EDCI Learning Theory and Instructional Design

Transcription

1 EDCI Learning Theory and Instructional Design Instructor Faculty Instructor Sunnie Lee Watson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Learning Design and Technology Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue Univ. Skype ID: sunnie.watson Office: BRNG 3125 Spring 2013 Instructor s online hours Greetings and welcome to EDCI 531! I am Dr. Sunnie Lee Watson, and I will be working with you this term. I am available via and Skype and will respond as soon as available (generally within hours). I will be checking discussions throughout the week and will be providing feedback on your projects. If you feel you need more help or feedback in any way, please feel free to contact us via or Skype at any time. Virtual office hours I will hold virtual office hours via a synchronous session (through Adobe Connect) to discuss questions related to weekly readings and assignments. Office hours will be held every Monday evening from 8-9PM ET. Please go to the following url for office hours: If you cannot make office hours, you can always contact me via or through Skype (ID: sunnie.watson). Course website Blackboard Learn is our course management system. You can access the course website at It is strongly suggested that you explore and become familiar with the site navigation, as well as the content and resources available for this course. Course description This course has been designed to help you learn how theories of human learning and motivation can be applied to the instructional process in order to make it more effective, efficient, and/or appealing. The focus of the course throughout the term will be on two areas: 1) the theoretical principles that have contributed to the field of Instructional Design (ID), and 2) how those principles can be applied within practical settings. Reading and studying the assigned chapters and articles will acquaint you with the key theories. The discussions and writing assignments will focus on the application of the derived principles. Course goals Identify and describe the basic tenets of behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist learning theories. Compare and contrast the contributions of various learning theories to the field of instructional design. Identify and describe the basic components within various motivational theories and their impact upon the learning process. Select appropriate principles derived from given theories and apply those within practical learning situations. Course philosophy There are several things you should keep in mind as you begin this course. First, I don't believe you can learn everything there is to know from this course. You could spend years studying learning and motivation. But I want you to learn some of the major principles from these theories and how you can use the principles as a foundation for decisions you make as an instructional designer.

2 Second, don't think that I know it all. I enjoy teaching because, in the process, I have the privilege of learning from you. Every time I teach a class, I always come away with a large amount of new knowledge. I have a feeling that in the coming weeks a few things will be said that you probably won't agree with or even something that you think is totally wrong (and it very well could be). Don't be afraid to challenge what the rest of us say -- I certainly will try to challenge you. Third, active participation is a must. We want (and will require) you to participate in the weekly discussions. This doesn't mean that you need to dominate every discussion and it doesn t mean that you have to respond to every comment that is made. But it does mean that you should take an active part in the discussions. Think of the course as an ongoing discussion about learning and motivation that will take different directions each week. Try to synthesize the collected wisdom from the class in a way that makes sense to you. Contribute those ideas and the rest of us will add our thoughts. Throughout the semester you will be provided with feedback on your level of performance. This is accomplished in the My Grades section that is provided within BB. Additionally, at any time if you want direct feedback from me, send an message and I will respond to your queries. Fourth, take time to think reflectively about the readings and discussions. You all have a lot of experience as learners (and maybe as teachers and/or trainers) that you can use to help make sense of what is in the textbook. In fact, I will often specifically ask you to think back over your experiences as a learner as you consider some ideas from the text. So, take time to go beyond just reading the chapter. Explore, discover, and look for connections that are important to you. If you find yourself getting lost and confused, take some time to reflect, and ask for help if necessary. Fifth, attack this course with an open mind. Don't come in with a preset notion for or against a specific theory. Instructional designers don't have the luxury of ignoring potentially helpful principles that may come from a wide variety of sources. For example, even though you may believe that behaviorism is an obsolete theory with little to offer current practitioners, keep an open mind. You may just be surprised. Finally, writing facilitates the reflective thinking process. One of the advantages of this course is that we will be able to "see" our thought processes. You may notice this once we ve completed a couple of discussions. The online discussion won t be as spontaneous as a live, in class discussion, but it will more than make up for that with its thoughtfulness. The writing projects will reinforce this. When any of us teach (or write so others can understand) it requires us to think and explain in a logical manner. This is a helpful tool that enables us to make the connections among ideas. Etiquette Students are expected to behave in all class interactions in a professional and civil manner. If in doubt, do not post it! Instructors reserve the right to remove any postings deemed inappropriate, unprofessional, or otherwise distracting from the course. Incompletes A grade of Incomplete (I) will be given only in unusual circumstances. To receive an I grade, a written request must be submitted prior to and approved by the instructor. The request must describe the circumstances, along with a proposed timeline for completing the course work. You will be required to fill out and sign an Incomplete Contract form that will be turned in with the course grades. Any requests made after the course is completed will not be considered for an incomplete grade. Course evaluation During the last two weeks of the course, you will have the opportunity to evaluate this course and your instructor(s) through the use of an online course evaluation system. You will receive an official from evaluation administrators with a link to the online survey. You will have up to two weeks to complete this evaluation. Your feedback is vital to improving our program and education at Purdue University. I strongly urge you to participate in the evaluation system. You will each receive 5 bonus points if 100% of the class completes the evaluation before the last day of the semester. Course policies CLASS ATTENDANCE POLICY

