Learning Objectives in Hybrid & Blended Learning Scenarios

Bloom's Taxonomy, Hybrid and Blended Learning, Learning Objectives, Online Instruction, Online Teaching Practices, VLE, VLEs 0 comments

Learning Objectives in Hybrid & Blended Learning Scenarios

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 138

Learning objectives are way too essential and transcendental for the effectiveness in guiding instructional activities in one’s courses, which need to be aligned with the course outline and its objectives. It is of mayor importance to comprehend that “without clear learning objectives, a course’s activities may not directly relate to its intended goals and desired outcomes” (Laureate Education, 2013).

Along the following chart, which was created aligned with the previous two posts (Post 136 & Post 137), measurable learning objectives, which are based on my former Needs Assessment, were created. Then, it is for you –my blog’s reader- to analyze this post along with its chart and to provide yourselves with ways to improve the clarity and quality of your learning objectives linked to your instructional activities.

Please, review my student needs stated before in Post 136 and the instructional goals were identified previously. The idea behind the efficient statement of learning objectives is to visualize their connection with the Order of Thinking Skills or Cognitive Demand that one’s students need to accomplish each instructional goal.

Course	Instructional Goals	Exit Profile	Learning Objective
ELT Materials Design and Multimedia	Ø To have a solid knowledge in the creation/design of EFL activities for language skills	ü To have student teachers ready to design and use language activities in class ü To incorporate their activities as part of their lesson planning ü To understand the theoretical background for accurate language activities	· “Students will design an EFL reading activity using an activity template with 90% accuracy.” · “Sts will understand how to incorporate their activities in their lesson plans with 90% accuracy.”
	Ø To use Google Sites to create an interactive ePortfolio that can be used with their current or future students	ü To prepare student teachers to create their own site in Google as an ePortfolio ü To promote autonomous learning among students by creating interactive tasks	· “Sts will design their site in Google to display their activities within an ePortfolio with 100% accuracy.” · “Sts will design interactive exercises for their current or future students, which will be displayed online, with at least 80% accuracy.”
	Ø To use multi-media and freeware to create/design EFL material	ü To instruct students how to embed documents, videos, etc. onto their ePortfolios ü To help them develop their understanding of hosting platforms such as youtube, Scribd or Slideshare ü To train students on how to create their own interactive material in various free online platforms	· “Sts will embed all sorts of media in their sites with 100% accuracy.” · “Students will upload to later embed media for the interactivity of their learning tasks with 100% accuracy.” · “Learners will develop interactive platforms with a 90% accuracy.

As noted, the ABCD Method for writing objectives –combined with Bloom’s Taxonomy- was used to come up with suitable behaviors that are needed to be replicated by one’s students.

Course	Instructional Goals	Exit Profile	Learning Objective
Course you are currently teaching and/or that you were assigned.	These are the outcome you want your students to obtain from your teaching, guidance, and suggestions.	Your instructional goals are bound to produce a given effect on your students prior the ending of the course and that actually become part of your students' exit profile or expected outcomes.	This is part of your lesson planning that is aimed at producing the desired effect on your students’ performance.

Acuña, J. (n.d.). Bloom’s Taxonomy [Tag on a curated topic at Scoop.it]. Retrieved from the curated topic English Language Teaching Journal at http://www.scoop.it/t/english-languate-teaching/?tag=Bloom%27s+Taxonomy

Laureate Education. (2013). Learning Objectives in Hybrid & Blended Learning Scenarios. Retrieved on 2014, April 5 from http://global.laureate.net/portal.aspx#!home/faculty

Penn State Learning Design Community Hub. (2010). Writing Objectives. Retrieved on Saturday, August 30, 2014 from the Penn State webpage at http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives/writingobjectives

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Sunday, August 31, 2014

How to Improve the Quality and Scope of Needs Assessment

ADDIE Model, Hybrid and Blended Learning, Needs Assessment, VLE, VLEs 0 comments

How to Improve the Quality and Scope of Needs Assessment

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Friday, August 29, 2014

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 137

As one progresses through the ADDIE model in designing course instructional goals and tools, it is important to pause at every stage and evaluate the work that one has done so far. In this Community of Practice reflection and blog post, one can evaluate one’s way of going about Needs Assessment, and one is able to highlight areas that can be improved.

When asked how it is that one can improve the quality and scope of one’s Needs Assessment, it is necessary to think of the ADDIE method. This methodology can be improved in every step by having quite clear in one’s mind the learning goals that need to be achieved per week and in each project or course. Once skills, knowledge, and attitudes are considered, it is a good start to ask one’s faculty partners and students if they really find those factors relevant to accomplish the learning goal for a particular week. Furthermore, as soon as learning objectives are phrased, they ought to be perfected by having clear in mind what the “condition” [according to the ABCD method of writing objectives] is, since that is the behavior instructor’s want learners to replicate accurately.

