Section 5: Trends and Issues

Chapters in Section V identify trends and issues in IDT in various contexts: business & industry; military; health care education; P-12 education; and post-secondary education. Select at least 3 of these 5 contexts and compare/contrast the IDT trends and issues. Then explain how they are similar or different from the IDT trends and issues in the context in which you work.

I teach in a PK-4^th grade school, so I chose to compare/contrast military, health care education and business & industry. 

In the business & industry area, there are instructional design team members working together.  Depending on the size of the companies and/or size of the projects will determine what team members they each have.  Businesses can now communicate through online tools which are now inexpensive and efficient.  The designers must develop cross cultural training.

Working in a military environment is challenging and provides great opportunities for growth.  The instructional designer in the military field requires skills that go beyond basic information learned in any class setting.  Military instruction has certain procedures that are uniform across the board, they are very consistent.  The instructional designer working with the military must encourage lifelong learning.  There should be opportunities for continued learning whether you continue in the military or leave the service.  The military has the same funding/budget constraints that are present in P-12 schools today.

The health care education is the leader in instructional design methods.  Methods are rapidly changing in the medical field.  These employees must participate in training seminars and simulations to be up to date, having the best knowledge to help their patients.

I believe that available resources and time are concerns across the board.  I also feel that having enough funding for training that is needed is a concern for all areas.

Section 4: Human Performance Technology

Chapter 14 discusses the concept and evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non-instructional solutions to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem.

I feel an example of a performance problem on our campus would be the use of SMARTboards.  Several classrooms on our campus have these interactive boards, but they are not being used to their full potential.   There have not been any trainings on how to use them and many teachers feel like they will “break” them if they try and do much on them besides use them to project from the computer.

Chapter 15 presents performance support systems. Define performance support systems and explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.

Performance Support Systems (PSS) provide different levels of access to support information and tools when needed.  PSS goes beyond technology and focuses on providing support when and where the performer needs it.
An example of how PSS could help with the problem would be to offer different levels of trainings.  Begin with teaching the teachers all of the things that a SMARTboard could be used for.  Then instruct them on the basics of using the board and where different things are located on the system.  Teachers need to be taught how to make their own notebook lessons or activities to use.

Chapter 16 explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above and how would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?

One thing that would help greatly with the implementation of SMARTboards across the campuses would be to offer district wide training or meetings on how to effectively use them.  The trainings do not necessarily need to be conducted by the district technology staff, but by staff that have SMARTboards and can offer ideas or sample lessons/activites that are useful in the classroom.

Chapter 17 describes types of informal learning. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?

One information learning situation that I participated in was sharing how I used the SMARTboard in my Pre K classroom.  One afternoon Pre K teachers from the district came to my room to see many of the notebook files I had made and used with my students.   I shared how to make files  and explained the different areas of the SMARTboard and informed them of ways to use the SMARTboard effectively in a Pre K classroom.  I feel this informal meeting was very beneficial to the other teachers as SMARTboards were installed in their rooms.

Section 3: Evaluating, Implementing and Managing Instructional Programs and Projects

Chapter 10 discusses evaluation in instructional design and provides you with two evaluation models, the CIPP and Kirkpatrick models for evaluation. Search for at least two other models used for evaluation and summarize these models. Describe how you would use them to evaluate your instruction.

Another model for evaluation is the ADDIE method.  ADDIE stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation.  This method is used to ensure that the evaluation phase is used in response to each of the other phase.  Evaluation should not just be at the end of the process or lesson, but it should be throughout all of the phases.    When using this method within the classroom, the instructor should ensure that the learner is actually meeting all of the standards and that the goal is actually being met.

The Kemp model focuses on the learner’s perspective rather than the content.  The Kemp model consists of nine elements in a circular motion.  They are: identifying the instructional problems and specify goals, examine the learner characteristics, identify subject content and analyze task components, state instructional objectives, sequence content, design instructional strategies, plan and delivery of the instructional message, develop evaluation, and selecting  resources.  This model does not have a predetermined starting point; therefore, the instructor can begin at any point.  This main focus of this model is that the learner’s needs and goals are the strengths. 

 Reflect on what other questions that instructional design evaluation should address besides whether the instructional design leads to comparable amounts of learning and learner satisfaction as traditional methods. What else would be useful to know?

I feel some important questions would be “Are the students learning what they should be learning?”, “Are the students going to be able to transfer this knowledge to life situations?”, “Is this method easy to use?”, “Do I have the technology or necessary resources to implement?”.

Chapter's 12 & 13 focus on project management and how to manage projects when resources are scarce. You have been assigned to develop a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology use in the classroom for teachers during a time of economic decline. How will you use Situational Leadership to facilitate this project and manage scarce resources?

 In today’s world, when technology is everywhere, we need to be teaching our students how to effectively use technology.  Unfortunately, many districts are going through rough economic times and do not have the resources to do this effectively.  Scarcity is when the demands exceed the supply.  One way many districts, including the one I am currently working in, are getting around the lack of resources is implementing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). 
For professional development sessions, I would first find out what types of training the teachers would feel most beneficial.  I would also use any technology that is already on the campus and train teachers how to use those resources.  Many times there are resources already on campus, that either teachers do not know are there or do not know how to use properly.
By using the situational leadership approach, the first phase would be to instruct those teammates who are inexperienced or unsure.  The second phase is where the team is still learning but gaining confidence.  As the instructor, you are explaining, clarifying decisions, and rewarding improvements.  The third phase is focusing on the results and rewarding your teammates for their improvements.  The last phase is where you, as the instructor, steps back and monitors what the team has learned.  The most important part of situational leadership is how you communicate with your teammates.

