I am a planner and I enjoy focusing on the big-picture. Although details and brute labor bring projects from blueprints to fruition, without a solid plan they are all for naught. Just as a home builder would never start construction without a clear plan - even down to the last stud - an educator should not start teaching without a layout of how the course will proceed.

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A clear educational plan is crucial to my innovation plan, as it would do me no good to "build the house" of both initiating efficiency training and introducing technology to revolutionize our training program if the learning environment does not support long-term or lifelong learning.  Technology is just a fad if not for learning, so the astute innovator lays the groundwork for significant learning environments - situations where learning can take place in a personal way.  Adjusters will be coming into our efficiency training begrudgingly and may not be be up intending to learn much during the sessions.  It will be a challenge to create a positive learning environment there but I have ideas as noted below to help.

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But before the educator reaches the coursework, he or she would do well to specify how they see and understand learning and their educational philosophies. I spent hours reflecting upon my beliefs on learning and to what educational philosophies I aspired toward. My personal philosophy is here

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A linear march through a textbook or lectures from lesson after lesson with a simple, cumulative exam will yield the same level of learning as it always has. Or as laid out in a New culture of learning (Thomas & Brown, 2011), the level of learning will continue to decline at the hands of a new generation of learners. My response to the New culture book and my strategy for developing significant learning environments can be found here:

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Continuing with the home building analogy, a builder does not work off of a single, master "big picture " plan, but rather splits the plan into smaller portions of specifics by room, floor, etc. Similarly, an educational plan needs to move from its initial large-scale concepts to more specific details for individual lessons. This is where instructional design really hits its stride. I took a cornerstone lesson - diary efficiency - and outlined it in detail using two different methods. The first is  a 3-column table outlined by Fink (2003) and the second is outlined in Understanding by design (Wiggins & McTighe,.2005), which is also broken into three portions. Both utilize backward design, which focuses on the end goal first to ensure the entire course(s) is built to ensure the goals are achieved.

 

The 3-column table is a simple way to outline the basic details of a course or lesson. Aesthetically, it is clean and precise; functionally, it lays out three key aspects of the course.  Those elements are: course goals, assessments, and learning activities. The course goals are presented initially, followed by assessments, and concluded with learning activities. With regard to the goals, each is broken out into a smaller, sub-goals that allow for greater detail. Although not typically included in a 3-column table, I also begin my presentation with one overarching course goal - a "big, hairy audacious goal," if you will. After defining clear goals for the course, goals that will last long-term and remain for years past the course, one can think through and define how they will know whether the goals have been achieved. Though there may be some simple "exams," this should not be the default assessment in learning environments. An educator needs to give deep thought to how an individual can be assessed and receive learning out of it versus passively taking a test. Finally, the educator is ready to plan out the learning experience to ensure the learners are prepared for their assessments and to achieve the goals planned out. My 3-course table can be found here:

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In the Understanding by design (2005) method of course design, the educator trades aesthetics for a greater level of detail. The guide is laid out into 3 sections, which are further sub-divided. This methodology, too, starts with the goals that give vision to the entire course; however, where it differs is that the goals are further outlined in terms of the key understandings a learner will gain from the course, the essential questions the course will attempt to raise and/or answer, as well as the knowledge and skills a learner will leave the course possessing.  After laying out the course goals in great detail, the educator plans out the assessments - both tangible "hands-on" tasks and other assessments such as exams and papers.  Finally, the educator plans the learning activities for the course.  Each of the activities should meet at least one of these categories to ensure they are related and relevant to the course:

 

Where are we going?

Hook and hold!

Equip, experience and explore

Rethink and revise understanding

Evaluate work and implications

Tailor the work to different needs, interests and abilities

Organize to maintain efficiency and learning

(Wiggins. & McTighe, 2005)

 

My UBD course guide can be found here:

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The final piece I added to my collection of instructional design projects is an essay on Carol Dweck's challenging work on learning mindsets. Dweck's (2006) simply titled "Mindset" book outlines the two mindsets children and adult hold when approaching education or learning: fixed and growth. As the name indicates, a fixed mindset believes that every part of a person - from intelligence to personality is "fixed," meaning it cannot be increased or otherwise changed. Because of this, a fixed person is often focused on pursuing endeavors that highlight their strengths and/or intelligence. Challenge and effort do not sit well with those holding to a fixed mindset, which leads most to search for roles and tasks they find easy or at which they easily succeed. Also as the name indicates, a growth mindset believes that the portions of a person can be changed through hard work and are continually trying to "grow" those areas. To this end, a person in the growth mindset often pursues feedback and gets right back up after falling down in pursuit of growth. A person in this mindset will typically see challenge or failure as a part of growth and will therefore embrace difficult tasks or positions. My mindset strategy can be found here:

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I hope you enjoy these pieces of my instructional design puzzle, as I greatly enjoyed creating them. In the educational process, I believe that the most important and enjoyable part is instructional design and creating significant learning environments.

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References:

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Dweck, C., (2006).  Mindset: The new psychology of success.  New York: Ballantine Books.

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Fink, L.D. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

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Thomas, D. & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Charleston: Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown.

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Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development