Trends and Issues in Various Settings

Trends and Issues in Various Fields

 

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 are multiple trends and issues in IDT among various settings such as business and industry, military, health care education, P-12 education and post-secondary education. When viewing and looking at the particular settings one cannot help but find similarities and differences among them. Three in particular that I wish to discuss are health care education, P-12 education, and military education.

Health care education encompasses issues in knowledge and research,costs & managed care, regulations, standards, and licensure as well as converging technologies. Trends in healthcare education consist of problem based learning as well as evidence-based medicine and include roles of risk,sensory perception, science and innovation. Instructional design plays a huge role  in P-12 education through technology integration. ID development centers on systems, product, and classroom. From there various integration models have been developed and therefore giving opportunities for educators to grow and develop. Issues in P-12 education often stem from technological support, teacher content & technological knowledge, availability and access to computers or resources and ultimately teacher beliefs and attitudes. Issues in military education consist of funding, technological range and design limitations. As the military evolves future the role of ID is evolving  to trends such as new technologies and international responsibilities of national or multinational forces.

Among these three settings some commonalities that they shared were needing constant evolution due to constant changes in the field. Healthcare and P-12 are similar in that problem based learning is hot trend and driving force in developing critical, problem solving thinkers. One commonality that springs to mind is funding and its effect on ID development and implementation. Overall I feel that no matter what the setting or field instructional design plays and key role and therefore they all have different yet similar trends and issues.

Global Trends and Issues

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? 

 As our population grows  and our resources decline we face the problem of how to best meet the needs of our population and educate them so that they can become contributing members in society. As visited in the last section we have seen various ways that instructional design is utilized and implemented across various fields. I think as our world evolves and changes our education system will have to evolve to better meet the needs of the people therefore curriculum and instruction practices will have to evolve too. I think that European and Asian countries have got it right when it comes to having their students develop there thinking from a young age. In some Asian countries students spend multiple days breaking down one problem. We need to slow down break down the process and gradually produce speed to deepen understanding and develop educational lessons that are rigorous, consist of depth and complexity and overall helps develop ALL learners, not just the ones that are projected to be successful. In the U.S. I think we approach some things right such as inquiry based instruction and problem based learning ultimately we have got to stop teaching our students how to take a test and teacher them how to find solutions to problems and critically think about the world around them. As our population grows so will the need for quality instruction and instructional design will definitely play a key role in us evolving successfully.

Human Performance Technology

Human Performance Improvement

A constant performance problem that I see in education is the ability to hold onto to great teachers, develop good teachers into great teachers in addition to lack of development of not so great teachers. I believe we continue to lose great teachers in the education field to lack of differentiation in trainings and uneven workload distribution. In majority of the school districts I hear about as well as the ones I have been in exceptional teachers are expected to sit in professional development meetings and trainings that have no value to them other for them to add or give advice to novice teachers all while they bear the brunt of a heavy workload because they are experienced and fantastic teachers. It has only been recently that I have seen some districts move to differentiated trainings but even it is a little too late for some of the great educators we have lost.

My solution to this problem would be to invite feedback from the instructional staff about areas they would like to grow in and goals they would like to set and develop trainings or individual growth plans to maximize teacher support. In addition administrators should also invite feedback from educators to help them develop useful and appreciated professional development opportunities and growth plans. I think too often administrators and districts should practice what they preach to ensure that we keep excellent teachers in the education field as well as foster the growth of teachers to get them to that point of exceptional status.

Performance Support Systems

Performance Support are systems that afford access to resources, tools and support information to users when needed to fulfill their jobs with validity. I believe that having access to an online portal such as this could help me to develop into a better teacher and constantly enhance the rigor of my goals. If there were such a portal it could be used to invite constant communication between me and my administration about my goals, resources and information I could use to enhance my instruction and teaching abilities. 

Knowledge Management and Learning

Schools accumulate a great deal data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to make informed decisions. In order to make the most of this data we must view it, share our ideas and thoughts as well as organize the ways we approach to solve them. With the problem I address above it would be great to utilize the knowledge as to what we know is wrong: retention of great teachers and the reasoning behind why so many have left the education field. I believe the steps needed to solve this problem would include surveying current teachers of various fields, developing individual growth plans for each teacher, tailoring and catering professional development towards meeting those growth plans, creating committees to enhance school culture and develop reasons for teachers to stay and lastly follow through with the steps needed and utilize resources such as online performance support system to organize and provide resources to make these steps successful.

Informal Learning

Since switching to a new position in education and become part of a new team of veterans in this position I have relied heavily on informal learning to help me develop into my new job. Having the opportunity to sit down and collaborate with my colleagues on how to approach has helped me to be successful in my first full time week in this position. Am I a master? No, but I will develop overtime with the help of my colleagues and their knowledge based on prior experiences and success.  I am not sure if the knowledge codified but I do feel that it could be managed through the creation and utilization of Google Docs or some type of online message board. I do feel however that the knowledge gained would be better left as an informal learning opportunity.

Evaluating, Implementing & Managing Instructional Programs & Projects

Evaluation in Instructional Design

Evaluation is just as important and implementation of instruction in the classroom. Before evaluating student work one must develop  plan for evaluation. As stated in the text, " It is important that evaluation findings be used, rather than "filed away", and Patton has developed an evaluation model specifically focused on producing evaluation use."Through our text we explore models such as CIPP and Kirkpatrick models for evaluation. Through further research I have located two more evaluation models I would like to discuss. 

