New EdTech Podcast: Using Instructional Theory in Instructional Design

A few months ago I recorded a podcast with my good friend John Jeon. We discussed using Instructional Theory in Instructional Design and I found our discussion to give some interesting ideas for using theory to improve learning experiences. Here is the link to the podcast.

Here is a description of the podcast from The EdTech Dojo:

There is a body of knowledge called instructional theory that provides clear prescriptions on how to help students learn. However, these theories can often be difficult to apply in our daily work. In this podcast, Joel speaks with John Jeon, Senior Instructional Designer and Project Manager for Continuing Education Outreach and E-Learning at the University of Wisconsin. Joel and John describe what instructional theory is and provide tips for applying its principles to real-world situations and instructional design settings.

Success and Spilling the Mustard

One Saturday, when I was 6 or 7 years old, our family was eating grilled hamburgers outside in the back yard. It was a lovely late afternoon, and I was looking forward to the delicious meal. I was squeezing mustard onto my hamburger, and without warning the lid popped off and huge gobs of mustard started spilling out all over my hamburger.

My hamburger was ruined and I sat there dejectedly feeling sorry for myself.  I lowered my head as if I was about to cry when my wise mother said, "Turn the bottle over so it doesn't keep spilling out!" I was so busy feeling bad about my hamburger being ruined by the spilling mustard that I allowed the mustard to keep spilling all over my plate.

And isn't that what we so often do? When something goes wrong in our lives, we often focus our energy on what happened instead of on what we can do to prevent further damage or even to benefit from the situation. Although I spilled the mustard, I still had a delicious hamburger, and with a little work I could have responded by cleaning it up and enjoyed it. But instead I reacted and let the problem continue to get in the way of my success.

Reacting vs. Responding
Just like the mustard incident, in life we have the opportunity to either react to what is happening, or respond. My goal was to enjoy a great hamburger, but I reacted to a minor setback instead of responding swiftly so that I could still reach my goal.

If your doctor tells you that you are having a reaction to medicine, it is usually a bad thing. However, if she says that you are responding to medical treatment, it is a good thing. So, How are you going to respond to the "medicine" of life?

Typical Reactions and Responses 
There are many typical reactions that people have when confronted with a problem or issue in their lives. What is your favorite reaction? Becoming angered or embittered might entrench your problems even further. Blaming others for your situation distracts you from taking responsibility for your life. Whatever your typical reaction, it is vital that you learn to respond effectively so that you can move forward to your goal.

Reactions	Responses
Focusing time and energy on on hurt or anger. Gossiping about the people you believe have hurt you. Blaming others for your difficult situation. Holding on to bitterness or anger. Punishing others for their actions.	Focusing on your goal. Focusing on problem solving. Taking responsibility for your situation, despite who or what created it. Letting go of bitterness or anger. Forgiving others so that all can move forward toward good things.

To succeed in life, we must be willing to respond to the problems we face so that we can enjoy the delicious "hamburgers of life." Instead of reacting by focusing on past or current problems or events, we can easily focus on how to deal with the issues and move forward to success. The classic statement rings true: "The problem is not the issue. The issue is how you deal with the problem."

Thank You Mom!
I am grateful to have a wonderful mother who taught me this powerful lesson. And while I sometimes still react in unhealthy ways, when I choose to respond to the the problems I face and work toward my goals, I enjoy increased confidence, hope, kindness, and success. And I get to enjoy the "hamburgers of life" more frequently.

Six Strategies for Designing Instruction Fast

I have been designing training and instruction for several years, now. Over the years, I have learned a few strategies that have helped me to design instruction faster while still maintaining quality.

