hallway and instruct them to come walking while the other half would do the same coming down the hall in the opposite direction. Then as the two groups meet in the middle, some in line, some not, I have them talk about what they observed. Eventually students have a better understanding of procedures; instead of just “rules to be followed because I told you so.”

Performance Support

The context in a business is quite different with regards to the outcome. At the end of the day the business wants to have a profit and not necessarily be engaged in learning. So a business will have lots of support systems that work towards the desired end. In education depending on the objective, the support systems could be used to make things more practical but sometimes the process is the objective. The student having to figure out how to solve a problem would be his own support system. In education, educators want their students to be creative thinkers and authentic problems solvers. If I think a support system is another student who understands better a certain assignment, the more knowledgeable student would not be helping if she does the work for the other student. But if a teacher or student helps the weaker student understand the task, or provide tools to solve the task, then it is a support system. So the role of support systems has to be looked at differently according to the goal or objective.

Another area to consider with regards to the educational context is oversaturation. I have noticed that some students get pulled out from the classroom for various in school programs. These children get lots of support through the different. Some of them are well designed to measure progress or outcome. This allows teachers to have a clear understanding (explicit knowledge) of the students performance. But from my own experience, I have seen that too much “pull outs” could be detrimental. This is not a documented conclusion but instead from a personal insight. I guess this would fall into the tacit knowledge category regarding some of my students. Some students need more time than others to process information, to make connections and therefore fixate learning. So as educators, we need to carefully consider the frequency of performance support.

Epistemology Linked to Theories and Methods

          The concepts in the chapters in the text present a wide spectrum regarding epistemology. The variances of the theories presented focus on the different aspects of epistemology (learner, environment, content, and instructor).  Looking from afar, a student learning or understanding might look quite simple but on the underside there is a whole complex and interconnected world. The chapters in the text take the learning activity and dissect it and look at it from all the different participants.
          My understanding regarding the difference between epistemology and instructional methods and theories is that the former means how a person learns and the latter relates to how we learn best. Epistemology relates to understanding the different players in the learning process. These players are the context or environment, the use of short and long term memory, motor skills, and language. I see the methods and theories as different processes or views about changing or modifying the players in the learning process in order to have a more effective or productive outcome.
           Most of the theories and methods come from observing the learning process. Skinner was able to make inferences from student results or behaviors. His inferences were based on behavioral outcomes. The backdrop that states that learning can be understood explained and predicted has led to many methods and theories that focus more or less on the key players and on their role in the learning process. 
             I want to touch on one of the theories presented in this section. One of the big players or distinctive method is constructivism. This theory focuses mostly on the learner and puts most of the weight of the results of learning on the student. I kind of like this method because I can visualize students engaged and highly motivated, if all the other pieces are in place. As teachers we assume students are paying attention, understanding and making connections. But when we see finished projects we find out that not all was understood or connected. So we realize not everything we said or explained was understood. The basic tenets of constructivism are self motivated and engaged learners mixed with the support and guidance from others in order to achieve personal goals. When students have more choices or input in the learning process, they achieve a more authentic outcome. But apparently constructivism can backfire if some elements are not there for the learner (resources, skills, time, environment, and facilitator). So constructivism can be a great tool or it can be a great flop if the different parts are or aren’t aligned correctly.

Positivist vs Relativist and Contextualist

     In dealing with these postures we are immersing ourselves in the deep realms of philosophy and existentialism. I would not like to be boxed into a category according to my thought on the matter. One might get more insight and change his or her opinion then it would fall under the relativist or contextual realm based on the relative information in this present context. A person who might say everything is relative would be making a positivistic statement. And vice versa a positivistic person who sees everything as white and black would have to admit that those are his views at that present time. But, with regards to learning my thoughts regarding the three views tend to be a mix of two views: positivistic and contextualist. First of all, I am using positivism in answering this question. The writer and the reader agree that the word “cat” carries the idea of a certain animal that is objective and does not mean “dog.” Anyway, this is a silly example but I think it proves that many parts of learning are positivistic and objective. Secondly, with regards to the contextualist view, I see that not all students understand the word “cat” in the same way. The more we direct the instruction the more we will agree on the idea or concept. Another reason for backing a contextualist view is seeing the student as myself as instructor as subject to the situation or context we are in. Because of x or y, the student or teacher might not be well prepared for the task. I can see how constructivism is more aligned with relativism and contextualism. Some beliefs of constructivism, like setting their own pace and goals, can be relative and the results are also dependent on the context of the learning environment.
       Most of the times that I have differed with my instructors regarding a grade have come from courses that involved essays and writing projects. Sometimes, I have had differences regarding expectations for an assignment. In these situations, I thought I had done enough to answer the item only to find out that it wasn’t enough. But to be honest, I can’t remember a specific assignment. I never really had problems with courses like math and science because they are more exact courses.  