Bushnell's Systems Approach to Evaluation 

This particular system is founded on the idea that the product will only be as good as the effort that goes into the process. Evaluation is required between each stage of the four step process to ensure that the program will meet its objectives and is well designed. I would use this model to first begin the in put stage (prep, materials, planning) and evaluate from there what further things would be needed at this stage to enhance my lesson of unit. From there I would go through the process stage (implementation) then evaluate how the implementation of instruction went. Next I would be the output stage (what the students do/formative assessments) and from there I would assess student knowledge gained periodically through out various activities. Last, I would end with the outcome stage (what do my students know/summative) and then I would use the data collected to evaluate the effectiveness of  the lesson. Although I feel that this model is simple and straight to he point, which I like, I think there should be an additional step in which I would need to do an additional stage that consisted of me being reflective of the entire process to better my instruction from there. If I am just evaluating through each step and then repeating those same stapes with out making further changes for the future then I will never grow as an educator. 

 Ralph Tyler’s Evaluation Model

This is a goal based model that focuses on how performance parallels with specified objectives. This process starts with establishing goals/objectives before analyzing any type of data collection. Then processes, activities and products are developed and implemented and all relate back to the objective. From here data is collected and referred back to the objective for analysis and evaluation. I think it is missing one key component and that being student need. Of course we all start with our standards and TEKS to guide our instruction but how can we develop measurable objectives for our students if we have no data to back it up with? This is where pre-assessment must come into play to determine student need and build objects from there. I really do like how all of the components tie back to the objective/goal because I believe that is how you build sound instruction but I do believe data is needed in order to base your objectives and make them meaningful to your students. 

Project Management and Resources 

 

Situation: 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?      

I have been in a situation such as this before. After reading our text I think and I have a little bit of a different perspective as to how to approach this specific situation but overall I feel that it validated my actions. In this particular situation I would begin by assessing the climate of my audience by emailing a pre-workshop survey to get to know who are my novice and veterans. From there I would develop my training around the need of my audience by utilizing what I have used in the classroom. It is hard to sell something you have never done or used yourself because you cannot predict problems or struggles you might encounter. Also, I would predict common misconceptions and struggles with technology used in the classroom such as the following:

• I only have four computers in my classroom? No problem, incorporate technology usage in your station work.  
• I do not have any computers but we have a computer lab? Utilize it at least twice a month. It has been my experience that no one ever uses the computer lab because it requires advanced planning. Once I figured out that out half way through my first year I was planning ahead and using it once a week!  
• I  only have one iPad? Again utilize it at station or create a center around it. 
• I only have projector? Invest in a wireless mouse and make your projector screen interactive for your students. 

From there I would talk about free resources that I know are available on the computers and help teachers find lessons that center around technology to increase their technology usage.  I might also ask a couple of other teacher who have had success implementing technology on a low budget to share their experience and activities. No matter what the economy we must prepare our students for real world and if we do not keep that in mind we are doing a huge disservice to youth.

Johnson, B. R., Dick, R (2012).  Evaluation in Instructional Design: A Comparison of Evaluation Models. In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 96-104) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Theories & Models of Learning & 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?

From understandings of the text on epistemology it differs in various ways from instructional methods and theories in that it is the study how we learn and become knowledgeable on topics. Instructional methods are the way in which we present that knowledge and can be constructed in various ways. Theories are beliefs or ideas of ways that students learn best and most beneficial to them. Models of learning are specific frameworks in which educators can build their instruction around. Epistemology differs from all of these in that it is the examination of how we come understand and develop the ideas or thoughts of specific content or topics.

2. 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 primarily relativist. I believe that all students gain knowledge from within the context that they are learning. Students may learn about adaptations but they best come to understand the concept within the parameters from they are learning. Such as students may learn about specific structural adaptions based on the place in which they live whether it be in New York City, Abilene or another country like Mexico. Knowledge can be gained and students can learn but within the context that they are learning from.

When I was in high school I had a freshman biology teacher that was a positivist and believed that the concepts that we were learning where black and white because our textbook said it therefore we should simply learn through reading the text. I had a difficult time in this class because I had nothing to compare what I was learning in the textbook to in real life because we only studied the textbook. I believe our opposing stances had a lot to do with me not fully understanding the concepts taught and the instructor having difficulty in not understanding why I could not obtain the information. It was not until I took Biology 2 in high school that I began to truly understand the concept of biology because of the way it was taught.  

3. 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?

Problem solving in itself is vital when preparing students for their future. If students cannot critically think to find solutions then they will ultimately struggle in the real world. Behaviorist approach problem solving in giving students a generated problem and the teacher models and show the students how to work through the problem. From there the students must follow a predictable pattern to achieve or be successful in solving the problem. The constructivist approach in problem solving is presenting students with a real world problem and encouraging them to critically think about that problem while the teacher acts as a guide in the learning process. The teacher facilitates student learning and encourages students to generate their own thoughts and ideas by informing them that there is no right or wrong answer.

The difference that this might have on learner motivation is that students will derive motivation through developing their own ways of solving problems. If a teacher models for students how to solve a problem and says this is the primary way to solve the problem the teacher might find a lack of motivation in their students’ learning. However, if the teacher models for their students a way to solve a problem and then follows up by explain that there a multiple ways to solve a problem then presents students with a real world problem to solve then what the students are learning will become more meaningful to them. Student motivation is fixated on meaningful learning experiences and if what the student is learning is told to them rather than letting them explore and discover topics then the knowledge gained will be shallow and undeveloped.