Directions
Reply to following discussions:
1. Writing a self-evaluation of my level of proficiency in instructional design is not something that I am happy to write about, because I am someone with little to no experience in designing courses and very limited background knowledge in designing instruction or professional development for adult. I have had the opportunity of creating one training for providers. Although the feedback was encouraging, I believe much more experience is needed for me to even have a full grasp of what is required to become knowledgeable in this area. Therefore, I would rate my proficiency level in the category of lesson designer as a beginner or a novice.
Instructional design models such as ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) is very new to me. However, I have a basic understanding of the standards from an academic and professional development perspective, I have had very limited opportunity to gain hands-on experience in this area.
While I have very limited experience in instructional design – I am happy to be able to announce that my experience as a lesson designer is deeply concentrated in creating lesson plans for teaching and learning in educational settings. I create my lesson plans to align with specific goals and I ensure different methods are incorporated in my teaching while including a variety of activities.
My belief about teaching and instruction is that learning must be student centered, having active engagement, and using meaningful connections. It is my belief that instruction should be designed that it caters to a variety of needs and interests of students in an environment that is supportive, inclusive and where everyone can thrive and survive. I believe that even though I may lack experience as a lesson designer my experience in lesson planning lays the foundation on which I can increase my knowledge in instructional design to the level of lesson designer.
Even though my experience in instructional design is limited, my beliefs about teaching and learning are that they influence my approach in the way I plan and execute my lessons. I seek to engage learners, using different instructional methods, creating learning experiences that are relevant, realistic, meaningful, and empowering for students. My desire is that my instructional designer skills may be fully developed so that my teaching may improve and my influence as an educator in teaching and learning will also increase. I am hoping that my participating in this course will provide me with the necessary skills and experiences needed to become a lesson designer so that I will be better able to create new and improved learning experiences for my students.
(1 paragraph of reply for this discussion)
2. As I reflect on my journey as an instructor, I believe my experience in instructional design is based on creating a nurturing and interactive classroom atmosphere. However, achieving this has required me to gain a more reflective insight into the details of teaching and learning. In my early days of teaching (not too long ago), I mistakenly believed in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to instruction. I assumed that students, having chosen their courses, would understand the requirements and adapt accordingly. This perspective influenced every aspect of my teaching, from introducing course material to practicing learning outcomes, and even the assessment methods I utilized. It was a structured, almost inflexible approach.
Over time, I have come to realize that such a method can create significant barriers for students and prevent me from delivering truly personalized and impactful instruction. It became clear that I needed to evolve my strategies to better serve my students’ diverse needs and to make my contributions to the discipline as meaningful and unique as possible.
It took a couple of semesters and a webinar on backward design for me to step out of my comfort zone. This experience redirected my attention to student learning outcomes as the intended target, leading me to create strategies that support students in reaching these goals. Emphasizing creative assessment methods became essential, leading me to incorporate more real-world applications in both synchronous and asynchronous courses. This approach allowed me to learn more about my students and, most importantly, I began to observe noticeable improvements in their overall connection to the discipline.
Spring 2023 marked a significant milestone for me as I crafted my very first syllabus independently, which was both exciting and challenging. The challenge was getting over my fear of trying new things that might not work out. However, I recognized the importance of personalizing the syllabus to reflect my unique teaching style, enabling me to support my students effectively. This personalized approach also meant I could adjust in real-time, ensuring a continuous connection between learning outcomes that is supported by my instruction. I still have a lot to learn and grow, but now that I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone, I’m eager to continue improving my teaching methods and instructional design.
(1 paragraph of reply for this discussion)
3. After carefully reviewing the ISTE Standards, I realized that each standard plays a crucial role in engaging with digital literacy effectively. However, the one standard that particularly resonated with me is the Collaborator standard. This standard highlights the importance of educators dedicating time to collaborate with colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.
In the session, I thought of focusing on the importance of working with students as we all learn to use new digital tools together. I’ll share simple ways we can team up with students to find and try out these tools and how we can solve tech problems as a team. This approach is more than just fixing issues; it’s about teaching students to think critically and solve problems independently. For instance, many of us have faced technical glitches with online systems that were confusing and frustrating. Instead of immediately asking a teacher for help, we can encourage students to work with us to figure out solutions. This can make students feel like they’re essential to the learning process. By tackling tech challenges together, we show students how to be independent learners comfortable with technology.
In addition, it is necessary to emphasize the significance of learning alongside students. Sharing strategies and experiences to collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and utilize new digital resources. Discussing methods for diagnosing and troubleshooting technology issues collaboratively with students can be a powerful learning opportunity and help develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. For example, being an online student for a few semesters now, I believe we can all relate to coming up with an issue related to the D2L rather than the assignment itself. I know my first attempt to resolve the problem is to message my professor for a resolution. However, suppose we can establish a different approach by allowing students to come up with ways to collaborate with resolutions. In that case, this will empower students to feel an equal contributor to the learning environment. By involving students in exploring and resolving tech-related challenges, we can demonstrate how educators can empower students to become proactive learners.
Please let me know your thoughts!
(1 paragraph of reply for this discussion)
4. I found that, while all of the ISTE standards play an important role in being a quality educator, the Citizen standard stood out to me as it aligns most with my teaching philosophy as it centers on relationships, community, and ethical practices in the digital arena. Another reason that this standard resonated with me is that I will most likely teach in an online setting; the rural area where I live has few higher education opportunities is terms of in-person instruction.
In today’s digital world, there are many pitfalls that students need to be aware of when engaging with others through a screen. Without many of the non-verbals cues that are so important when communicating, I think that it is necessary to teach students how to not only be mindful of how they are engaging with others, but also how they are processing information from others. In terms of ethical practices and digital privacy, I am thinking about ways to most effectively bring attention to those areas. Digital privacy is a major current issue and we are learning how much of our online and virtual data is being collected by companies. Currently, there is a bipartisan bill, the American Privacy Rights Act, being drafted by lawmakers in the House and the Senate, to address the transfer of gathered data to third parties without the knowledge or consent of the individual.
When brainstorming how to best teach students about these issues and how they relate to their practices, I think that it would be effective to link the overall issues that I mentioned to the classroom and related settings. A slide with visuals of headlines covering privacy concerns and student data will provide relevance of the issue and create a segway for creating discussion about how students can not only be mindful of their own data, but also how have a responsibility to protect the privacy of their peers and students involved in observations/fieldwork/etc.
(1 paragraph of reply for this discussion)
