Trends & Issues

      1.  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 2 of these 5 contexts and compare/contrast the IDT trends and issues. Then describe how knowledge of IDT trends and issues you captured from those two fields can better inform your work.

After reading the chapters, I decided to focus on the military and education environment, because both of these environments use instructional design for training and performance improvement. In education, we use instructional design to document, evaluate, and monitor student performance. The ‘how’ we do this is constantly changing, but I believe that we will always use instructional design to support our students. I enjoyed reading about the military instructional design, because I feel like I can really connect. Their design is focused on meeting a need. They do not waste time with training. They have ‘guiding documents’ that say what their objectives and goals are, which helps to direct their trainings. I think as teachers we can all relate to this, especially during evaluation season. The education field and military field share the same major concern, budgets. They both have procedures in place for how to order new and improved devices, but it is a rigorously long procedure. (In my district, you have to beg, plead, and get the principal to complain before your technology need is even noticed.) This is similar to the Marines, who struggle to get new technology in their department. As I’ve discussed in all my posts, I have been struggling with making trainings necessary, or seemingly necessary, and seeing that the military and education has to make sure to meet the needs of their trainees. This shows me I need to focus more on observations. What are teachers doing in class? What can I do to help? What will ‘lighten their load’? These questions can help direct my trainings, so that I can make sure I do not waste time.

      2.  Chapters in Section VI discuss global trends and issues in IDT. What have you learned from the selected chapter and how can/will it enhance your teaching? In a global and more connected society, we face unprecedented challenges that have implications for learning. How and can we prepare our youth to develop cultural sensitivity when working with people from the another (or your selected) region? Does our current education system, curriculum, and instructional practices help learners foster the skills necessary to tackle these issues? What can be done in your role?

The first thing that came to mind when I read about global trends, is that it is the teacher’s job to create 21^st century learners in his/her classroom. Through this, teachers are creating global citizens. I think we lose sight of that, because it’s not a tested TEKS, or because it’s not readily available. This is so sad, because students go without the necessary skill sets needed to be in a real world setting. Our teachers just aren’t prepared or given enough time to teach these necessary cultural skills. The first lesson that comes to mind when trying to develop cultural sensitivity through technology, would be to have students communicate with students around the world. This can be done through skype. Students could be connected to a classroom in China for example and discuss the different cultures, or students could just be email pen-pals to students all over the world and discuss the cultural differences. In my current role, I could address and research easy ways to create an environment of cultural sensitivity, as well as just being a role model in that field. Our students grasp a lot of what we teach, by just observing us.

Human Performance Technology

1.Chapter 14 discusses the concept and evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non-instructional solutions (e.g., p. 137 on the top left) to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem. Choose one that you believe as practical, feasible, and important, yet instruction alone is not the only solution. Choosing one after reading 4 chapters can be also helpful.

An issue I’m currently facing, is getting teachers come to afterschool professional developments and trainings. Principals ask me to create and teach trainings on various technology integration, such as Google Suite, Office 365, or how to implement iPads in the classroom, etc. The problem I have is teacher attendance if the PD is during the summer or afterschool. The principals communicate well with the staff, so that they are aware of the trainings. So, I know that communication is not the issue. The issue is getting teachers excited to stay late, or to come in when they aren’t being paid. Teachers are expected every year to obtain 6 technology PD hours. Even though my trainings are TEA certified technology hours, the teachers are just so overwhelmed, they don’t feel like they can add “one more thing”. I began to bring prizes, or food to try to entice people to come, which has helped, but that gets costly. The textbook says that a system that rewards people for their accomplishments, rather than behavior, is effective. Based on what I read, I can implement this by taking pictures of teachers integrating technology well, and send it to their principals, highlighting the great work they are doing. (This could also be good documentation for the TTESS technology rubric.) This will help, because then teachers will get affirmation from the principals and feel like their work is recognized.

2. Chapter 15 presents performance support systems. Define performance support systems and explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.

Performance support systems are the systems in place that give teachers support and tools at the moment of need. For teachers to feel compelled to dedicate spare time, they must feel like the training is meeting a need. Knowing this, I need to make sure that my trainings are created with the mindset to meet a specific and current necessity. If I teach on something that does not apply, why would teachers want to come? I have to make sure that teachers feel that I am their support system. They need to feel like I am providing them support, and giving them a tool that they need right now.

3. Chapter 16 explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above and how would that knowledge need to be collected and managed, and shared to help facilitate problem solving?

Low training attendance could be for several reasons like; overwhelmed teachers, lack of interest, no enthusiasm, etc. I have to consider new ideas on how to boost afterschool trainings and create a better sense of morale.

For example:

·      observing teachers to see where they need help, this will guarantee that a campus need is being met

·      asking teachers what they want to learn, this will make it more enjoyable and engaging and create a sense of ownership at the training

·      make sure to celebrate when the teachers accomplish a goal made in the trainings, this will help boost confidence

·      create a fun environment for trainings, who wants to come if it’s not fun?

