Trends and Issues in Various Settings

Part A. 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.

There is an abundance of trends and issues in various context around the world we live in. The business industry has seen a huge amount of growth in the IDT industry. In corporate you IDT can either be the sole job of one individual or you can be part of an extensive team whose job is to move the company further into the 21st century. There are several constraints that often hinder people who are working in IDT. Cross Cultural Training is often an issue because the US is a melting pot of different cultural backgrounds so one must be knowledgeable about a vast amount of different cultures. We see this when looking into how certain cultures learn, how they solve problems, and take into consideration their values as to make sure they are not insensitive to one culture. The corporate sector also constantly has to grow and change with the times. They have to rapidly create prototypes for analysis and evaluation. Technology based training is also huge in the corporate industry. Web based trainings give the business the opportunity to deliver training and research to the masses quickly and effectively.  Our US military also uses IDT when educating and training troops.  There are several issues and trends that have been researched.  The designer plays a very important role in making sure information can reach our military and that it will allow them to fulfill their mission.  The military is forever changing so the designer must be able to effectively understand the transitions the military will make in the future and they must be willing to see them through each transition.  This means that they will constantly be working to provide the design needed to support instruction. Some of the issues in the military sector mimic what we have seen in the corporate sector.  The main similarity is funding.  The government is constantly battling when it comes to spending with the US military and because of this fact, designers will need to try to maximize the budget they are given without watering down the instructional design.  They must be able to explain the cost and reasoning of cost and they must be able to offer alternatives that can effectively get the job done as well.  Training in the military is always constant but the environment varies.  Training can take place in a classroom or a hostile environment.  Trainings take up a lot of day to day functions because it is integrated into the work day.  Designers must make sure that training can be adapted to the environment.  IDT in healthcare education is very broad and has a lot of components.  Designers must be willing to design instruction meant for the delivery of health services and aides in biomedical research.  Designers must be innovation and very informative about their audience.  This sector is also forever growing and moving to the future.  One factor that has shown itself in this sector as well is cost.  The cost of health professions education is very high but thats the cost that we pay to make sure our doctors and others in the medical field are receiving the education necessary to provide proper care to the masses.  Designers can try to decrease the cost of instructional designs but they must do this in a way that doesn't hinder the education and training of medical professionals.  Regulations and standards also play a role in affecting education and training.  The standards and regulations in health care education and training mostly dictates what students must learn. Since they have to be taught, there is not much wiggle room to design instruction subjectively.  

Part B. Chapters in Section VI discuss global trends and issues in IDT. As the world’s population grows exponentially, we face unprecedented challenges that have implications for learning. How and can we prepare our youth to address the problems of living in a world with 9 billion people when the earth’s resources cannot sustain that many? Does our current education system, curriculum, and instructional practices help learners foster the complex problem-solving skills necessary to tackle these issues? Are there methods and practices used in European and Asian countries that we should use here in the US? Why or why not?

We must prepare our youth to address the problems of living in a world with 9 billion people by training them to think outside the box.  We must teach them not to just follow the latest trends but to truly be creative.  When I think about the 21st century learner, I think about making sure that our students can problem solve and be able to know that all problems don't just have one solution.  They can have multiple solutions. We also have to teach them how to work with others.  Complex problems will need to be broken down and examined deeply to understand the best way to solve them.  This might include working with a team just as they might do in the corporate sector.  We must also teach our students how to listen carefully. This means listening without the intent to reply but the intent to fully understand what is being asked of you.  Our current education system is lacking some of these key factors. Although we are moving in the right direction I think that as educators in the classroom we must provide these types of opportunities for our students.  Although many of us are doing this, unfortunately some students are not being exposed to this at all because a host of reasons.  There are some methods and practices that we could use from other countries.  If the methods are showing signs of success it wouldn't harm us to try some of them.  We would have to examine the way they employ these methods but one thing that I have constantly seen is a use of IDT in the schools.  They are exposing their students to the concept at an earlier age and this creates a life long learning pattern for their students.  

Evaluating Programs & Human Performance Technology

Chapters in Section III discuss evaluation in instructional design and provide you with three evaluation models: CIPP, Five-Domain, and Kirkpatrick’s Training Evaluation model. Search for at least two other models used for evaluation and summarize these models. Describe how you would use them to evaluate your instruction.

