Advanced Practices in Instructional Design

Advanced Practices in Instructional Design

Course Goals and Methods of Evaluation

The overall goal of EDCI 672: Advanced Practices in Instructional Design is the development of applied instructional design skills. Since it is expected that students have already learned the basic concepts and principles of ID (as this is an advanced course), the primary focus is on the application of those concepts and principles within authentic ID situations.

As participants in this course, learners will collaborate with others to:

Analyze complex instructional design case situations and identify key components (e.g., issues, stakeholders, contextual variables, perspectives, alternative solutions, potential consequences)
Propose and/or develop relevant intervention strategies (instructional or non-instructional) to the issues presented in a case situation that are consistent with arguments and evidence presented
Identify and apply key characteristics of expert problem solving to ill-structured ID problems
Facilitate a case study of a specific instructional design problem

<Pictured left to right: Dr. Adrie Koehler and Holly Fiock

Project Overview>

Please take a minute and watch the Project Overview Video (linked on the right) to gain an understanding of the project nominated for this award.

<About EDCI 672

The Course Overview Video (on the left) is featured in the course to help learners gain an understanding of EDCI 672: Advanced Practices in Instructional Design.

Assignments

Course activities and assignments are designed to help learners develop the knowledge, strategies, and attitudes needed to become effective ID practitioners.

Learning experiences revolve around these major activities:

The analysis and synthesis of, and reflection on, ID case studies

ID case analyses ask learners to read a case study in instructional design and then write an analysis focused around six major considerations:

1. Identifying stakeholders
2. Identifying instructional design challenges and case-specific constraints
3. Connect weekly readings to case problem(s)
4. Identify (2) reasonable solutions/recommendations
5. Discuss implications for each solution/recommendation
6. Determine a final recommendation
Small-scale design experiences that address the real-world problems presented in ID case studies

These assignments are asking learners to put into practice everything discussed (to that point in the class) to practice their design skills. After each case is discussed, learners will be asked to create a design product that meets the needs of the case parameters.

Ongoing reflection on the development of learners' ID expertise

Multiple opportunities exist in the course for learners to reflect on their development of their ID expertise. At the end of the course an in-depth reflection asks students to consider the following:

Analyze their own case responses and design products in terms of the characteristics of expert ID problem solving, and
To develop an action plan for their continued development.

Lessons learned from completing case analyses

Following the completion of each case analysis, learners are prompted to share key takeaways from completing the process. They share these via a course Padlet (https://padlet.com), where they can share using a variety of modes (e.g., video, audio, text) and comment on their peers' ideas.

Course activities are completed individually, in small groups, and through participation in whole class discussions.

As much as possible, this course is designed to reflect the real world of instructional design. This underlying goal is evident in both the structure and the assignments for this course.

Scaffolds

Problem-centered learning experiences like case-based instruction (CBI) can be challenging for learners. Centering on two elements: (a) real-world problems and (b) collaborative discussions, CBI is a new learning experience to many. To help learners get off to a successful start, a number of instructor-developed and student-to-student developed scaffolds are available to support and assist in students' learning.

Below are a few of the scaffolds we have pulled from the course. First, we included an interactive where students can grasp the overview of the case process and hear video testimonials from learners previously taking the course. Second, we included an interactive module to acclimate them to the case-based process—helping them to walk through a case and consider different points of view. Last, we include a few student-to-student scaffolds provided to learners.

While not included, the assignment prompts we used to guide individual case analyses are geared toward helping learners overcome common challenges (e.g., Describe how the week's assigned readings and your previous experiences contributed to your understanding of the case problem). Additionally, discussions are intentionally designed to help learners deeply consider the case study they are engaged in. Each case discussion was divided into two parts. During the first part of the week, we prompted learners to focus on problem representation, and during the second part of the week, we prompted learners to consider solution generation. This offered a collaborative space where learners could engage with the complete problem-solving process.

CSI: Interactive Module Link

Background

The above SCORM module helps students think about the Craig Gregersen case study from the ID CaseBook. As this course is designed to give learners opportunities to apply the Instructional Design (ID) skills and competencies they have acquired during earlier courses in the program, this course is purposefully designed to simulate an apprenticeship experience. That is, instructors and students work together (with varying levels of expertise) to recommend design solutions for realistic problems presented via case studies.

Linked above and on the left image, is the CSI: Case Study Investigation SCORM module which helps learners walk though the case study and consider different points of view to help Craig figure out the complex situation he is in. The module helps learners to consider (just a few…):

Identifying the ID challenge
The various steps in the ID process (Think ADDIE) and decide WHERE Craig is in the process.
What aspect of ADDIE was Craig hired to complete?
- What was he contracted to do? Analysis? Design? Development? Evaluation?
- All of the other challenges mentioned are also important (they impact what he needs to do) - but they do not constitute the primary ID task.
- Who does have the authority and is Craig's boss?
Think of ways that Craig can make everyone at least a little happy and gain buy-in from the various stakeholder groups.
- Where is there some potential room for compromise or for finding common ground?

Student to Student Words of Wisdom

Below are a few examples of student's advice to other students when developing and working on the case analysis process.

Student Takeaways

I really like the variety of creative assignments in this class. I also appreciate the casual yet insightful nature of the discussions each week, where we are encouraged to openly share our ideas in a conversational tone.
I also like that the instructor has pre-designed the discussion board headers. This makes such a difference in trying to figure out where/how I should post.
I love the content of the course. I think that case-based learning is extremely useful and really helps provide insights into some of the possible scenarios that one might see in the field.
Weekly announcements are helpful for meeting assignment deadlines. The readings are very relevant and support students' ability to consider/propose solutions for the case studies and small-scale design assignments. I enjoyed the organization of assignments with a case study one week, then an opportunity to apply potential solutions through the development of a related small-scale design experience. I also appreciate having time in the last two weeks of the course to take a step back to reflect on developing expertise and make a plan for improvement.
I just finished a call with one of my clients and the call went so similarly to our complex case studies. It was detailed, had a lot of players in the game, and they were feeling like there was no way forward. Thankful to you and your class, I felt prepared to sift through the information and analyze for the next steps. I get SO excited when my studies apply to my work! In the end, I think our team will have to end up recommending an evaluation program and be able to help them.

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