Project Proposal

Draft Project Outline Project Title Faculty Stakeholder(s) Course Semester Target Date

Define pedagogical issues1 Questions to consider: 1. What are the primary instructional methods currently used in this course?

2. How would you describe the current level of student engagement with the course curriculum?

3. What are some things that peak students’ interests in this course?

4. What are some pedagogical obstacles for this course?

5. What kind of guidance would students benefit from in this course? (example: templates, demonstration, interaction) 6. List the consequences for poor performance in this course.

7. List the value of good performance in the course.

8. Define student “literacy� for this course.

Check all that currently apply in this course and support your reasons: I provide forums or a means beyond phone and email to encourage student-to-student and student to faculty contact.

I give frequent evaluations such that students are continuously aware of the progress in this course.

I provide prompt feedback.

I am able to challenge students with significant real-life problems.

I provide opportunities for students to publish their work digitally and/or build an electronic portfolio of their work as digital artifacts.

I expect frequent, significant authentic products from students.

I articulate clear criteria for evaluating finished products.

I provide opportunities for students to revise their work.

1

Adapted from: Deconstructing classroom technology in practice: what our web instructional techniques suggest about what faculty want. Source: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EDU9910.pdf

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Define 3-4 pedagogical goals What do you intend to accomplish? These are the outcomes or goals of your project. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and have a timeframe.

Describe benchmarks you wish to achieve How will you know you achieved the goals you have described above? Suggestions: only use benchmarks that are fully within your control, and designate a ballpark range or varying degrees of achievement.

Benchmarks can also be identified as performance gaps you wish to close.

Note: Establishing benchmarks can be beneficial for assessment purposes.

Pedagogical options to consider This is a list of technology tools currently on your radar that will help you toward your pedagogical goals.

From a pedagogical standpoint, what benefits would you stand to gain by implementing the technology?

Technology

Benefit

Of the technologies listed above, which also provide the best opportunity for students to enhance their own performance or build new skills if they were to use or apply the technology?

Student Benefits

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What would prevent you from using any of the tools on your list above?

Obstacles

Reason

What would be the consequences of not implementing the new pedagogy and keeping the status quo?

Be sure to include indirect costs, consequences, and other potential effects such as the impact on recruiting students, your department’s competitiveness, etc.

Consequences of not implementing

Project requirements and contingencies Project requirements are those things that must be in place before your project can proceed. For example, implementing a web-based tutorial would require that you purchase special software, set aside time for training, and set aside time for developing the tutorial’s content.

Note: Missing a project requirement will typically drive the cost of your project up and broaden your project’s scope.

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Project contingencies are the external things you must depend on for your project to move forward. For example, if you are videotaping your lectures, that process may be contingent upon the availability of technical personnel such as a videographer and coordinating schedules. Contingencies are different from project requirements from the perspective that substitutes are readily available.

Note: Contingencies can significantly add extra time to your project if not well coordinated or managed.

Project stakeholders Project stakeholders are the individuals, groups, entities, or a combination thereof, which have a stake in the successful completion of your project. Project stakeholders can be a source of support or stress! It is important to define who the project stakeholders are and to understand the impact your project will have. Be specific when identifying stakeholders. Example: Junior and Senior Education Majors.

Audience needs analysis If no two audiences are alike, then our instructional facilitation should be different with every audience, right? If that were true, we would have to create separate assessments for each audience which is neither reasonable nor feasible. As instructors, we need to be consistent yet flexible; incorporating technology into your pedagogy can provide the opportunity to be both consistent and flexible.

Good instruction is founded through a combination of meeting audience needs and achieving the learning goals of the course. Learning goals cannot be met if audience needs cannot be satisfied.

1. Using the table2 below, how would you classify your student audience and general learning goals for this course?

2

Source: Using Moodle: Teaching with the Popular Open Source Course Management System, 2nd edition, J. Cole and H. Foster (2008) O’Reilly Media, Inc. Sebastopol, CA Incorporating Instructional Technologies into Teaching

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Introductory/Survey

Skill Development

Theory/Discussion

Capstone

Expose students to discipline or field of study, gain an understanding of primary concepts, terminology, and core concepts. Class sizes tend to be larger and historically more lecture based with breakout groups.

At this level students may be engaged in workshops, lab work, discussion of theory and its application to problem solving, and other hands-on work to develop certain skills and abilities.

This is a more advanced course where students are expected to take a critical approach toward research and general theory.

Students at this level can relate their experiences to lend an understanding.

Capstone courses summarize students’ knowledge and experiences, and demonstrate what students have learned throughout their course of study.

2. What are some audience challenges you have encountered in the past when teaching this course?

3. By incorporating technology in your teaching, how would that help you to overcome those challenges?

4. In what ways could technology add to those challenges?

5. What cultural aspects are important to include in your instruction for this student audience?

6. Describe the sense of community you wish to build and achieve with this student audience.

7. How motivated are students (i.e.; is the course a program requirement or is it an elective)? How could motivation potentially impact students’ learning goals?

