Final project PDF: Course Design for BUS 401 Employment Search
In this course, I learned how to apply the ADDIE model and Backward Design to develop learning opportunities and systems. In addition, I learned how to go about selecting appropriate technologies to support learning. I also became familiar with and analyzed some emerging models of instructional systems design. Moreover, this course reinforced the ideas I had learned in 9484, as community building and collaboration were essential for completing tasks and learning from my fellow students.
The most important understanding I gained from the course was an appreciation of how the ADDIE method is used in practice, as well as some ideas about the model’s strengths and weaknesses. I had thought the course material had sufficiently prepared me for my final project work, but the final project taught me how difficult it can be to manage a project using an ADDIE model, especially when group members are working at a distance or have commitments outside the project, as we all did.
A second understanding I gained was the importance of writing clear learning objectives and then aligning instruction and assessment with the stated outcomes. Learning to write instructional objectives using the "ABCD" model was very useful for me to develop a sound, disciplined approach to formulating my learning objectives. Before this class, I think I stated course learning objectives in a general and imprecise way. Related to this was the idea in Grant Wiggins’s video lecture about working backward from understanding, rather than working backward from content. I’m pretty sure I’ve been doing the latter for most of my teaching career. Thinking about working backwards from understanding will help me align my learning objectives, instruction, and assessment.
A third understanding I gained was the different ways technology can be effectively used to support learning. In our Technology Application discussion, I explained how I use technology to support EFL writing. Our textbook and supplementary readings helped me understand my own use of technology and articulate how my use of technology is used to meet a specific instructional need. I also gained understanding about this topic from my fellow students on the discussion board.
Overall, 9471 was the most difficult course in the program for me. In particular, when moving from the design phase into the development phase of the ADDIE process and writing learning objectives, classifying “KASIs” using a taxonomy was the most difficult concept I encountered. I think part of my problem was the presentation of the taxonomies in the textbook. I swoon a bit when I encounter tables with lots of categories and definitions. I need to find presentations of the Bloom taxonomy and Gagne’s learned capabilities that are more attractive to me.
I used what I learned in this course almost immediately. I was asked to develop an ESP course for the Economics Department to cover “current economic issues” using a communicative approach. Starting with a needs analysis, I used the ideas I learned in our course to guide my approach when designing and developing the course. Besides that, I plan to build out my group’s final project to be a 2-credit course that will include other business communications, such as emails, memos, proposals, etc. There is a strong need for a course on business communications in English, and the project I did for this course is a great start to building out a more complete course for my department.