Course Kitchen

Learning Lingo: Objectives

Objectives are clear, measurable, action-oriented statements of the intended learning or performance outcomes of your course. The value of well-written objectives lies in designing a learning experience that effectively aligns assessment and instructional strategies. Well-written objectives inform the design of the entire experience and assessments, tell learners what to expect, and provide a benchmark against which they can self-assess.

A common tool used in the crafting of learning objectives is Bloom’s Taxonomy. A particularly helpful version of the taxonomy is this 3D model from Iowa State University's Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, which maps the taxonomy with cognitive and knowledge domains.

Learn more in Course Kitchen's Guide to Learning Lingo at the link below.

Learning Lingo - Learning Lingo: The terms that were new to me as I began or that have confused me as I moved along in this buzzword-filled field of instructional design

Learning Lingo: Design Thinking

While design thinking has been prevalent in the fields of business and software development, the approach is getting a foothold in education. Design thinking prioritizes the experience and insights of the end-user in a process that moves iteratively through five actions: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. An expert designer of learner-centered experiences essentially exercises design thinking in their work all the time, even if following a more traditional model such as ADDIE.

Whether it is referred to as analysis or discovery, the work always starts with attempting to understand and empathize with the needs of the learner and organization.

Interpretation of, ideation around, and experimentation with the results of the analysis is the heart of the design and development process. This cycle involves iterative rounds of prototyping, reviews and user testing, and modifications.

Evolution is ultimately the result of testing and evaluation; the purpose of measuring the efficacy of a learning experience is to make continuous improvements..

Learn more in Course Kitchen's Guide to Learning Lingo at the link below.

Learning Lingo - Learning Lingo: The terms that were new to me as I began or that have confused me as I moved along in this buzzword-filled field of instructional design

Learning Lingo: Chunking

This is the process of dividing content into manageable sections aligned with particular objectives. For example, if a designer is working on a project to teach people how to drive, they might divide, or chunk, the material to be learned into categories such as Readiness, Operation, Traffic, and Laws. Since each category is still quite broad, they may be further chunked such that Readiness includes “Checking Mirrors”, “Seat Adjustment”, “Safety Measures”, and “Assessing the Area”. Each of these chunks might be taught and tested individually before moving on to the next. In this way, complex or dense subject matter (“content”) can be systematically taught and assessed in an accessible manner.

There are several strategies for chunking according to cognitive domain or other classifications. An expert designer will choose the approach that best aligns with the content and objectives.

Learn more in Course Kitchen's Guide to Learning Lingo at the link below.

Learning Lingo - Learning Lingo: The terms that were new to me as I began or that have confused me as I moved along in this buzzword-filled field of instructional design

Teaching Tuesday: Do you know how to design for motivation?
Do you know what motivates your learners? When was the last time you experienced learning that tapped in to your motivation?

I (Bonnie) just completed the last course in my doctoral program, and am officially ABD ("all but dissertation"). Next up: Complete my planned study of adult learner motivation in an online course. Specifically, a course that I helped to design with the very intent to tap into and increase motivation. I want to know if it worked!

This book is just one of many that dive in to the complex world of what motivates us to learn. It's very readable and deeply informative.

Each Tuesday we share some of our favorite books related to learning design, development, and evaluation. We would love to get your ideas on more books to read!

(Amazon Affiliate link below)

Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn: A Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults New to this edition is the blending of a neuroscientific understanding of motivation and learning with an instructional approach responsive to linguistically and culturally different adult learners. Based on the most current educational and biological research, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn...

Mentor Monday: Who do you count among the best bosses you've ever had? What made them so great?

Dr. Katie Vale was only my boss for a few short months at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health but, in that short time, she embodied the notion of a leader providing "top cover" under which their people can do their best work. Katie interceded in a toxic environment and worked diligently to move her team to a more healthy place. She addressed conflict with grace and troubled times with dignity.

Eventually, Katie and I both left that School for other opportunities, but stayed in touch. In a very sad turn of events, Katie passed away last year. I know I am not the only one whose career was positively impacted by Katie, as evidenced by the stories told at the beautiful service put together by her loving husband, Marshall. She lives on in those she loved, mentored, led, and served in various capacities. A significant, lasting legacy.

http://er.educause.edu/articles/2015/4/planning-the-it-career-you-want

Each Monday we will introduce some of our teaching and learning design mentors. We would love to hear about yours!

Planning the IT Career You Want Susan Grajek, IT Salaries in Higher Education, 2012, ECAR Research Bulletin (Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, February 15, 2013).

Learning Lingo: Analysis

Designers talk about many types of analyses. Here are four common categories:

An audience analysis, or learner analysis, provides insight into the preferences, motivations, contexts, knowledge level, etc.

A needs analysis (aka needs assessment) reveals the learning needs of a particular audience regarding a given subject matter.

A task analysis produces a step-by-step, detailed description of how a task is performed.

A gap analysis identifies discrepancies between how something is (for example, how a task is performed) and how it should be (for example, how the task should be performed for best results).

Learn more in Course Kitchen's Guide to Learning Lingo at the link below.

Course Kitchen's Guide to Learning Lingo - Course Kitchen's Guide to Learning Lingo