Problem Solving in a Behaviorist and Constructivist Classroom

       Like the textbook mentions, we are confronted daily with decisions that need to be taken with regards to situations that can be considered as problem solving moments. Most of the time we construct our own solutions based on what we know and what we find out at that moment. Real life looks more like constructivism.  The behaviorist process with regards to problem solving has to do with control or anticipated techniques with predictable outcomes. The design of the problems already are guiding the learner and basically needs to rationalize the situation and come up with an expected answer or in some instances, chose a predetermined multiple choice option. The constructivist approach to problem solving focuses on the processes and not so much on the result. In this instance the focus is on the learner and his own technique to solve a problem. In both cases the problems are authentic and with situations and vocabulary that is at the learners’ level.

        Towards the end of the school year I had my students work on a math project (problem). This assignment was done after learning and practicing extensively the four basic operations of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. I gave them basic broad instructions with regards to the project. Basically each student had to come up with a word problem using one or more of the operations, with answer choices and one of them being the correct answer. The problem was going to be given to other students to solve. It was great to see how engaged they were and I could see them thinking and working hard to come up with a good problem for the rest of the class. Looking back, the assignment was behaviorist because of the expected outcomes but at the same time constructivist because they had to come up with a scenario and decide what operation they were going to use. When the students went to solve other students’ problems, the result was that they used different strategies than the author’s initial strategy. In conclusion, I would say that constructivism has a great advantage on learner motivation. Learners take ownership of their learning and this is authentic.

First Topics

From reading the first chapter I can see that the definition of instructional technology has changed through the years as much as the technology itself has changed.

My point of view of instructional technology is quite simple. Hence the need to take this class and become more knowledgeable in the field. And consequently, in order to apply it to my current job in educating children.

Basically I see IT as the way to use different types of technological media to help children learn. My view, of course, comes from my own frame as an elementary educator in the receiving end of technology. 

I learned that the book provides a much wider spectrum. The book includes other terms like process, facilitate, improved performance (more effective learning) and workplace. IT involves the whole gamut of steps to produce an improved performance in the learning outcome. I understand that It does not merely provide a way to learn, but the idea of a finer and easier (facilitate) method of learning. Looking at it from an educational stand point, the improved performance can be by and large in the producing and receiving end of the learning expectation.

       

A lesson I developed earlier this year was a research project during black history month. The research project of course required a number of lessons. The lessons adhered quite a bit to the framework presented in the second chapter. The lessons were student centered as it focused on students being able to follow steps and use their critical ability to differentiate essential and non-essential details. The goal of the project was framed in the rubric. Students were able to see and have a clear understanding of the expected goal. The most meaningful performance, I believe, was reading from different sources and being able to distinguish important information relative to the criteria (family life, education, major accomplishments of an African American). There was ample opportunities for self-correcting. Students had opportunities to get feedback from peers as well as from the teacher. Some students needed redirection. The last point of the six characteristics might not be applicable as the only teamwork used involved peer editing.

I think that Reiser tries to make the difference because the teacher, chalkboard or textbook are part of the designing and not the means of the instruction. The design has to do with the framework and on the other hand the instructional media relates to the resources in the instruction. But at the same time an educator can become part of the instructional media. And the purpose of instructional design is not necessarily to incorporate media for its own sake but to facilitate instruction and learning.   

Hello!! testing 1-2-3