An Instructional Resource Prototype

ADDIE Model, Instructional Design, Learning, Online Instruction 0 comments

An Instructional Resource Prototype

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 158

Antecedents

· Instructional resources can be costly in time and effort to develop. Creating rough drafts or prototypes of instructional resources will help any teacher or instructor evaluate and revise the resources before one commits the time and effort to make a final version that can be used as part of a current or future course.

· In addition, a prototype allows us to review and revise our own resources, making sure each single resource is supporting the desired learning objectives and goals of the course one gets to be teaching.

· In this Assignment, from the instructor’s point of view, I want to show how I developed a prototype for one instructional resource from my Action Plan (which is posted right here by as Blog Post #157) and that is reproduced too at the end.

· I wanted to analyze how that resource supported my learning objectives for the online course I was –at that point- developing. This can give you a rough idea of how the ADDIE model for producing instructional material.

· Then, I explored how to mitigate implementation challenges that could arise for my instructional resource.

The Actual Plan

In my action plan for my Materials Design course at the university level, it was indeed essential to visually provide learners with some sort of aid for them to build their own reading activities for their current or future EFL/ESL students. As someone who constantly browses the web to try to spot new material and media to be used in my courses, it is often difficult to find what I would simply call tailor-made ones. So, when there is no such a thing still available on the web, it is our instructor’s task to create it to give to our students for the understanding of the subject-matter and for them to accomplish the learning outcome of a unit, week, or module in our course outline and program.

In my action plan, I highlighted an instructional resource I do not think it really exists. It is highlighted in red, and included here as well:

Instructional Resource

Video or slideshow to display how a reading activity is designed

What would a prototype media look like to help students understand how a reading activity for language learners is designed?

If asked about the challenges in regards to this piece on instructional resource, I must admit that it has to do with the students’ reaction towards it. Its success can only be measured if the learning outcomes are produced, and depending on how well it is achieved, then we can say that is good. If not, we need to start over again with the analysis, based on the ADDIE model, to mitigate the misleading impact it can produce.

Doing something like this is indeed a challenge.

Concluding Remarks

Basically what we have here is an attempt to help oneself find the suitable steps to create instructional pieces that can facilitate student knowledge acquisition. As soon as learners have gotten the information required, the next step is to find (a) way(s) to help them develop their skills, so they can visualize how this skills can actually become a competence they can exercise at work. By means of this, we have indeed helped students learn something deeply.

An Instructional Design Prototype from jonacuso

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Action Plans in Design: The ADDIE Model in Action

Instructional Design, Materials Design, Online Instruction 1comments

Action Plans in Design:

The ADDIE Model in Action

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 157

Introduction:

An Action Plan is a set of steps or guidelines created to address particular tasks. In instructional design, Action Plans often are used for a number of tasks such as determining the steps for developing an instructional resource. In an online environment, developing instructional resources can become more complex. Thus, creating an Action Plan to manage development resources and plan for contingencies can assist you in finding the best balance of media and resources for your course.

The Actual Plan:

Moving towards the next step, from the Design Plan to the Action Plan, needs careful planning to avoid all sorts of mishaps. As pointed out below, from the lesson topic or theme to the way the instructor is going to assess learners, several steps need to be carefully thought to guarantee success.

The following chart presents the steps to follow with a simple example of the creation of a reading exercise for students whose CEF level is A1+.

Click to enlarge image.

As shown here, this action plan does include several steps that need to be finished prior my online course is ready for kickoff. Due to time constraints and my independent way of working, I would try to work most of this myself to mitigate delays in course media and material production. The one single problem with depending on others is the fact that things may not be ready when promised, or there can be something else that was not really asked for.

Click to enlarge images!

Since I have been developing hybrid and blended courses empirically for my university students, the most important recommendation I can give is that instructors must feel confident in the use of software to produce media for the course. In the case of the members of the IT Department, the simplest suggestion I can provide is, beware of what is being understood by other team members, since the result may not be what you thought of. That is, teachers must either self-train themselves or request that training from the university. But it has been my experience that at times, when you need things to be done timely, you should be prepared to do it yourself at your own pace.

Action Plans in Design from jonacuso

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Mindful Communication = Effective Cross-Cultural Understanding

Culture, Culture Teaching, Mindfulness 0 comments

Mindful Communication = Effective Cross-Cultural Understanding

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 156

How do we know we have communicated effectively? Sounds like a question that can be easily answered, but the fact is that this is not exactly true especially when one is dealing with people from a different culture. Gudykunst & Kim (2002) warns us of the dangers of talking to someone from a different culture or cultural background on “automatic pilot;” this can simply be catastrophic for both the speaker, -the one on automatic pilot-, and the listener, -the member of a different culture-.

“Effective communication involves minimizing misunderstanding” (Gudykunst & Kim 2002); thus, how do we avoid misunderstanding?” To be a good communicator with a member of another culture, it is imperative that we become mindful. That is, we must be aware of our differences and be open-minded in terms of the other’s view of the world and his interpretations of what we may simply call day-to-day situations in life. Part of being mindful is to comprehend that our interpretation of cultural symbols is and will be different when dealing with members of a different and, why not, contrasting culture if compared to ours. As Brooks (n.d.) pointed out, “culture is thus a product of human learning that takes place within a particular group;” yet if one is not a member of that group, it is crucial to have some good understanding of that group alien to us to be a more competent communicator with the members of that culture.