8. What factors outside your course have the greatest potential to influence your audience?

9. What styles of learning, if any, are predominantly influenced in your course? (e.g.; auditory, kinesthetic, visual) As an instructor, what is your predominant learning style?

10. Describe the current level of student interaction in this course. What changes would you like to see?

11. What technology competencies are students expected to have before taking this course?

12. What technology competencies must students develop within the discipline of this course? How does this course facilitate the development of those competencies?

13. What exemplary competencies could students potentially develop within the discipline of this course?

14. What, if any, technology standards currently exist within your professional field or discipline? (e.g.; state teaching standards, licensure, board and certification standards) 15. What potential constraints could members of this audience present for successfully implementing technology as part of the course pedagogy? (e.g.; access to technology, disabilities, cultural differences, 16. What prior orientation does this audience have for your new pedagogy?

Needs of adult learners • • • •

Autonomy Problem Solving Brings Experience Likes to Contribute

• • •

Practicality Immediacy of Information Application of Information

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Self Confidence Varies Vary Learning Modalities kinesthetic, auditory, visual

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Identify your audiences’ needs; list as action items for your new pedagogy.

Audience needs: action Items

Instructional design options Some forms of instruction can more readily facilitate the achievement of learning goals over others.

Likewise, some forms of instruction may be less effective but are more critical to the learning outcome.

Instructional efficiency and effectiveness depend on extenuating circumstances that may or may not be within your control.

Instructor-led

Adaptable to immediate audience needs, communicate tacit knowledge and experiences, effective with small to medium size audiences, localized instruction. Most expensive form of instruction.

Web-based training

Interactive delivery and assessment, multiple sensory input, limited feedback

Subject matter experts (SME’s)

Useful when lacking in expertise or experience

Coaching and feedback

Low stakes experiential learning, may need to engage inexperienced instructors, time consuming, less control over instruction.

Learning cohort sessions (peer based)

Productive for multiple points of view and learning technology; higher comfort level, higher learner engagement, instructor management required

Job aids

Simple, reusable learning objects, communicates repeatable procedural information, easy to update and produce, frequent updates may be required

Webinars

Live or asynchronous instruction with active participation, technology can be a limiting factor for some participants particularly in rural areas, opportunity for large geographic reach and intercultural mingling

Online classes

Asynchronous instruction, requires more development than a traditional instructor led course, reaches non-traditional student audience, potential for global participation, synchronous elements can be incorporated, opportunity for blending adult learners with traditional students, requires integration of student support systems across campus

Hybrid instruction

Combining traditional classes with another method such as synchronous webinar or video conferencing, opportunity for traditional students to engage with older students who have more experiences

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Guest teachers or speakers

Opportunity to engage alumni, professionals, or industry representatives with students, the department, program or discipline

Video based instruction

Useful for communicating the nuances of instruction such as the proper body mechanics to use when lifting a patient from a bed or how to present yourself in a job interview. Can be expensive and time consuming to produce. Reserve for instruction that does not change frequently.

CD based instruction

Use for high risk or repeatable instruction or when the need for consistency in instruction is critical. This could be procedural steps such as landing an airplane. Reaches vast audience at a reduced cost.

(Note: High risk instruction should be paired with simulation and assessment.)

Simulations, role play

This is used to reinforce and assess what was learned and to help the learner gain more experience prior to a live situation

Games

Uses: reinforce, recall and recognize information, increase learner motivation, challenge learners, formulate teams or strengthen team cohesiveness, or help team learn to collaborate. Important: explain the purpose of the game to participants before beginning.

Instructional development

Essential Development Guidelines

Identify several instructional design options or combination of instruction that will help you meet both your audience needs and achieve your instructional goals for this course.

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Video – 5 minutes or less

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Handouts – 7 pages or less (10:TOC)

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Webinars – use moderator, orientation

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Training concepts – 20 minute chunks

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“Brand” your instruction

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Identify standards for development (example: Quality Matters Rubric)

Anticipating changes: How will shifts in the makeup of your student audience impact your instructional design choice(s)? Will such a shift necessitate that you to change your instructional design choice(s)?

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Determine sequence of instruction: some concepts need to be introduced before others. List examples of concept precedents below:

Determine equipment and configuration needed (based on instructional design choices above)

Test technology or conduct a dry run: how will you test your technology prior to implementation?

Plan B: Your back up plan for when things go wrong:

Implementation Identify campus resources you will utilize when your instructional technology has been implemented (i.e.; support system, infrastructure)

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Evaluation Review the benchmarks and goals you established on page 2. How will you assess this project?

What methods will you use to measure the progress and success of your project?

How frequently will you collect measurements? (Suggestion: 3x per semester, immediately evaluate)

How will you report your progress to your stakeholders, your colleagues, and/or the community at large?

How will you evaluate your projects success?

What procedure will you follow for implementing changes?

Success Begin with the end in mind‌ How will you celebrate your success?

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