In my opinion, I think the ISD model (particularly the ADDIE process) is very intuitive and worth implementing into my instructional interventions/lesson plans. The strengths of the process lies within the evaluation phase as it encourages instructional designers and educators to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to conclude what changes need to occur. Since the model is a process, it is an ongoing cycle. One weakness is that it does not place emphasis on the importance of writing instructional goals and objectives. Ample time and attention needs to be invested in the initial planning process of setting goals in order to produce an instructional intervention that will alter the learner’s knowledge, skill, or attitude. Otherwise, the instructional intervention will be pointless and a waste of time as there will be no assurance that the learner has learned anything. The objectives should tell what the learner should be able to do as a result of the instruction and should be generated from specific, observable, and measurable information about the audience, behavior, conditions, and degree of the instructional goal. This is referred to as the “ABCD” approach.
As an instructor, I analyze my students in effort to group them into categories such as challenged students, average students, and advanced students. This helps me to establish the pace of the course. The effectiveness of my instructional intervention is most often evaluated by the students themselves as they are the individuals receiving the instruction. I also have instructors who have been teaching the subject to serve as my subject matter expert (SME) by allowing them to review my lesson plans and provide feedback.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
How People Learn
From my own perspective and experience, I have come to believe that people learn based off of their past experiences and prior knowledge. These factors help develop a meaningful understanding of new information. This belief can best be associated with the constructivism theory. From a constructivist perspective, the human brain is no longer considered as a blank slate or an empty vessel but rather storage where pre-existing knowledge is housed.
The best way to accommodate your students’ learning and understanding is to create a learner-centered environment by identifying the various learner characteristics that can help or harm instructional interventions such as lesson plans. This can be done by analyzing the target audience to gather information that plays an important role in learning such as age, gender, identification of the challenged, average and gifted/talented learners, and verification that the basic human needs are met. This helps an instructor to know the students’ learning levels and can assist with setting the pace of the intervention. Another way to accommodate your students’ learning and understanding of the subject matter is to conduct an inventory of the learning styles to determine the best method to present information (e.g., charts and graphs for a visual learner).
Considering the three major learning theories, the theory that I feel most comfortable with is constructivism because it best relates to the way I learn. My learning and understanding of new concepts is shaped from my environment (the world around me), things of the past (past experiences), and what I already know (prior knowledge). These aspects help me to make sense of it all. Though I can best relate to the constructivist perspective, I still have great respect for the researchers and scholars involved with the other two major theories, behaviorism and cognitivism.
Brown, A. , & Green, T. (2006). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practices. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
The best way to accommodate your students’ learning and understanding is to create a learner-centered environment by identifying the various learner characteristics that can help or harm instructional interventions such as lesson plans. This can be done by analyzing the target audience to gather information that plays an important role in learning such as age, gender, identification of the challenged, average and gifted/talented learners, and verification that the basic human needs are met. This helps an instructor to know the students’ learning levels and can assist with setting the pace of the intervention. Another way to accommodate your students’ learning and understanding of the subject matter is to conduct an inventory of the learning styles to determine the best method to present information (e.g., charts and graphs for a visual learner).
Considering the three major learning theories, the theory that I feel most comfortable with is constructivism because it best relates to the way I learn. My learning and understanding of new concepts is shaped from my environment (the world around me), things of the past (past experiences), and what I already know (prior knowledge). These aspects help me to make sense of it all. Though I can best relate to the constructivist perspective, I still have great respect for the researchers and scholars involved with the other two major theories, behaviorism and cognitivism.
Brown, A. , & Green, T. (2006). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practices. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (2007). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
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