Berger (1979, also quoted by Gudykunst & Kim 2002), acknowledges the importance of the “knowledge to how to gather information” to be better equipped when dealing with people from a different cultural group. We need to become “unobtrusive observers,” a passive strategy that can give us the chance to compare people’s responses to certain situations to predict future behavior. Berger continues to point out another strategy that Gudykunst & Kim (2002) labeled as “active strategies.” As part of these strategies one gets to talk to members of or visitors to that culture to gather information about their behavior. But, be careful! Data gathered in this way may be biased somehow and a combination of strategies is mindful in this case. And one last strategy to get information about people’s behavior in another culture is by asking them directly: “The interactive strategies of verbal interrogation (question asking) and self-disclosure, in contrast, are used when we interact with the other person” (Berger 1979, also quoted by Gudykunst & Kim 2002), a member of the other culture.

By means of this gathering of information of the other culture and its members, one can develop some awareness of “group differences,” “personal similarities,” and “alternative interpretations” (Gudykunst & Kim 2002). It is impossible to generalize behavior among humans; for that reason, one can witness how people react differently according to their interpretations and learned behaviors. For effective communication one needs to focus on group differences rather than their similarities. Furthermore, “personal similarities” is also part of being mindful since it is wise to find similarities at the individual level. Though individuals belong to a larger cultural group, it is crucial to acknowledge their individuality. For Gudykunst & Kim (2002), “effective communication requires that we minimize misunderstanding or maximize the similarity in the ways messages are interpreted.” By doing so, our mindfulness will be telling us that though there are expected behaviors, messages can be interpreted differently and that can trigger lots of misunderstanding if one is not prepared to deal with divergent behavior that does not seem to fit what one has anticipated.

To sum up, the “understanding of another way of life begins to achieve significance” (Seelye 1993) when we, visitors to a different culture or to a divergent cultural group, become mindful and try to effectively communicate with these individuals. Our mindfulness goes beyond communication on “automatic pilot.” Communication with members of another culture or cultural group requires conscious behavior and willingness to understand the others.

Brooks, F. (n.d). Language and Culture. Florida State University.

Gudykunst, W. & Kim, Y. (2002). Communicating with Strangers, an Approach to Intercultural Communication. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies

Seelye, H. (1993). Teaching Culture: Strategies for Intercultural Communication. National Textbook Company

Mindful communication = effective cross cultural understanding from jonacuso

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Putting Language Teaching Pieces Together

Education and Learning 0 comments

Putting Language Teaching Pieces Together

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano

Monday, April 27, 2015

Twitter: @jonacuso

Post 155

The classroom seems to be a great place to start one’s language learning, but the fact is that it is never enough. Learning a second language is a complex process that involves an infinite number of variables that cannot be accounted for or even covered within the boundaries of a classroom. To succeed in his/her field, a language instructor needs to fully comprehend what learning entails: Understanding differences between the L1 and L2, the purpose behind a student’s desire to learn a second language, and comprehending what the teaching of a language encases.

Since SLA implies multiple variables that directly affect the student as well as the teacher, the language instructor needs to know and understand the most relevant differences between the student’s L1 and the target language. Within a monolingual context in which students in class speak the same language, the teacher should know what some of the predictable linguistic situations are bound to happen in class are. Based on what is meant to be covered –according to a course outline or curriculum-, they system in which the target language operates needs to be somehow explained to learners: its phonemic structure, the way discourse is built to convey meaning, the semantic differences that students can face if language interference comes along the way, etc. Knowing some of the variables behind language learning can make one’s teaching smoother and more profitable for one’s students.

If variables are important when teaching and learning a foreign language, visualizing student motivation to acquire the target language is also a must. If dealing with adult learners, one gets to understand that they may have extrinsic motivation related to work readiness and/or performance. Helping students materialize those motifs can be a way to satisfy their learning expectations while they are sitting on one’s class. On the other hand, learners can also walk into one’s classrooms with a high intrinsic motivation to learn the target language. Potentiating their inner desire to master the language can also lead to profitable language learning that students can later on experience in their day-to-day life. Discovering those motivational pieces is also part of being a language teacher.

Once the motivational puzzle has been put together, comprehending what language teaching encases is transcendental, too. The first important differentiation a language teacher must make is that language and communication are not the same thing. Regular dictionary definitions tend to confuse both terms since language incases communication, but also phonology, proxemics, phonetics, semantics, non-verbal communication, and so on. All of these elements cannot be put aside when a language class is planned; they must be included as part of the language learning continuum that takes place within the classroom every time one gets together with the students. Instructor’s necessity to profoundly comprehend what language and language teaching encompass is part of the multi-variable, complex process that acquiring a second language implies.

SLA studies, theories, and teaching paradigms contribute to the understanding of what teaching and learning a language is. One’s “understanding of the components of language will determine to a large extend ‘how one teaches’ a language” (Williams & Burden, 1997). By this time, one does not need to understand that one needs to become a “master linguist” (Williams & Burden, 1997); this simply makes one reflect upon the necessity of going beyond our pedagogical and/or andragogic training to explore what is involved in the learning of a foreign language, how linguistics fits into one’s teaching beliefs and practices to benefit language learning in class.

As outlined here, language instruction and learning also need to be backed up by some sort of methodology or theory of instruction. As pointed by Bruner (1966b 40-41, quoted by Williams & Burden, 1997), the “theory instruction” should include: 1) the necessary experiences to foster learning, 2) the ways in which knowledge is going to be conveyed for learners to grasp, and 3) the most “effective sequence” in which the subject-matter needs to be introduced. With all these elements in mind, one can become a great teaching practitioner with lots of fulfilled, satisfied, motivated learners.