Accuracy can also be attained by having in mind the need for the right instructional content behind the accomplishment of learning goals. As pointed out before, it is also convenient to ask other faculty members [professors or administrative staff] what they consider part of the instructional content that students need to learn to be able to achieve the course learning goals. Because, once this content is clearly identified, the teacher can define the instructional strategies and the needed resources to cover it. Then the transition from content to the execution of the learning objective for a specific week, fully connected with the course student exit profile, can be accomplished successfully with the right assessment.

What additional data sources are useful and/or informative when working in one’s needs assessment? Not only the faculty members who have already taught the course but also former students who can provide feedback are good sources of additional data to make decisions on how instructional content can be delivered. Student feedback is indeed crucial to fully develop the course that better suits the students and not the instructors in terms of learning. With some sort of students’ course evaluation polls or surveys, data can be gathered and analyzed to create a robust design that can really focus on the final product with some great learning for the learner.

What really counts for the instructor is what one can learn from the whole implementation process and its subsequent evaluation to see where refinement needs to be stressed. The ADDIE methodology of online course design is the one source of other data that is needed to replicate the process as many times as needed to perfect one’s course. That is the analysis, the design, the development, the implementation, and the evaluation are a never-ending cycle that can produce great quality in online teaching.

Culatta, Richard. (2013). ADDIE Model. Retrieved from the Instructional Design webpage at http://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/addie.html

Legault, N. (n.d.). [Infographic] The ADDIE Model. Retrieved from the Learn Dash Webpage at http://www.learndash.com/addie-model-explained-infographic/

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Friday, August 29, 2014

Needs Assessment Chart at Work

Hybrid and Blended Learning, Needs Assessment, Online Instruction, Online Teaching Practices, VLE, VLEs 0 comments

Needs Assessment Chart at Work:

Sample Assessment for Materials Design Students

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 136

Although you may have not completed a formal Needs Assessment before, many of the considerations in a Needs Assessment may already be a part of your everyday teaching practice. In this sample Assignment Chart, a Needs Assessment was completed for a very specific course at the university level: ELT Materials Design and Multimedia. Over here you can analyze both the learning and performance context for this course and can describe how those contexts compare to student characteristics and entry abilities at Universidad Latina, a higher education institution in Costa Rica. Then you will be able to explore how the characteristics the instructor discovered here in his Needs Assessment chart inform you about the course design for this class, ELT Materials Design and Multimedia.

The first of the two charts included on this post is a good summary of what an instructor will like to achieve to try to get to the course’s exit profile. However, it is still succinct when it comes to the whole instructional/teaching/learning process that is required to fully complete the educational cycle involved in a hybrid or online teaching scenario. To really get to the course’s exit profile and guarantee that students are really achieving the learning goals, a second kind of analysis [based on the ADDIE model] is needed to get to know the whole scope of instruction and the tools that will be required to develop student competencies in education technology.

Needs Assessment Initial Analysis
Course	Instructional Goals	Entry Level Abilities	Exit Profile
ELT Materials Design and Multimedia	· To have a solid knowledge in the creation/design of EFL activities for language skills	· Understanding of the four skills in language learning · Lesson planning training	ü To have student teachers ready to design and use language activities in class ü To incorporate their activities as part of their lesson planning ü To understand the theoretical background for accurate language activities
	· To use Google Sites to create an interactive ePortfolio that can be used with their current or future students	· Knowledge in blog design and posting · Former training on how to use blogs for education	ü To prepare student teachers to create their own site in Google as an ePortfolio ü To promote autonomous learning among students by creating interactive tasks
	· To use multi-media and freeware to create/design EFL material	· Possible basic background on html, movie maker, Office, etc. · Use of freeware such as iTunes · PDF creation	ü To instruct students how to embed documents, videos, etc. onto their ePortfolios ü To help them develop their understanding of hosting platforms such as youtube, Scribd or Slideshare ü To train students on how to create their own interactive material in various free online platforms

Now that the Instructional Goals initially detected, along with the desired exit profile for this education technology course, an instructor can fully comprehend the scope of action required by teachers and learners in a hybrid or online course intended to teach students the use of technology in language teaching and activity creation. That is why after completing this questionnaire, what needs to be done to accomplish learning goals is clearer and put in perspective. This simple but very complete needs assessment can have one see where data can be collected, the desirable characteristics of learners, and the implication that this input has in course design.

