Instructional Design: Step 2 - Learning Goals

Formulating Significant Learning Goals

Applying Step 2 in instructional design (Fink) examines what I want learners to take away from a workshop on EndNote Desktop.

"A year (or more) after this course is over, I want and hope that students will" be proficient in use of citation management software, and EndNote Desktop in particular, to manage their references, properly format and cite works in their publications, reduce citation and formatting errors, and increase their work productivity.  Furthermore, I hope students continue self-directed learning to keep current with changes in the software and to adapt their use to evolving academic needs.
     

1. Foundational Knowledge

 

It is important that students understand that they are personally responsible for making sure that their citations and references are correct and properly formatted in publications.  EndNote Desktop has features and functions that can help to properly cite references in the correct formats and minimize errors.  However, no software program is perfect, and citation management software is also dependent upon information being available and correctly entered in the underlying record associated with the reference material.  Therefore, some editing of reference and citation information is part of the process of using a citation management system.  Proper citation is necessary to give proper attribution to creators of works used, and also to help readers locate the sources that were consulted while creating a given work.

2. Application Goals

Practical thinking is most important to learning EndNote Desktop, as students decide what features and functions of the software are most appropriate for the task they want to perform, and they figure out how to use the tools.  Some critical thinking may come into play as students analyze how to organize their references, sort and filter groups of references, and identify what information may need to be added, corrected, or formatted differently.  Students will need to develop skills in using the various features and functions available within EndNote Desktop, the Cite While You Write plug-in, and possibly EndNote Basic (the Web version).

3.  Integration Goals

 

Students will need to connect what they are learning to what they already know about searching for information resources, properly attributing and citing sources used, citation styles, and writing formats.  Students need to know the standard elements of bibliographic citations, and be able to recognize when critical information elements are missing or incorrectly entered.  Students also need to rely upon organization and filing skills in setting up groups of references and using sort and filtering queries.  Students will need prior computer application skills, including use of word-processing software, such as Microsoft Word, in order to use the Cite While You Write plug-in.  Within use of EndNote Desktop, students should be able to see how citations can be organized for reuse in multiple projects, how PDFs can be annotated, and that references and annotations can be shared with collaborators.

4.  Human Dimension Goals

 

Students may learn whether EndNote Desktop is an appropriate tool for them based upon their individual work needs and their proficiency in use of computer technology.  Students may learn that research collaboration can be facilitated through use of the EndNote Desktop sync function with EndNote Basic, which can be used to share citations and references (including annotations) between team members.  Such sharing, especially when well organized, can reduce everyone's individual efforts within a group, leading to greater overall productivity.

5.  Caring Goals

 

Students should gain confidence in their ability to use EndNote Desktop and its application to proper citation of their work.  They should gain a sense of accomplishment and achieve higher work productivity as they continue to develop their skills beyond their participation in the workshop.

6.  "Learning-How-to-Learn" Goals

 

Students will be introduced to additional resources, for furthering their proficiency in use of EndNote Desktop, including the Help topics available within the software, the "Connect" forum for crowd-sourced user assistance, LibGuides about citation management systems, and librarian consultation services.