3 Purdue University policy states that you are expected to be present for every meeting of classes in which you are enrolled. Given that this is an online course, attendance is not an issue as in traditional classrooms. However, given that approximately 1/3 of your overall grade is based upon your discussions in the course, attendance will be counted in this manner. In the case of an illness, accident, or an emergency, you should make direct contact with the instructor as soon as possible. NOTE: being sick, in and of itself, does not constitute an excuse from submitting an assignment on time unless the illness is critical and a doctor s excuse is provided. EMERGENCY STATEMENT In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. Updates and emergency information will be posted on Purdue s home page as well as distributed through emergency text alerts (to sign up, go to There are numerous ways to get information about changes in this course including the Blackboard course web page, my address (watson82@purdue.edu), and my office phone: ADAPTIVE PROGRAMS STATEMENT Students with special needs must be registered with Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean of Students before classroom accommodations can be provided. If you are eligible for academic accommodations because you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please schedule an appointment to talk with me as soon as possible to discuss your needs. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY STATEMENT Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with any University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University are examples of dishonesty." [Part 5, Section III-B-2-a, University Regulations] Plagiarism, whether intended or unintended, is an extremely serious offense in academia. Be absolutely sure you are properly citing all references. Instances of plagiarism will result in failure of the assignment in question. More than one instance will result in failure of the course. All incidents of plagiarism, whether intentional or not, will be documented with the Dean of Students office. Please review the following resource page on plagiarism: You are required to complete the following plagiarism tutorial: Please print out, sign, scan, and submit your certificate in the first week of the course. If you have previously completed this tutorial, you may submit a previous certificate; however, I recommend taking it again, as it is always good to have a refresher and incidents of plagiarism will not be overlooked. Course readings and resources Required Text Driscoll, Marcy (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3 rd edition). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Mager, R. F., & Pipe, P. (1997). Analyzing Performance Problems or You Really Oughta Wanna (3rd edition). Atlanta: The Center for Effective Performance, Inc. Posted on the Purdue Library Guide ( Bower, G. H., & Hilgard, E. R. (1981). Theories of Learning. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc. pp Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), Keller, J. M. (1979). Motivation and instructional design: A theoretical perspective. Journal of Instructional Development, 2(4), Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), Kirschner, P.A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquirybased teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2),