Type of Information	Data Source	Characteristics	Implications for Course Design and Development
Instructional Goals
What are the instructional goals that need to be accomplished through the completion of this course?	Course outline: · To have a solid knowledge in the creation/design of EFL activities for language skills · To use Google Sites to create an interactive ePortfolio that can be used with their current or future students · To use multi-media and freeware to create/design EFL material	· Understanding of the four skills in language learning · Lesson planning training · Knowledge in blog design and posting · Former training on how to use blogs for education · Possible basic background on html, movie maker, Office, etc. · Use of freeware such as iTunes · PDF creation	Possitive Implications: o Prior knowledge in language skills o How activities and tasks fit in a lesson plan o Prior training in blogging platform and use in education o Limited training and html usage o Limited knowledge in video production o Self-training in freeware Negative Implications: o Lack of knowledge in these areas imply the search for additional training sources to have students catch up with the class
What does the institution require students to know or be able to do when they complete this course?	Course outline	Same as characteristics above	Ulatina requires students to create and design their own EFL activities aiming at facilitating their work during their teaching practicum
What do students need to know and be able to do when they get a job in this industry or profession?	English Department	Learning outcomes in course outline	When becoming full-time teachers at a private or public school, Ulatina wants them to use technology as part of their day-to-day teaching and planning
Performance Context Characteristics
Where will students use the skills and knowledge taught in this course?	All these technological competencies will be used in language teaching scenarios in public or private high schools or adult education, from their lesson plan to the execution of the plan in class
Under what conditions will students need to apply the skills and knowledge taught in this course?	To start with, competencies acquired in this course will initially be used in their teaching practicum [before their graduation] and later on in their daily teaching practice
Will the students use the skills and knowledge taught in this course individually or in teams in the performance context?	The idea behind this course is that learners can use this knowledge individually since they’ll work with their own groups, but there is no reason why they can embark themselves in joint ventures with colleagues.
Learning Context Characteristics
	Data Source
What equipment or technology will be available for the course?	English Department	If needed, labs
To what extend is the learning context like the performance context for the course content?	Instructor’s experience	In my experience, it is a replica of what students will face in the real world
General Student Characteristics
	Data Source
What age are your students?	Registrar’s Office	Mostly young adults, ages 18 to 25 and some over the age of 30
What types of occupations or hobbies do your students have?	Instructor’s Interviews	o Most of them are not working though those who are over 30 have a job o Some of them work in call centers o Just a few hold teaching positions o Digital learning inclined
What cultural backgrounds do your students have?		Mostly Costa Rican A few foreign students
What obligations do students have outside of your course?		o College responsibilities o Some working mothers o Many work to pay for their tuition
What expectations do students have for the course?		To learn to perform better in school	Extrinsic motivation to learn on their own
How do students feel about the content area?	Instructor’s interviews	Confident	Subject-matter can be used practically in lesson planning
How do students feel about taking an online course?	Instructor’s interviews	Excited	Extrinsic motivation to learn on their own
Student Entry Abilities
What do students know already about the course content?	Former education technology courses taken in the major	o Basic use of Office o Blogs in Blogger.Com o Understanding of lesson planning o The four skills in language learning	o This course will help them put everything together inside their lesson plans to teach and provide memorable learning experiences to their students.
What misconceptions do students have about the course content?		o This course is to develop competencies to create interactive materials, not just paper-based ones	o Initially, believing that this is just a paper-based materials production is overcome when they have to work online.
What relevant experiences do students have outside of the course?		o Former blogging training and basic use of htmls	o Their prior training is great schemata that they bring to class and into the course.
Do your students have the necessary technology skills to take an online course?		o YES!	o With the constant training of online tools and our LMS at Ulatina, students are ready to take the next step.

There are indeed lots of challenges in trying to teach this course and have great learning results with students, but there must be ways to palliate them. A Needs Assessment can for sure define the steps to follow to create and design online or hybrid learning instruction for one’s students and a good way to mitigate challenges or obstacles is to use one’s former experience in the F2F classroom. These former experiences can help the instructor to visualize what the usual problem areas are to create media that can help students understand what is needed from them more vividly.

Laureate Education. (2013). Hybrid & Blended Learning: Module 5, Content Design.

Retrieved on 2014, April 5 from http://global.laureate.net/portal.aspx#!home/faculty

Linkedin Corporation. (2014). SlideShare. http://www.slideshare.net/?ss

Scribd Inc. (2014). http://es.scribd.com/

YouTube, LLC. (2014). https://www.youtube.com/

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