Sub-Badge 2: Systematic design

Challenge 1: Identify and sequence instructional goals

Criteria for successful completion of this challenge: Evidence of ordering learning objectives (not course objectives) for a target audience (what an instructor will teach).  Reflection must address: How learning objectives were identified and sequenced based on the project or needs assessment (e.g., performance problem identification, learning gaps, content).

Examples: Examples: Learning Design Activity #4 (EDCI 575), eLearning Project Proposal (EDCI 569 if taken prior to Spring 2021), Design Documents (EDCI 588), Deliverables from Practicum (EDCI 573), Individual Game Document (EDCI 556), Final Project (EDCI 569 if taken in Spring 2021 or later), course or training design or re-design documents/proposals, artifacts (design, performance, workplace, educational, other) demonstrating the arrangement of learning objectives.

Reflection 

I submit the design document I created during the summer of 2023 in the course EDCI 569 titled “Introduction to eLearning.” This artifact demonstrates my ability to perform a thorough front-end analysis for an eLearning project. To satisfy the requirements of this course, I designed an eLearning training module using Articulate Storyline. I used the ADDIE model of design, which began with a comprehensive project plan that identified the scope of intention for the project, followed by the design document that served as a guide as I designed and developed the module.     

For the learning module, I selected a topic (reversing motor controller installation) that I have experience with training third-year electrical apprentices. To meet the tight timeline of this project,  I chose this topic so I could function as both the instructional designer and the SME. I revisited the Dick and Carey systematic design method to develop a goal analysis diagram that identifies each learning goal and sequences them logically. The end goal of this training is to prepare apprentices to perform a hands-on skill. I completed the task and documented each step to ensure I included all the necessary steps. Upon completion, I evaluated the essential entry-level skills the target audience should possess. I then compared these findings to my gap analysis and verified that the learning objectives were in the correct order and satisfied the required training outcome. After completing the eLearning training module development, I performed a quality analysis review with my peers. Additionally, I pilot-tested the training with a select group of apprentices and solicited feedback. Finally, I asked the pilot testing group to perform the hands-on task on which they were trained to validate that the training was a success.    

I am confident in my ability to identify the proper learning objectives and order them logically. This stems from my natural tendency to seek logical correlations between the training environment and order training concepts from simple to complex. I grew in this area significantly as a result of peer and professor interactions while attending the National Training Institute to earn my certification as a master trainer in electrical science.

I have room to grow in all areas of instructional design, including identifying and sequencing instructional goals. I realize that I may encounter challenges in determining the proper training sequence during future projects due to the topic's ambiguity or a lack of binary “right/wrong” answers. I plan to review my peer’s work to see their various approaches to sequencing the training objectives in their projects. 

Artifact  - Design Document

Challenge 2: Specify and sequence the anticipated learning and performance outcomes

Criteria for successful completion of this challenge: Specify and sequence the anticipated learning and performance outcomes (statements that describe the knowledge or skills students should acquire by the end of a module).  Reflection must address: How anticipated learning and performance outcomes were specified and sequenced (putting outcomes in a specific order) by recognizing patterns to determine cause and effect, recalling, applying, evaluating, etc.).

 Examples: Learning Design Activity #4 (EDCI 575), eLearning Project Proposal (EDCI 569 if taken prior to Spring 2021), Design Documents (EDCI 588), Deliverables from Practicum (EDCI 573), Individual Game Document (EDCI 556), Final Project (if taken in Spring 2021 or later), course or training design or re-design documents/proposals, artifacts (design, performance, workplace, educational, other) demonstrating the arrangement of instructional goals/objectives.

Reflection

I present an eLearning module I created during the summer of 2023 in the course EDCI 569 titled “Introduction to eLearning” as an artifact demonstrating my capabilities to specify and sequence anticipated learning and performance outcomes. This training module was developed using Articulate Storyline and published to Amazon Web Services S3 in a storage bucket with public access for my peers and potential future employers to review. I designed this project not only to meet my coursework requirements but also to use it at my employer, the Electrical Training Institute of Indianapolis, to train third-year electrical apprentices in installing and commissioning a reversing motor controller.

The goal statement of this training is “…to equip learners with the necessary skills and knowledge to complete a hands-on task during an in-class training session successfully.” The performance outcomes of the training are easily tested in a laboratory setting once the learners come to the apprenticeship. The eLearning module aims to promote a flipped classroom, where information delivery takes place in an asynchronous remote format, and a proctor evaluates the application of skills during an in-person session to validate learner proficiency. Before developing the eLearning module, I created a design document and storyboard. These two steps helped keep my design on target and facilitated the logical sequencing of the material before beginning the Storyline creation phase of the project. The skill this project covers is a clearly defined linear process. I performed the task and wrote down each discrete step in the order I performed them, thus ensuring the training would systematically guide the learner through the job. Additionally, I sought a peer review from my coworker, an SME in this domain, to validate that the sequencing was correct. 

My past experience in developing clearly defined hands-on performance tasks helped me feel confident when developing this training. While some trainings cover more ambiguous or opinionated materials, the physical properties that define the operation of a reversing motor controller leave little room for opinion or conjecture. Simply put, the laws of electricity will decide if the hands-on skill is performed appropriately.

I plan to expand my experience in this area by performing a formative and summative assessment to ensure the proper learning and performance objectives are correctly identified and ordered. I plan to conduct a field trial in the Fall of 2023 with one of our apprenticeship classes to achieve this goal. Afterward, I will collect qualitative feedback from my target population and make changes if indicated.

Artifact  - eLearning Module