Section 4: Human Performance Technology

Chapter 14 -  A Human Performance Problem Where I Teach

I teach in a Title I predominately Economically Disadvantaged school district.  A problem was identified several years ago dealing with the continuing education of a majority of our students.  Many who were capable were not going on to college or vocational schools post high school.  I am not sure that this falls completely in line with non instructional strategies to deal with it, but the AVID program was looked at and implemented in our high school and middle school campuses.  We began at the high school level and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) began to make a difference in the lives of these kids.  Students were interviewed for acceptance into the program and had to meet some qualifications.  One was that the student did not have a parent who had completed a post secondary education.  Students had to take at least one Advanced (Pre-AP or AP) course as well.  They were monitored by AVID teachers, were provided tutors, mentors, and listened to guest speakers to motivate and encourage them to work hard and push themselves.  The support system that AVID provides falls into the non instructional category of strategies as far as I am concerned.  Grades are monitored; financial aid for college is discussed. Students feel like they are someone’s number one priority and achievement that they only dreamed of becomes POSSIBLE.  As you can tell, I am a big proponent of the AVID system.  Teachers are a large part of the success of the program and the AVID committee, of which I am a member, goes to summer institutes for teaching strategies but also for information on how to best help these students to achieve.

Chapter 15 – A performance support system (particularly an electronic performance support system) is a manner in which training and information can be relayed to workers in a timely and as needed basis.  It is specific to the company or tasks that it is created for.  It also allows new workers to have access to the same information and help systems that seasoned workers use.  It is made up of online reference materials,  interactive tutorials and help tools, an electronic adviser, and tools for productivity such as spread sheets, word processing, etc.

(http://www.jarche.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/performance-learning.jpg)

I am not sure that an electronic performance system would be needed in the AVID program, but I can see where a “one stop shop” for information would be useful and helpful.  If these college bound students had immediate access to FAFSA, college application essay tutorials, Apply Texas, online help for citing sources, etc. all in one location, it would save them time and trouble.  I am not quite sure if this would qualify as a performance system as much as it would be a central location for all their needs.  It would help to increase performance in areas such as essay writing if used properly.

(http://www.informationarchitected.com/training/integrated-knowledge-management/)

Chapter 16 – Knowledge Management

Having the knowledge readily accessible to help determine who would be best suited for the AVID program would be of great help.  Teacher recommendations are mainly how the students are placed in the program right now along with interviews of those who have heard of the program and are interested in becoming a part of it.  If there was a system in place to more easily identify them whether it be a combination of data from test scores, grades in classes, background, etc., it would potentially increase the size of the program and allow AVID to reach further than it does now.  On the same note, if there was a base of knowledge where students and parents could go to find out more information about the program (a centralized web page for a particular school and its AVID successes) the knowledge of the program could spread farther into the community.

Chapter 17 – Informal Learning

I am sorry to say that not many informal learning experiences readily come to mind when thinking of the high school where I teach.  Unfortunately it seems that the elementary and even middle school students are more privy to this type of  learning environment.  I say this because they take more field trips and have more museum type experiences outside the classroom.  These are the types of trips and experiences that my own children have taken part in whether to the aquarium or a hands on science museum.  I would LOVE to be able to take my English students to a production of Romeo and Juliet, for example, but it seems that monetary and time constraints play a big part in the scheduling of high school activities at present.  I think that all students should be able to see things such as this, but in practical terms, that may not be a possibility.  There are behavior concerns as well as monetary ones.  I think these experiences should be encouraged in order to expose our students to environments they would many times never have access to for a variety of reasons.  Online communities are an easier way to achieve these types of activities like virtual field trips, etc. but I do not think that they even remotely begin to come close to the experience of actually being somewhere and experiencing a museum or play first hand.

1.        In the text, the ADDIE model was mentioned briefly.  It is the model traditionally used by designers and developers of instruction.  It is also the model for which others were modeled.  It consists of five phases:  Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.  Throughout the phases, there is formative evaluation with the summative evaluation coming in the end phase of Evaluation.

 

In the Analysis phase, the audience is identified, goals are set, and options for delivery of lessons are considered.  Along with these important considerations, the time for the project is considered as well as the prior knowledge of the students.  In the Design phase, the content of the lesson is considered, lesson plans are created, and the assessment of the learning objectives is designed or chosen. 

 

The Development phase is where everything that was created in the Design phase is put into place as well as any inclusion of technology to enhance instruction. Everything is reviewed in this phase to try and work out any kinks that may come into play in the next phase.

 

During Implementation, all necessary instruments (books, equipment, etc) are in place.  The curriculum of the lesson is covered and delivered along with assessment. 

 

In the Evaluation phase, summative evaluation is in the form of feedback from participants as well as tests designed to evaluate what was presented and the manner of presentation.

 

                A second design model that is actually a spinoff of the ADDIE Model is Dick and Carey’s Model.                 