4 Course assignments Course Participation (8 x 10 pts. = 80 pts.) As mentioned previously, active participation is a must in this course. Each week one or more key discussion questions, activities, debates, etc. will be posted. Generally, you will be required to respond to the main discussion and then also make comments (a minimum of 2 or 3) on the responses of others in the course. Please note that the quantity of responses is not as important as the quality of the responses. Case Studies (3 x 20 pts. = 60 pts.) For the three case assignments, you will be taking on the role of an instructor and developing a case study that will help to illustrate key principles applied from the theories that have been discussed in class. Each of your written cases (3 pages, double spaced) will consist of the following: Case description. This should be a brief (1 page or so) scenario of a practical learning situation (for example, Mentor training within a manufacturing environment ). You may want to develop this from a situation you are familiar or you may find it easier to create this out of your own head. Either way, the description will outline some type of learning problem. Reflective questions. After the description, list several (perhaps 4 to 6) questions that could be generated by individuals reviewing the case description or things you would want those reviewers to think about. These should be questions that help the reader think about the situation in terms of the theories being considered. That is, specifically tie together your case description with the target theory via the questions. Outline of a potential solution. Briefly (within a page or two) identify a key principle (or principles) taken from a specific theory and explain how it would be applied to solve the learning problem presented in the case. This doesn t have to be the definitive answer to the case. But it should select the key theoretical principles and apply them appropriately. Comparative Organizer (30 pts.) Group Project For this assignment, you will each be given a specific theoretical perspective to explore and examine (e.g., Situated Cognition). In a simple table (that is the "organizer" part), you will address each of the following key questions: What is/are the common/accepted name(s) for the theory? Who are the representative theorists (individuals known to be associated with this theory)? From this theoretical perspective, what are the key factors that influence learning? What is the role of the teacher/instructor in the learning process? What is the role of the student/learner? What are the types of learning best explained by this position? What are some basic strategies used to exemplify this theory? What are this theory's major strengths/weaknesses? What are some good references (articles/websites) pertaining to this theoretical perspective? Each of these organizers will be posted on the course Comparative Organizer wiki. With the size of this class, this assignment will be completed in groups of 2 or 3 students working together. Final Paper (60 pts.) During the first week of class and again during the final weeks we will be reviewing the Ertmer and Newby (1993) article. The article was a review/synthesis of several theories that helps us "see" how some of these theories fit together and contribute to the work of instructional designers. It is time to write the sequel. Using that paper (and all of the readings and discussions during the semester), write a short paper (7-8 pages, double spaced) that expands the article and gives further ideas and insights. We will discuss this more during the course of the term, but the goal of this paper is to give you some time to think, synthesize, and attempt to apply many of the major principles we will cover in class. After reading the Ertmer and Newby article at the beginning and end of class, you will see different ways in which you might approach the content of the article, different information that you would include, or other kinds of changes you would suggest. Note 1: We don't want you to get the idea that you must design your paper exactly like Ertmer and Newby. That paper is only given as a starting point or something you can refer to and use as an example. Your paper will be graded based on what you have decided to discuss and the contribution you are attempting to make through your discussion. Note 2: Something that is always important to remember is that instructional designers are a practical bunch -- we will always look for applications. How can the concepts, etc. that you are presenting be used by the instructional designer? Make sure to include a section that involves applications.

5 Grading scale A = 94% = 216 pts. and above A- = 90% = pts. B+ = 87% = pts. B = 84% = pts. B- = 80% = pts. C+ = 77% = pts. C = 74% = pts. C- = 70% = pts. D = pts. F = below 137 Course schedule Week Topic Assignment 1. Jan 7-13 Intro to course, theory background Driscoll, Chp. 1; Ertmer & Newby; Bower & Hilgard 2. Jan Behaviorism Driscoll, Chp 2; Mager & Pipe 3. Jan Information processing, Schema Driscoll, Chp 3 & 4 Case 1 due (Jan 27 th, Sunday Midnight ET) 4. Jan 28-Feb 3 Situated Cognition, Interactional Driscoll, Chp 5 & 7 Case 2 due (Feb 3 rd, Sunday Midnight ET) 5. Feb 4-10 Constructivism Driscoll, Chp 11; Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark 6. Feb Gagne Driscoll, Chp 10; Ertmer & Newby Case 3 due (Feb 17 th, Sunday Midnight ET) 7. Feb Motivation Driscoll, Chp. 9; Keller (2 articles) Final Paper due (Feb 25 th, Monday Midnight ET) 8. Feb 25-March 1 Summary of class Comparative Organizers wiki due (Feb 28 th, Thursday Midnight ET)