Reflection: Instructional Design

The book called  Rapid Instructional Design: Learning ID Fast and Right   is really helping me to redesign my art appreciation class for Fall. George Piskuich promises that the book will “help you make sure that what is in your program is what your trainees need to learn.” (page 3) So far I have read chapters 1-4 and have already picked up some very useful ideas.   

There are two issues that I have to address for art appreciation since it is in the common core for general studies in a liberal arts program. First of all I need to focus on the learning objectives which have been set forth by the state of Texas. There are now 6 areas (reduced from 37), for each class that is part of the general education core to address:

1. Critical Thinking

2. Communication Skills

3. Empirical & Quantitative Skills (optional for creative arts)

4. Teamwork

5. Social Responsibility

6. Personal Responsibility (optional for creative arts)

Secondly, I have to figure out how to measure these objectives. The art appreciation class that I have been in the process of re-designing needs to help students develop skills in these 6 areas. The state has told me what students need to learn and it’s my job to decide how to design the class so students will demonstrate their learning through art appreciation.  

Over the past three semesters I have designed assignments intended to measure student learning in similar areas and have been collecting data about student outcomes. I have also been offering commentary about what I think is needed to change the outcomes and making follow-up statements in a program that we use called TracDat. The standards for our whole division were set that 80% of students would achieve 80% of a given outcome. After one semester of results, that was reduced to 75% of students will achieve 75% of a given outcome. This seems to be a decent target for general education. However, after reading the text, asking for 75% concerns me because if the saying is true that “you haven’t taught if they haven’t learned” (page 116) then we as teachers in the general education program are not very successful. I certainly wouldn’t want a Doctor that is advising me to have earned 75% in his or her coursework. Of course we’d love for everyone to achieve 100%! I can’t change anyone else or the division plan but I can work on revising my course to be an effective trainer and course designer. When I return from the ISTE2012 conference next week I will also be given the opportunity to create something to share with the division in the Fall. Our Director of the Office of Distance Learning & Instructional Technologies has set aside monetary assistance for me to prepare something to do with "Projects or ideas that impact development or delivery of entire programs or courses across disciplines." So I'm really looking forward to preparing something that is based on this class experience and also the conference.