This model is easier to understand because the steps are broken into nine components and are specific in nature.  This is also a work in progress where the authors of the model (W. Dick and L. Carey) have made minor adjustments as the needs of the classroom change and technology develops.  They are changing the model as the philosophies of instructional design change.

 

The nine components are as follows:

1.       Needs assessment- determine what learners should be able to do following instruction.

2.       Analysis of instruction- what will occur as learners try to reach the goal outcome and what is required. (Step by step instruction)

3.       Analyze- What are the background knowledge and skills of the learners? Where will the lesson take place?

4.       Write out objectives- What specifically should be learned and what is the criteria?

5.       Assessment development- should be consistent with the objectives specified in previous step.

6.       Strategy development- What should the learner do prior to instruction, during instruction, and during and post assessment?

7.       Choose instruction strategies

8.       Formative evaluation- collect data to see where improvements may be made.

9.       Revision- after collection of data and formative evaluation put necessary changes for improvement in place.

The last step in the process is summative evaluation to evaluate the process of instruction as a whole.

 

Both the ADDIE model and Dick and Carey’s Model are similar and are beneficial to use inconsideration of the means that curriculum is presented to students.  I understand that formative evaluation is valuable in both to determine how well the process of a lesson is progressing and to make improvements, but would love concrete examples for a typical teacher to use when implementing a new lesson or curriculum.  Applying these strategies in the classroom is necessary for quality design.  It seems that many, if not most, implement a lesson and improve through trial and error.  This is probably not the best method for formative evaluations but seem to be what is prevalent among my colleagues and me. 

Our department planning meetings employ these strategies in deciding what and how we will instruct our students.  As curriculum standards change and the new EOC testing is in its second year, it has become more important than ever to provide meaningful instruction to our students that they can apply both outside the classroom and in a testing environment.  We may not follow a precise model, but when thinking of both of the aforementioned methods, we utilize many of the steps or components.

2.        While it is imperative that designers of instruction consider the amounts of learning taking place as well as learner satisfaction, we must also consider the types of learners we have in our classrooms.  There is mention of the background knowledge in these models, but emphasis should also be placed as importantly on HOW our student best learn.  Are they visual, kinesthetic, auditory, etc. learners?  How can we best reach them all through the intended instruction?  I guess this would fall under the formative evaluation process where you can make changes to suit the learners as you go.

 

3.       As with any public school system today, there are limited resources and less Federal help where cutbacks have been prevalent, so  you could say that today’s climate would be one of economic decline.  If I were assigned to develop a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology, I would first determine what technology currently existed in the classrooms.  This would allow informative sessions on existing equipment instead of what would be “pie in the sky” sessions for the staff at present.  Determining what would be the best type of instruction that teacher’s could truly benefit from would be the first order of business.  There are too many times where teachers are required to sit through trainings or information sessions in my district for technology we do not have and then teachers are not trained on technology that is being placed in our classrooms (i.e. smartboards).  If the training necessary was not obvious, polling teachers and actually asking them what training would be beneficial to them would be the place to start.  Once that is established, finding the proper “trainers” would be the next step.  There are always some teachers or staff members who are more than proficient in current technologies.  I would ask them to be the facilitators of the sessions so that what is being taught would be immediately relevant to those in attendance.  Using staff instead of hiring a trainer or trainers would be not only cost effective but provide training that current staff can use since teachers of the campus or district already are familiar with the climate and needs of the campus or district.  Providing training for technology that MIGHT be in a teacher’s classroom in the future is a waste of time especially if the climate is one in  economic decline.  Providing something teachers can utilize immediately would not only be appreciated by staff in the training but something they would actually listen to and implement in their learning environments because it IS already at their fingertips and may be something they do not know how to best utilize.

Section 2 Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

1.        In Section 2 of the textbook, epistemology is defined as “the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge and understanding – their foundations, assumptions, and validity”.  As I understand it, this is a field of study that is concerned with determining how an individual (or even a group) learns, disseminates, and retains information.  In distinguishing this field of study from theories, methods, or models of learning, it would seem that the belief one holds about learning would be a prerequisite to developing a theory, method or model.  Epistemology and how one perceives learning would be a predetermining factor in how an instructional design method is constructed.  The epistemological beliefs that one holds would also determine the type of theory of learning and ultimately the model of learning to be developed, introduced, or studied. 

 

For some reason, the question “Which came first-the chicken or the egg?” comes to mind as well as the phrase “putting the cart before the horse”.  By this, I mean that you cannot successfully develop and implement a design method without first understanding how a person learns or more to the point how you BELIEVE a person learns.  This determines the type of instruction you would lean toward developing.

