Instructional Design: Reflections

On Project Learning

Throughout the series of blog posts I wrote for an American Library Association (ALA) course in Instructional Design Essentials, I have related what I have been learning to a real-life effort to develop a 1-2 hour workshop on EndNote Desktop.  The proposed workshop is targeted primarily to graduate students and faculty and is to be delivered in a computer lab setting.  The reflection activity and learning approach I followed in this ALA course involved using this concrete example to place learning in context and make class content personally meaningful—an effective learning technique.  I learned a sequence of steps to follow in instructional design, which provided me with a framework for considering what to include and exclude in course content.  By establishing learning objectives early in the process, it is possible to assure that the most important content will be covered, and that activities and assessments are aligned with desired learning outcomes.  I identified two primary learning outcomes for the EndNote Desktop workshop:

• Workshop participants will be able to create, organize, and share a library of citations in EndNote Desktop.
• Workshop participants will be able to use the Cite While You Write plug-in for Microsoft Word.

On Project Technology

Given these learning outcomes, it is clear that the course content must be practical and focused on skill building.  The emphasis on learning computer technology applications also means that attention needs to be paid to the learning environment.  Software must be made available on lab computers in order to provide for hands-on activities.  Configuration of the lab computers in turn limits instruction, in this case to Microsoft versions of EndNote Desktop and associated plug-ins.  Because the workshop content will be heavily technology oriented, I chose not to incorporate other Ed-Tech tools that could detract from the primary instruction objectives.  However, supplemental resources and alternative delivery options could be provided using online instructional technologies.

On Learning Theories

I most enjoyed the ALA course section on learning theories.  Not only do I have a better understanding of what others mean when they talk about behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, but I can now consciously consider the application of corresponding instruction approaches within my teaching design.  I think two of the greatest challenges librarians face in teaching is that much of our instruction has to be delivered in short, one-shot sessions, and content is often heavily technology-focused on use of databases and software applications.  When instruction is focused on developing skills in a short amount of time, it will often, of necessity, be heavily based in behaviorism theory and hands-on practice.  However, incorporating elements of cognitivism and constructivism can aid student understanding and retention.  Most helpful to me was the idea that although the target of learning for the EndNote Desktop workshop involves lower-order thinking skills (i.e., the remember, understand, and apply levels of Bloom’s hierarchy of learning), activities to enhance learning should mobilize higher-order thinking skills (i.e., the analyze, evaluate or create levels).

Finding ways to do this that do not take too much time away from covering important content can be challenging.  Having students create their own library of references in EndNote Desktop and use it to cite works in a document combines the elements of skill-building practice with seeing how software functions can be integrated into their own research work flows.  Cognitivism approaches can be introduced by organizing material into logical sequences or modules that build upon what has been learned in preceding sections.  Class involvement might be encouraged by having attendees brainstorm why or how they might want to use EndNote Desktop in their academic work, rather than merely stating workshop objectives at the beginning of the session.  Ideas could be quickly captured in a note-taking or word processing application and projected for everyone to see.  I believe that thinking about how to actively engage students is the most challenging aspect of instructional design.

On Assessments

Developing assessments (formative and/or summative) that evaluate learning is also challenging for one-shot types of instruction.  For workshops where attendance is voluntary and no assignments or grades are expected, the focus may need to be mostly on formative assessment to gauge learner comprehension as the session is being delivered.  Posing questions to attendees as part of the content delivery can be an effective approach that combines immediate assessment of learner understanding with learner engagement and sharing.  Short pre-and post-instruction quizzes or course evaluations can also be useful to identify what attendees learned and what instructional improvements can be made in the future.  I recognize that having well-defined learning outcomes is instrumental to being able to create appropriate assessment approaches.

On Motivation

Offering a workshop based upon the request of one or two individuals has interesting implications in terms of learner motivation.  An expectation is that workshop participants will be highly motivated, founded in pre-existing interest in the subject matter.  This differs from observations of other course participants in relation to one-shot instruction as a part of credit courses.  In the latter case, students may be less motivated because they are required to attend but may think they already know the material to be covered.  For offered workshops with voluntary attendance, participation might be low if the target audience does not recognize its value.  Reasons might include: thinking they already know how to use the software effectively, not recognizing a need to use the software, not wanting to spend time learning to use the software, fear of not being able to learn to use the software, and impressions that the level of instruction will be too basic or too advanced.  Encouraging attendance and participation in a workshop requires marketing.  This means that learning objectives and benefits of the workshop will need to be promoted in an interesting and relevant way in advance of the event to generate interest.  Attendees at a workshop may also have a broader range of experience and learning needs than might be found in a credit course.  Therefore, it can be more difficult to plan content and activities to accommodate that range.  If content is delivered too slowly for advanced learners, they can become bored.  If content is delivered too quickly for beginning learners, they can become frustrated and discouraged.  Balancing these needs becomes a challenge for the instructor.

On Teaching

Despite the inherent challenges, taking this ALA course in Instructional Design Essentials has increased my confidence in my ability to teach.  I recognize that I am already familiar with a wide range of teaching approaches and methodologies based upon observations from my many years of being a student and life-long learner.  I am now better able to identify how those techniques match up with learning theories.  This added knowledge and perspective will help me in choosing appropriate activities to incorporate into my teaching sessions that align with learning outcomes.  Designing instruction well requires a lot of thought and planning that generally requires more time than the instruction delivery.  My overarching goals as an instructor are to match student needs with appropriate learning objectives and well-designed lessons, and to continually strive to improve my teaching based upon feedback and by learning from other librarians/instructors.