Brinkerhoff ‘s Success Case Method is focused on what works. This evaluation looks into exactly what is working well. This is done by, looking at successful interventions and how well they worked does this. Once something has been identified as being successful, a full examination goes into what is working so well. THE SCM seeks to show the difference between effective and ineffective programs. SCM follows five steps when evaluating programs. You first plan the success case study. This is done by defining the program to be evaluated and coming up with a plan of action. Next you will look at the major program goals and list all expected outcomes from the program. Then you will conduct a survey research study to identify the best cases and worst cases. Next you should conduct in-depth interviews with multiple success cases. This gives you vital information to document empirical data. This is time where you get as much information as possible about the program by asking detailed questions. The last step is to write and communicate your findings. Your report should include all the outcomes filled with data and evidence. I can use this model to evaluate the effectiveness of my classroom guidance lessons. I can do this by giving an initial survey to students about topics and then also giving them a post survey for them to show if they mastered the concept/skill being taught.

Patton’s Utilization-Focused Evaluation (U-FE) focuses its evaluation process and findings based on the whether the program is being used by its intended users. This entire evaluation model should only be used if the program is being used with fidelity. The evaluator focuses on the use of the program from beginning to end. This means they want to see if the program was being used at the beginning, middle, and end of the process. You first must conduct a readiness assessment. Then you need to identify and create a relationship with primary intended users, conduct situational analysis, identify primary intended users, make sure the evaluation is focused, design the evaluation, collect and interpret the evaluation, facilitate evaluation use and a conduct a metaevaluation.

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. Should return on investment and management of resources also be considered in evaluations of instructional programs? What other measures should/could be considered? One question that can be reflected upon is whether or not the evaluator has any biases towards a certain evaluation model. The evaluator must respond from a factual point of view and not opinions. Is the program worth the actual cost to implement? Is there complete buy-in when implementing the program? How accurate are the findings of the evaluation? These questions are important to the evaluation process as well. I believe that return on investment should also be considered because money is always a factor for schools. We have to make sure that the money we spend on the program is worth the results. If we find that the program is not effective we are essentially wasting money. The management of resources should also be included in the evaluation. If the resources necessary to implement the program are not accessible, then the results are not going to show an effective program because we are missing key components that are necessary for success. Another measure that can be considered can be if students and teachers are engaged in the process of the program.

Section IV focuses on human performance, performance support systems, knowledge management systems, and the concept of informal learning. Not all problems in learning and/or performance require an instructional one. Many times a non-instructional approach is a more appropriate solution. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem. Would better performance support systems, knowledge management systems, or opportunities for informal learning solve the problem? 

 One problem that I see in my area of work is people not fully committed to the mission of the school. This is definitely something that hinders the growth of the school when everyone is not trying to move forward and do their part. We are a Leader In Me school. Some teachers didn’t fully buy into the program during our first year of implementation. This caused a gap in our data and fulfilling checkpoints because only ¾ of the school was fully dedicated to the model we decided to use. This is a problem because everyone has not bought in to what the school is focusing on. We can try to fix the problem

Theories and Modules of Learning

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?

As I reflect on the topic of this discussion at hand, I define instructional methods as tools and strategies used for instruction. Methods are often systematic and are done in a certain way when presenting information. Most of the times methods require that you follow a process. I define a theory as a body of work that has been researched and published to show a way of thinking about a particular topic. Models of learning reflect ways one person learns new information.

2. Chapters in this section discuss three contrasting epistemic stances: positivist, relativist, and contextualist (or hermeneutical).Positivists believe that the only truth or knowledge is objective truth. Relativists don’t believe that objective truth is possible and that all knowledge is subjective to perception or relative to a particular frame of reference. Contextualists believe that truth or knowledge is relative to context rather than individual, subjective understanding. 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. Reflect on whether your stance is primarily positivist, relativist, or contextualist. Then, identify an instance when your perspective or stance as a learner conflicted with that of your instructor. Describe the conflict that you experienced and analyze whether opposing epistemic stances may have been at the heart of the conflict.
My stance is definitely a relativist. Relativists believe that there is no objective truth. They believe that knowledge is subjective and relative to a particular frame of reference. I find that I often want to make connections to the outside world with what is being learned. I like to construct meaning when I am learning new information. I think many educators try to employ to get students to be accountable for their learning and responsible and own the process of learning. I can think of a time in high school when my stance on learning was different from my instructor. This occurred in my Algebra II class. I believe the instructor had a positivist stance. He was very rigid in his instruction and he only gave full points when problems were solved in his exact way. There was no room for constructing your own learning and finding other possible ways to arrive at the same answer. Our different stances were definitely at the heart of the conflict. I eventually was placed in another teacher’s class because he would not bend in requiring students to solve problems exactly how he wanted you to.