 

2.       Positivism seems to be more the “old school” type of teaching, whereas relativism is the more current or progressive approach to delivering instruction.  As I was reading chapter six about these two terms, I realized that our state seems to take the objectivist perspective as the ultimate tool to learning.  As I was reading about the beliefs of objectivists and how they feel direct instruction is an important aspect of attaining knowledge, the TEKS objectives determined by the state immediately came to my mind.  We, as instructors and students/learners, according to the state, are only successful if the established objectives of learning are mastered on a standardized test.  I see that our students need a more relevant type of learning that they can find as useful in the real world.  They need to understand the “why” this is being taught and how they will be able to use it.  As educators, it seems that we must fall somewhere in the middle.  We must recognize the outcome of learning that is measure by a standardized test, the objectives, and that method of instruction.  We must also recognize the needs of our students, how they learn, and what type of instruction is best suited for them.  We have so many varied types of students, learning modalities, etc. that we must fall in between these two positions and do our best to successfully employ them both – thus falling somewhere in the contextualist camp.

3.       As far as epistemic stances and their different approached to learning and instruction, the constructivist perspective lends itself toward project-based learning (which is the current trend in education today).  The teacher is a facilitator and does not directly lecture/instruct but allows the learner to find their own way through a system of problems and arrive at an end product or solution.  It makes me think of my own children and  science fair projects that they have had to do.  They were the designers, planners, recorders, etc. and they shared their findings with their teacher and classmates in their final product for the science fair.  They were the leaders in their own learning after they had approval of their project idea by the teacher.  This, to me, is a relevant example of constructivism that our students face.

The behaviorist approach lends itself toward more direct teacher instruction to teach specific objectives and to “impart knowledge” from the outside in with our students.  It is, as I stated above, what seems to be the cornerstone of our standardized testing.  Teach certain things in a certain way to get a certain “acceptable” score or rating.  If we do not take into consideration  HOW our students learn and merely fall into one camp or the other, we are doing a disservice to our students.  I believe we should not be “teaching to the test” but teaching real world applications that our students will be able to use in higher education and in their lives as a whole. 

Chapter 3 and the exclusion of teachers, chalkboards, and texts

In Chapter 3 of the textbook, teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks are excluded from the definition of instructional media because in today's climate of education, teachers are at times not necessary and are many times not "in front of a classroom"; chalkboards are antiquated and not used, and textbooks have a variety of formats due to advances in technology. There are so many methods of technology available to educators today, that including these three things in instructional design immediately puts limitations or at least perceived limitations because of the non-technological nature of the three.

I would say that teachers are not part of instructional media but more an instructional means or method.  I feel that one purpose of instructional design is to incorporate technology into today's instruction, because as educators we are challenged with teaching to many learning styles and use many methods of delivery.  By including technology into design, we are more apt to design a lesson that can appeal to many learning styles and be appealing to today's student, thus aiding in the successful outcome of learning for more students.

1.  When first hearing the term "instructional technology", I immediately thought of the means of instruction (specifically means of technology in which instruction can be delivered).  For example, in my classroom that would include use of the document camera, projector, smart board, and computer.  I assumed it to be technology used to aid instruction. 

After reading the first chapter of the text, I see quite plainly that I held a very elementary and incorrect view of the term "instructional technology".  What has shaped my view thus far has been my school district and how technology is viewed.  We are given some great means of delivering lessons, but often times, we are not given adequate training or information on how best to utilize this technology to the benefit of our lessons and of the students.

Upon completion of the chapter, I see that it is a much more involved definition where decades have been spent trying to sufficiently define the term!  I can see the value of the 1994 version of the definition particularly with all of the advances in technology that have occurred in recent years.  Our students are inundated with technology of all kinds.  It is how they learn and what they find appealing on many levels.  With the definition encompassing all aspects of lesson planning and design as well as implementation and evaluation, it showcases how important each phase or domain is in the process of the use of instructional technology.  The most current definition and the one used in the text is VERY thorough and emphasizes not only the use of media in instruction but the development of that instruction.

2.  There is a lesson I am particularly fond of that I use in our short story unit in my Pre-AP English 1 class.  After reading "The Scarlet Ibis" students are to do a project called a "One Pager".  I got this lesson from a Pre-AP Summer Institute several years ago, and it seems to be one that students can do without a lot of time spent in creation but more spent in contemplation.  It is not very "techonologically oriented" but can fall into the six categories of instructional design. 

The One Pager consists of 4 items being placed on one page of paper or poster. 
 1.  The student is to find a visual element that represents something from the story.  The visual can be literal or symbolic in nature, drawn by hand, a computer graphic, or an image from another source of printed material.
2.  Find two significant quotes and place them somewhere on the page.
3.  Develop a theme statement relating to the visual and quotes chosen and place it on the page.
4.  Put the author and title on the page.
On a separate sheet of paper, the student is to write in paragraph form and explain their choices (Why they chose the visual they chose and what it represents as well as why they chose the quotes they chose and how they arrived at their theme statement.)

With the nature of the analysis required to complete the task, I feel it is learner centered and goal oriented.  Along the same line, it also focuses on meaningful performance.   There is a rubric to follow to measure the outcomes. What is is lacking is the 5th and 6th characteristics of instructional design.  The lesson came from an instructor I had; therefore, I did not have involvement in its design.  The design also relies on instruction prior to the assingment being given as well as the vertical alignment in the district.  Students must have prior knowledge in order to successfully complete the assignment.