Learning and Teaching in Practice/Educational design theory/Notes

Topic outline

• http://wikieducator.org/Flexible_Learning
• http://wikieducator.org/Constructing_Courses_to_Enhance_Learning

1. What is educational design?
   1. Course / curriculum design. Not so much a focus of this course as teachers are usually expected to work to 'deliver' a course curriculum that has already been designed and approved. It will be a focus for some staff, and others may be involved in re-design of the curriculum. Bold text--Bronwyn Hegarty 01:56, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
   2. Assessment design. Summative assessments may be already designed but teachers are likely to be involved in developing formative assessments as well as implementing summative assessments and (from time to time) reviewing and reworking them. I have material for this part.--Bronwyn Hegarty 01:56, 6 May 2013 (UTC)Bold text
   3. Learning design - planning and preparing learning resources and activities to meet the needs of the learners and the course curriculum. This is a key focus of the Learning and Teaching Practice course. Yes. I like to use the principles of flexible and blended learning approach - Casey & Wilson: flexibility grid: [1] - Open to other learning design approaches. Tend to use thie model - content/activities/communication/assessment - when thinking about designing strategies in a course. --Bronwyn Hegarty 01:56, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
      1. F2F (classroom-based). Face to face learning and teaching (kanohi-ki-te-kanohi) may take many forms - from the 'traditonal' one-to-many lecture involving primarily one-way transmission of information to highly interactive and social approaches.
      2. Technology-enhanced / blended. Otago Polytechnic, like many other institutions, has a strategic plan which explicitly focuses on the incorporation of technology to enhance learning and the use of blended approaches to better meet the needs of learners. The incorporation of technology and blended approaches leads to amore complex learning environment and requires additional considerations for learning design.
         1. Online interaction / social approaches.
         2. Individual/ self-paced learning. While social approaches to learning have become increasingly important, there are still contexts and situations where it is more appropriate for individual learners to work on their own. Self-paced learning requires well-designed resources and activities.
         3. Online resources. Teachers with experience in a primarily face to face context will have developed skills in designing paper-based (print) learning materials. Designing and developing online resources (such as web-based text with photos, diagrams, video and audio) requires an extended set of knowledge and skills.
2. Why design for learning?
   1. What we know about effective learning and teaching.
   2. The organisation's quality assurance processes.
   3. Planning for teaching with good learning design can mean that students are more likely to have a more effective learning experience. Online learning environments are more complex so need to plan as the design needs to adhere to quality requirements. --Bronwyn Hegarty 02:24, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

Reflective practice tends to be more effective when supported by writing. Teachers who plan learning activities in writing can reflect on how effective they were and easily record what changes might make them more effective or appropriate next time. Conversely, teachers who do little or no written planning and learning design often find it difficult to further develop their use of new or modified teaching and learning strategies. Can't develop RP if making it up as going along.--Bronwyn Hegarty 02:28, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

1. Who designs learning?
   1. Responsibilities for course and learning design. Course design is complex and time-consuming. Not all teachers are expected to carry out detailed needs analysis and curriculum design, such as designing a course and writing its aims and learning outcomes. But all teachers need to develop skills in designing learning activities and resources.
   2. Learner autonomy and collaboration.
2. How do we design for learning?
   1. Context. The context in which learning will take place has significant implications for designing learning activities and resources. For example, in a face to face setting, we may have a class of 15 or 150. We may teach in a 'traditional' lecture theatre, in a laboratory filled with science equipment, or in a computer lab. Or we may be working in a blended learning or fully online context. These and many other factors will influence the types of activities and resources we use and the ways in which we use them. There may also be resource constraints - for example, it might be desirable to incorporate a simulation activity but this might require many hours of development time to create.
   2. Learning theories and models. As teachers, our personal beliefs about teaching and learning (ie an orientation as per Unit 2) affect they way we teach. For example, one teacher may ascribe to a behaviourist theory of learning and another to a social constructivist theory - they are likely to design very different learning resources and activities. Of course, these beliefs may or may not be made explicit - indeed, it has been said that 'by default, new teachers teach the way they were taught'. This can be especially so in tertiary setting where there is no significant pre-service profession development in 'how to teach'. And in a different context (including a new generation of learners!) the way we were taught may be no longer appropriate.
   3. Design models
      1. ADDIE. A structured, 'top-down' model. Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. It focusses on a strong initial Analysis phase where needs are identified and the Design phase includes developing learning objective / outcomes - as such, a formal use of this model may be more suited to course / curriculum design. However, teachers may find a less formal approach very useful in designing learning activities and resources. In fact, most teachers who plan effectively use some aspect of the ADDIE model, perhaps unconsciously.
      2. Gagné.
      3. ARCS
      4. Rapid prototyping. This model has been used as an approach to software development but can also be used for some aspects of learning design. Focuses on an iterative process of planning, implementing, testing and review. Linked to Kolb's cycle as well as similar models such as PDSA. Not really suitable for course design in most contexts but can be very useful as an approach to developing effective teaching and learning.
      5. NKK model.
      6. OTARA model
      7. ARIA model