ID+Process

=__**What is instructional design (for the uninitiated)?**__  = =  =  Since I was recently among these unwashed masses, I would keep any such definition as simple as possible.

To begin with, I would emphasize the reason for ID, that is, that the purpose of teaching something to someone is that they learn what it is that you are teaching them (I might further include a statement such as "duh"). The next step would be to have a newcomer to ID think back to their own education, particularly a time when they felt well "taught" and an instance when the information sailed past them. This is what I would define as the core of ID, to make sure that learners are taught in a way that best suits what they need to learn and how they learn.

An astute unwashed mass might ask how one who is involved in ID might know what is the best method for conveying a certain knowledge set (and if they did not ask, I'd tell them anyways). This is the backbone of ID, the scientific research portion of what we do. It is critical that the choices being made during an ID process are not whims or best guesses, but that they have a firm foundation in research. This research does take many forms, both researching what others have seen as effective and experimenting with your own groups of learners.

To summarize to an interested listener (or otherwise trapped individual), I would reiterate that instructional design is a process of scientifically picking the best method to deliver content to a group of learners.

= __**My Favorite Model (instructional design, that is):**__   = =<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(106, 37, 103);"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(93, 50, 93);">   = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(106, 37, 103);"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(93, 50, 93);"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Of the two models presented in chapter 1, I feel more comfortable with Kemp, Morrison, and Ross's instructional design model. What this model allows the practitioner to do is to jump around within the model as he or she feels most comfortable. I am a strong believer in collaboration, and I know that ideas in a group come when they come. Multiple brains stuck on the same step in a more rigid model, like Dick and Carrey's, can be more successful when they have the opportunity to begin with whatever sticks out the most. From previous experience, I know that instructional design does not always begin with a group of professionals sitting down to plan out a unit. The process may begin with a complaint session about how kids simply are not retaining what is being taught (the Instructional Problems element of Kemp, Morrison, and Ross's model). The results that are developed from this more informal starting point are sometime more complete and better structured because they came from a point of interest or inspiration.

=<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(106, 37, 103);"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(93, 50, 93);">__**Why is instructional design important to me and my field?**__   = =<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(106, 37, 103);"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(93, 50, 93);">   = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(106, 37, 103);"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; color: rgb(93, 50, 93);"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Instructional design is critical to teaching. I was very surprised by the information I learned in the first two chapters. The key idea was that, as instructors, we need to make certain that we are delivering content to students using methods that enables our students to have total access to that content. Any methods that we use that limit that access are extremely counterproductive. The biggest surprise I had was that I was not taught about this when I was earning my teaching credentials (a year and a half post-baccalaureate program). I feel that instructing all new teachers in this student first approach would help to remove one of the few remaining "cop-outs" to effective teaching ("I've always done it this way"). Teachers, myself included, complain about a lack of student focus and interest in what is being taught. Yet how many of us take the time to research not only what best instructional practices are, but are willing to experiment with their classes to see what works best for the learners that we have?

The field of instructional design is crucial to anyone who makes their living teaching information to others. How can teachers not be concerned about how their students learn? ID can also make the job of teaching easier. Students who are engaged disrupt class less often. Students who are engaged not only turn in more work, but the quality of our work is much better.

Finally, instructional design is important to me because of why I decided to teach. There is nothing better, to me, then seeing a student "click" with the information being presented. A student having an "aha" moment gives teachers such a positive feeling. I believe that using instructional design will create more "aha" moments for more students.

Information on Instructional Design models for EDET 722 based on information from: Brown, A. & Green, T. D. (2006). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. Upper Saddle River: NJ: Pearson

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