Instructional Unit Critique 

Date: May 27, 2025 

Time: 10:30 AM 

I received valuable feedback from Emma, one of the most insightful and supportive colleagues I’ve worked with. Her narrative feedback highlighted a few key areas for improvement, including minor spelling errors, disordered page numbers, and the need to better address instructional planning and facilitation. 

In response, I created a contingency plan, which can be found on the Instructor Guide Page, and refined the final slide of my storyboard by adding a clear resource distribution section. This includes digital slides with referenced links, a PDF version of the presentation, contact information for further support, and the upload of training resources to the university’s LMS, ensuring learners have continued access to essential materials after the session. To enhance visual clarity and reinforce the instructional structure, I applied a consistent color-coding system throughout the content hierarchy and flowchart. For example, light yellow is used to highlight key content knowledge areas, specifically, those intended to help learners close identified knowledge gaps. Additionally, gray is used in the flowchart to represent the setup phase, signaling preparatory steps necessary before engaging with the main instructional content. This strategic use of color coding helps learners and instructors quickly identify and navigate different components of the instructional sequence. Emma’s thoughtful insights helped me strengthen the overall design of my instructional unit, making it more achievable, learner-friendly, and practical. 

Below is the narrative and instructional critique I received from Emma.

Date: June 2, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM 

I conducted an in-person interview with Prof. Kelly, a seasoned Mathematics and Statistics professor with over 49 years of teaching experience, with 37 of those years at Hamilton College. As both an educator and a skilled editor, Prof. Kelly was the ideal consultant for this project, offering expertise in instructional clarity, academic rigor, and attention to detail. 

The interview lasted approximately 35 minutes and provided highly valuable insights. Prof. Kelly offered detailed, constructive feedback on content accuracy, instructional strategies, and technical elements such as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. His comments were instrumental in identifying areas for improvement and enhancing the overall coherence, alignment, and instructional effectiveness of my storyboard. 

His full comments and suggestions are attached below for reference.

Date: June 03, 2025 

Time: 1:00 PM 

I conducted a professional Zoom interview with Steve, a seasoned Physician Assistant with 46 years of clinical experience, to review my storyboard for an instructional unit on effective patient communication techniques for health professionals. The session lasted approximately 30 minutes and offered valuable expert insights grounded in decades of real-world healthcare practice. 

Steve provided thoughtful, targeted feedback on the content, emphasizing the critical role of cultural sensitivity, empathy, and clear communication in clinical interactions. He recommended incorporating considerations of patients’ cultural backgrounds and family dynamics to enrich the training. Additionally, he emphasized the instructional value of role-playing, small-group discussions, and the use of pre- and post-assessments to reinforce learning and measure progress. 

The session concluded with Steve suggesting enhancements to improve the unit’s practicality and ensure its effective transfer to real-world clinical settings. His input was instrumental in refining the instructional design and aligning it more closely with authentic healthcare communication challenges. 

His full comments and suggestions are attached below for reference.

Date: June 6, 2025 

Time: 12:30 PM 

All things considered, the development of my instructional unit has been a highly reflective and iterative process, shaped by meaningful feedback from peers, my professor, and external experts. Each round of review contributed significantly to refining both the content and the structure of my storyboard, ensuring that it not only meets academic standards but also addresses real-world learning needs. 

Changes Based on Peer Feedback (Emma)

• Corrected minor spelling errors throughout the storyboard.

• Reordered disordered page numbers for clarity and flow.

• Addressed instructional planning gaps by developing a contingency plan, now included on the Instructor Guide Page.

• Refined the final slide to include a clear resource distribution section, with:

  • Digital slides with referenced links

  • PDF version of the presentation

  • Contact information for follow-up/Upload resources on the University LMS

• Applied a consistent color-coding system for improved visual clarity:

  • Light yellow for key content knowledge areas

  • Gray for setup phases in the flowchart

Changes Based on Expert Feedback (PA Steve)

• Added content to address cultural sensitivity, emphasizing:

  • Patients' cultural backgrounds

  • Family dynamics in clinical communication

• Strengthened the use of:

  • Role-playing activities

  • Small group discussions

  • Pre- and post-assessments

• Focused on improving the practicality and transferability of the unit to real-world clinical environments

Changes Based on Expert Feedback (Professor Kelly)

• Took note of the suggestion to include contrasting videos (reserved for the development phase).

• Integrated real-world examples to capture learners' attention.

• Adopted the technique of modeling answers using open-ended questions during instruction.

• Refined grammar, punctuation, and clarity based on his detailed editing suggestions.

Changes Based on Faculty Feedback (Professor Huang, after VS 1, 2, and 3)

• Integrate the ELOPAT‑C mnemonic to highlight patient‑centered communication techniques: Empathy, Active Listening, Open‑ended Questions, Plain Language, Ask‑Tell‑Ask, Teach‑Back, and Cultural Awareness.

• Revised the learning objectives for improved clarity and alignment by:

  • Ensuring coherence between overall goals, main objectives, sub-objectives, and instructional tasks

  • Enhancing the logical instructional flow across the unit

In sum, I have taken each comment and suggestion seriously and used them to elevate the instructional quality, coherence, and relevance of my project. This final version reflects a culmination of diverse perspectives, careful refinement, and my own growth as an instructional designer.