2.6 INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of research-based best practices in instructional design when designing and developing digital tools, resources, and technology-enhanced learning experiences.

 

This instructional unit and corresponding discussion were created solely by me while I was working on my Master's Degree. The unit is a spelling unit for a second grade class, and each of the lessons contains a technology component. The discussion of the unit, which can be found in the appendix of the instructional unit, takes the reader through my instructional design process step by step. The needs analysis and learner analysis that I conducted when developing the unit are discussed, as are the strategies I used in the unit itself.

This artifact demonstrates mastery of standard 2.6: Candidates model and facilitate the effective use of research-based best practices in instructional design when designing and developing digital tools, resources, and technology-enhanced learning experiences by explicitly stating how I did just that when developing this instructional unit. The discussion of the unit clearly states how I followed research-based best practices in instructional design when designing this unit. The unit itself shows my ability to model and facilitate these practices by putting them to use to create an actual instructional unit that I used in my classroom.

When completing this artifact I learned that a lot goes into designing technology-enhanced learning experiences, when following research-based best practices in instructional design. In order to design an effective unit many steps need to be followed. Conducting a proper needs analysis and learner analysis take time, but are necessary if the desired outcome is an effective instructional unit. One thing I would do differently to improve this artifact is that I would include more technology in these lessons. This unit was created 2 years ago, and my knowledge of the different types of technology available to students has greatly improved since then..

This artifact impacts student improvement because following the research-based best practices that I followed to design it make it a more effective teaching tool. Conducting a proper needs assessment ensured that the skill I was spending so much time trying to improve was needed in my class. Conducting the learner analysis ensured that I knew exactly what the learners needed from this unit, and that enabled me to design it in such a way that I could give them just that. The impact of this unit can be assessed by administering a pre and post assessment to the students.