Section 2: Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

1. Epistemology (the study of what and how we come to know) is discussed in multiple chapters in this section. Distinguish epistemology from instructional methods or theories. What are the differences between theories, methods, or models of learning and epistemologies or underlying beliefs about ways of knowing?

According to our book, “Epistemology is the branch of philosophy addressing knowledge—how we know, what it means, etc.” 
Behavioral learning theory is when a behavior is observed before and after instruction.  If there is no change in behavior, then the intervention is considered to have not been effective.  Behavioral learning influenced instructional feedback. I believe this is something that is done in most classrooms. 
Cognitive information processing theory is the internal process of the learner that explains learning.  This is basically recalling information from memory.
Schema theory is the knowledge of information in our long-term memory.  This is information that we get through experience and learning.
Situated learning theory is theory of learning though social or cultural situations.  The participation in community practices can be individually, community-wide, or organizationally.  Learners learn by doing.
Gagne’s theory of instruction has five major categories: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes and motor skills.
Constructivism is learning from doing.  Learners are actively engaged, set their own goals and regulate their learning.

2. Chapters in this section present two contrasting epistemic stances: positivist and relativist. However, a third stance, the contextualist or hermeneutical, is also widely recognized. This stance falls somewhere between the strictly objectivist/positivist beliefs about knowing and the purely subjectivist/relativist stance. While designers and educators with a positivist stance generally apply behaviorist principles to the design and development of instruction, those with either a contextualist or relativist epistemological framework employ constructivist theories and methods. However, relativists ascribe to radical constructivist approaches, while contextualists draw upon social constructivist theories and models. Based on what you’ve read about positivist and relativist epistemologies, as well as behaviorist and constructivist approaches, try to more fully describe a contextualist epistemology. How might it differ from either a relativist or positivist stance, and how might social constructivism differ from either behaviorist or radical constructivist approached to learning and instruction?

Contextualist epistemology seems to be pretty much in the middle of realists and positivist.  The knowledge we gain through experience and/or exposure is a relativist stance.  The knowledge we gain from facts is a positivist stance.  When we gain knowledge through facts and experience it is contextual stance. 
Social constructivism uses partners or groups to gain knowledge.  Radical constructivists use more self-discovery and independent work.
  

3. Differing epistemic stances lead to differing approaches to learning and instruction, and ultimately to problem-solving. Explain differences in problem-solving when approached from behaviorist and constructivist perspectives. How do the approaches differ in both the nature of the problem to be solved and in facilitating the problem solving process? Finally, what effect might these differences have on learner motivation?

Behaviorists are interested in the effects of reinforcement on behavior.  They are not concerned so much with the “why” of the behavior because they know why the behavior is the way it is.  The constructivists focus on understanding how to solve a problem.  This approach is more hands-on and real world.  I feel that many learners prefer the real word and hands-on approach.  As a current kindergarten teacher, the students are motivated for the reinforcers or rewards.     But, I also feel that students prefer hands-on activities in the lower grades. 

Reflection 1: Defining the Field

· How do the definitions in the first chapter compare to your own definition of instructional or educational technology?  What experiences or other influences have shaped your definition? How has your definition changed from examining the definitions in the first chapter of this book?

In the first chapter, there are many different definitions of instructional technology, mainly because technology is always changing.  As I think back over the 16 years I have been teaching, there have been considerable changes in the classroom regarding technology.  When I first began teaching I would have said that instructional technology was the use of students using computers for research and completing assignments.  As technology has increased, my ideas of instructional technology have changed.  Now, I would say that instructional technology is not only the use of computers, but also tablets, smart phones, and interactive boards.  Instructional technology does not just focus on the types of media being used but how they are implemented for effective learning and performance.

· Next, think of a lesson or unit of instruction that you have developed. Or if you haven’t ever taught or developed instruction, think of one that you have received. How does that lesson adhere or fail to adhere to the six characteristics of instructional design? How would you redesign it to better adhere to the six characteristics.

According to Reiser and Dempsey, the six characteristics of instructional design that should be included in lessons are student centered, goal oriented, meaningful performance, reliable outcomes, team effort and self-correcting (p.11).  The lesson I am going to use is from my Robotics Club last year.  Over the course of several months, the students had to design a robot to perform a certain task. I believe this lesson was very much student centered and goal oriented.  The students were able to select their own objectives and as a team, a goal was to be performed at the end of the project.  The lesson was meaningful because the students had to problem solve and come up with a meaningful outcome that the robot could perform.  The lesson also included self-correcting.  If the robot was not doing what they were hoping it would do, they were able to work together and change the program of the robot to perform the intended task.  This lesson required team effort.  The students worked in groups of 4-5 and each had jobs, along with everyone working on the robot.  Each group had a project manager, parts/materials manager, secretary and a programmer.  The only characteristic that I feel this lesson might have been lacking was being measured in a reliable and valid way.  The students were asked to create something that could help others.  Because some of the ideas were “way out there”, they could not be measured in real life. 

· In the 3^rd chapter, Reiser distinguishes instructional media from instructional design, excluding teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks from the definition of instructional media. Why? Would you consider teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks instructional media? Is the purpose of instructional design to incorporate media into instruction? The first three chapters of your book define the IDT (Instructional Design and Technology) field and provide a history of how it has evolved over time. In your blog post for this week, reflect on the following:

I believe Reiser excludes teachers, chalkboards and textbooks from the definition because these three mediums are always present in education.  I consider teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks to be instructional media because they are ways that the instruction is presented.  As technology is constantly changing, we are integrating more media into our lessons to provide student centered and goal oriented objectives.
The model above is known as the ADDIE model: analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate.  This model shows how we are constantly working towards the evaluation component.  Each step is a crucial part of integrating technology into our lessons.