4. Chapter 17 describes types of informal learning. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?

I have participated in student-teacher mentoring and mentoring first year teachers. Being on both sides of a mentor/mentee relationship has definitely taught me something. Through this, I’ve learned that you have to be open and flexible on both sides. On the mentee side, you have to be open to criticism, and willing to change your techniques and comfort zones. On the mentor side, you have to be able to comfortably evaluate and have support ready for the mentee. All the information, I’ve learned through being a mentee, could’ve been taught through formal teaching, like a textbook and class. (And to be honest, probably was taught to me this way.) However, there is something about being thrown into a situation and through trial-and-error that really makes you learn how to teach.

Raiser, R.A. and Dempsey, J.J. (2012) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology 3rd Ed.

Evaluating, Implementing and Managing Instructional Programs & Projects

1)First, select one of the evaluation models you learned from chapter 10 or from your web search and describe how you would use it to evaluate your instruction (alternatively, you can choose a program or initiative at your current or former school). If necessary, revisit the relevant section on chapter 10 and refer to exemplary questions to ask within the model. Reflect on what other questions that instructional program evaluation should address besides whether the new instruction/program leads to comparable amounts of learning and learner satisfaction as traditional methods. What else would be useful to know? 

I chose to look at the Stufflebeam’s CIPP Evaluation Model. In chapter 10 of the textbook, it explains that CIPP is an acronym and a four part evaluation system, however you can evaluate based on only one part. Below is a brief summary of the four evaluation criteria.

1.    Context Evaluation. This is the assessment of the environment in which the lesson is being taught. This can also be called needs assessment. The evaluator should be involved in the lesson planning process to see how the teacher is looking at the students’ specific needs and how to better address them. This is also where the evaluator can see what TEKS are being taught.

2.    Input Evaluation. This is where the evaluator will analyze what resources are being used in the lesson. They also can see how the resources are being implemented in the lesson.

3.    Process Evaluation. This is also known as the formative evaluation. This is where the evaluator actually assess how the lesson is performed. They also see how the resources are being implemented and how the lesson planning was executed.

4.    Product Evaluation. This is where the teacher is evaluated based on how the students performed. Did they understand the TEKS? Were the students successful?

I like this model because the evaluator is more involved in the whole process. The evaluator does not just walk into a classroom and observe for 40 minutes, they truly see all the work that was put into the lesson. I think this takes the pressure off teachers to “perform perfectly” in a single moment. The evaluator can see how the teacher evaluates themselves. Did the lesson work? How can they fill those gaps, if the lesson was not successful? Etc. Evaluators are very quick to judge a teacher’s whole year based on one lesson. The only thing I do not agree with, is that in the CIPP model, you can evaluate someone only using one of the four parts. I think that this evaluation system shows every part of the teacher’s process, and that is what really needs to be evaluated. Is this teacher planning, implementing, AND evaluating him/herself to get maximum student success?

2) For the second part, congratulations, your school leader noticed your good use of technology in teaching and appointed you to develop a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology use in the classroom for teachers during a time of economic challenge. (If you like to modify the scenario to better fit your personal interest, such as one-on-one laptop initiative, that is perfectly fine). You were told that the school will provide necessary support and you can form a team. Based on knowledge from chapters 12 & 13, which people at the school and the district will you include in the team, and how will you use Situational Leadership to facilitate this project and manage scarce resources?

In my current position, I do teach professional development on technology to the district. If I was asked to create a team to implement strategies for the title one school, I would involve:

·      An instructional media specialist, because they can discuss how to use the technology.

·      An instructional coach, because they can address examples of TEKS to hit and implementation in the classroom.

·      An assistant principal or a principal, because they can address how their expectations based on the technology portion of the TTESS

I would chose my team wisely because the textbook explains that there are key elements to great management leaders. These leaders must be able to motivate, problem solve, communicate, and analyze resources.

I rarely work with a team, so this would be my “dream team” of staff to work with. However, you really have to make sure that you can motivate and communicate when addressing teachers. I have learned that teachers can be the worst students. I have found that you have to make sure that everyone understands “why” you are teaching the PD and that it is 100% applicable to their classroom, or they will not pay attention. I didn’t realize how important these elements are to PDs, until I thought about the first one I had taught. I taught a PD over how to use all the Skyward features, and even though I planned and created a beautiful presentation. I was not great at motivating my audience to care. I was just reading the presentation. This caused me to realize I have to problem solve during my lesson, I could tell that teachers were not paying attention or understanding. I had to be flexible and quickly change my presentation to make sure that everyone was involved and realized how this could make their grading and assessments much easier. 

References

Raiser, R.A. and Dempsey, J.J. (2012) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology 3^rd Ed.