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?
When thinking of problem solving behaviorist perspectives often use observations. They observe the behavior of the learner and often use empirical data to discover patterns and outcomes. When looking at outcomes behaviorists look for skills and strategies that have shown themselves to be successful. They often have a data check before an intervention or strategy is used and then another data check once the strategy or intervention is used. This helps them gage if the strategy is being successful. Constructivist perspectives construct or create meaning by making connections to the real world. Constructivists use reflection, assessments, and feedback naturally when learning. This often helps them gain further knowledge about topics of discussion. Planned problem solving activities such as encountering conflicts, challenges, or puzzlement all play a part in the constructivism perspective. The differences in both of the frameworks can be easily seen. Behaviorist perspectives often uses outside influences to motivate their learners to problem solve and Constructivists use their own capabilities to motivate their learning and are responsible for their own learning. These differences do effect how they use problem-solving skills.

IDT: Week 1 Defining the Field

The definitions in the first chapter accurately compare to my own definition of IDT.  When we think of technology, I mostly think about the media tools that we can use to help us enhance our lessons.  When taking technology courses or being trained on technology integration in the classroom has helped shaped my idea about educational technology.  After reading the first three chapters of our text, I began to examine instructional technology differently.  When examining the each of the parts of IDT, it opened my eyes to see that it’s a complex way of teaching and not just teaching on the surface level.  IDT is student centered which means that the focus is on student learning.  IDT is also goal oriented.  Goals are determined before the beginning of the project and this helps the student understand what they need to accomplish on the assignment.  IDT focuses on meaningful performance.  This was definitely my favorite because students are not just retaining information to recall facts.  Students must actually show what they know.  They have to be able to perform and display what they have learned. This helps the instructor know if students have truly mastered the concept and can use what they have been taught in a way that shows their understanding.  These key parts of IDT changed my way of thinking when it comes to educational technology. 

One unit that I worked with students on was our Career Unit. During this unit students researched possible careers and created a poster to show what they learned about the career of their choice.  The first week of the unit students completed a Career Scavenger Hunt where they worked in groups to come up with careers for each letter of the alphabet.  This task was completed easily with some students needing help on the difference between a place of employment and an actual career or job that someone would perform at that particular place.  Students were able to choose the career they wanted to research using the Department of Labor website.  They have a section that is geared towards students.  When I think of the six components of instructional design, my unit failed to meet all 6 characteristics.  The project was student centered.  Students were able to decide what careers they wanted to research and the project was focused on them learning as much as possible about possible careers that they can pursue.  The unit was goal oriented.  The goal was for students to learn more information about careers they wanted to pursue.  I believe that I partially met the performance characteristic.  Students were able to create a poster displaying facts about each of their chosen careers.  I could have enhanced this lesson by having them create brochures that displayed what they learned about their career and then we could have presented the information to their peers or even the younger students.  This would be considered meaningful because it allows them to be able to understand the careers they are choosing.  The outcomes could be measured in a valid and reliable way.  The teacher could view the information on the brochure and this can show if the students understand the information presented to them.  During this unit, I didn’t look at empirical and self-correcting aspect.  I could change this by having students complete a pretest on careers and information about careers.  At the end of the unit, I could have students take a posttest to see the information they mastered about careers and this will let me know what I need to review.  Team effort is something that I focused on for the first part of the unit but they moved into individual work when they began the assignment.  I could change this by having students work in groups to complete the brochure electronically and let them present their information to other classes in the form of a career fair. 

In the third chapter, Reiser distinguishes between instructional media and instructional design.  He omits teachers, chalkboards,  and textbooks from the definition of instructional media.  I agree with this because I don’t view a chalkboard or teacher as instructional media.  I view media as being CDs, DVDs, document cameras, etc.  These are media tools because they are incorporating some form of technology.  I believe that instructional design has a purpose of incorporating technology into our lessons.  This is done in an innovative and complex model.