Six Strategies for Designing Outstanding Instruction

1. Build it Now - Just start storyboarding, prototyping, and building your instruction. Getting the design out there quickly will allow your creative mind to start piecing things together. Building now helps you discover future obstacles, and because the development tools available are easier and easier to use, a "rapid prototyping" approach can yield some great benefits.
2. Focus on the Goals - Make sure you are focusing your energy on the goals of the organization you work for and the goals of the instruction. It can be easy to get distracted by the "coolness factor" and start creating "ultra-shiny stuff." Some of this is probably okay, but it will probably not have much influence on learning. Keep your eyes on the goal and don't get distracted!
3. Use Your Intuition - As you continue to design, you start to develop patterns for designing instruction. Just like every quality house has the same foundational components, good instruction also has foundational components. Trust your intuitive mind to help you frame those components and piece things together for you.
4. Follow the Research - Be sure to balance your intuitive design with what the research confirms really works in instruction. There is a lot of great research out there that can enhance your ability to design effectively, so sharpen your design knowledge with current research, theories and models. Merrill's First Principles of Instruction is one model that is research-based and provides clear direction on how to design instruction.

Previous Post: Applying Merrill's First Principles of Instruction

1. Get Feedback Early and Often - Make sure you get feedback from many people as you design. Feedback can help you break off the rough parts and begin to smooth out your design quickly and effectively. Talk with other designers, students, peers, family, friends until you feel like your instruction is of a sufficient quality.
2. Be Happy With Good Enough  - If you are and instructional designer, you probably love what you do and often find yourself working to create a perfect product. Unfortunately, you probably find that you often do not have enough time and resources to really build the perfect piece of instruction. To be successful, you have to learn to be happy with instruction that is good enough. Instruction must be quality enough to reach its goals. The Pareto Principle (80/20) applies - if you focus on the essentials in your design, you will produce an effective product without wasting energy.

Previous Post: The Problem of Perfection in Instructional Design

I hope this list is helpful. Feel free to share it with your colleagues and friends!

Instructional Design Tips for Working with Faculty Members

Sometimes working as an instructional designer with a faculty member to create an online course can be very difficult. It can also be very rewarding, and some of the greatest design challenges can produce excellent opportunities to develop and improve your abilities as an instructional designer.

Previous Post: What is Instructional Design?

Working with Tough Faculty Members
Some faculty members can be difficult to work with. Faculty can be extremely confident, overworked, cantankerous, flaky, and outright rude. Although I have been fortunate to work with many amiable faculty members over the years, I have worked with some difficult faculty. Based on my own failures and successes working with these difficult faculty members, I have distilled the following tips and strategies:

1. Acknowledge faculty control - Remember that in many higher education design situations, the faculty member has the final say on the design of his or her course. Be mindful of this fact and be sure to acknowledge it to the faculty member to help put him or her at ease.
2. Show respect for expertise and experience - Faculty members often want respect for their expertise and their experiences as instructors. (Note that this applies even when the instructor actually doesn't do a great job as an instructor!) Be sure to show respect for the faculty member's expertise.
3. Listen to the faculty member - The old adage states, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." In instructional design, listen closely to what your faculty member's goals are and how he or she proposes to reach those goals. I have found that most of the time, a faculty member has good goals and many good methods for reaching those goals, though sometimes sometimes the proposed methods are not sound. Still, it is vital that you listen and restate what those goals and methods are until you understand and the faculty member feels understood.
4. Build on the faculty member's ideas - Whenever possible, build on the faculty member's ideas. Do what you can to align what you do with the instructor's fundamental pedagogical beliefs and strategies, as long as those strategies are sound. Do what you can to shape the strategy to align more closely with research-based best practices. The following sentences can be helpful:
1. I like your idea to (insert faculty member's idea here), and one thing we have noticed is that when we do (insert a best practice related to the idea) it tends to work out better.
2. I think your idea to (insert faculty member's idea here) can work really well, and the research shows that if we (insert a research-based principle or practice here), it can really help the students improve their learning.
5. Offer to take some of the difficult workload - Faculty are busy, so do what you can to reduce their workload by taking some of the difficult or time-consuming tasks. This will make the working relationship more positive and will give you a greater ability to influence the quality the finished product.

 Previous Post: 5 Fundamental Strategies for Helping Students Learn

So, the next time you work with a difficult faculty member, try out some of these tips. I have found them to be very helpful. Happy designing!