Reflections on Artifacts

From the beginning of the MDDE program, the teaching context had played a significant role in the selection of elective courses, topics for assignments, and on the decision to pursue three independent study courses on the topic of edublogging. When I first began the program I was working as an adult literacy educator of adults in the remote First Nations community of Lax Kw’alaams. I faced a number of challenges, and my experiences as an educator in many ways contributed to the types of articles selected for critique. For example, in the case of the first artifact, the MDDE601 Assignment 1: Article Critique , I identified and described various aspects of problems facing First Nations learners. I engaged in a process of finding and accessing several sources of information relevant to the paper based on applicability, quality and relevance. I summarized and synthesized information, and I critically reviewed the literature from a broad perspective. Because of my own direct first-hand experiences as an educator working in a remote community, I evaluated the relevance of Facey’s main arguments from 2001 to my own “current” practice (Fall, 2006). By evaluating her arguments based on my own field experience in a First Nations community, I discussed the wider implications of Internet use for First Nations learners.

I have chosen this artifact to demonstrate my personal commitment to apply theory to practice. Through an investigation of the issues that Facey’s addressed, I had begun the process of evaluating the relevance of articles to apply to my own professional context. The issues Facey addressed in 2001 such as the digital divide and the loss of social presence are of equal relevance today for many of the learners I am working with as they were at the time of publication. Her skepticism about the Internet’s potential democratizing influence (or de-colonizing influence) remains significant today. Thus, the article critique began my own process of recognizing the wider implications of knowledge and skills and weaving suggestions and conclusions from theory papers to my own teaching practice.

For the next artefact, I selected the first assignment for MDDE603 (in three parts) to clearly illustrate that I practiced the recognition and analysis of problems most effectively while completing the assignment showcased in the following three artefacts:

MDDE603: Assignment One: Applying Systems Theory to an Educational Setting pt. 1  

MDDE 603 Assignment 1: Applying Systems Theory to an Educational Setting, part 2

MDDE603: Assignment 1, Part 2: Rich Picture of Learning Environment

For this assignment I described an authentic, complex system using Banathy’s environmental lens and Checkland’s theory. This task was one of the most crucial for me as an educator because it provided me with useful systems analysis tools to apply to my own teaching context. I was quite impressed with the use of the rich picture to visualize inter-relationships, and developed some skill with recognizing and defining the various bottlenecks that were occurring while delivering literacy instruction within the remote First Nations community of Lax Kw’alaaams. The assignment required me to formulate a lot of questions about how things worked, and required me to dig deeper, and conduct a more thorough analysis.

For the next artifact, I selected the MDDE603: Assignment 2: Recommendations for Re-Design of MDDE 604 which involved group work. I worked with a design team to examine and recommend updates to the MDDE604: Instructional Design and Program Evaluation in Distance Education course. We concluded that the application of Behavioral Learning Theory (BLT), Cognitive Information Processing Theory (CIP), and Meaningful Learning and Schema Theory (MLST) would be most appropriate. Based on these theories, the report aimed to outline a set of recommendations for altering the organization of course content for MDDE604. The completion of this assignment was a challenging activity, as it required a great deal of coordination of efforts of several team members. It also required the explanation of a number of learning and motivational theories and how to apply them to a practical instructional context. Rick Kenny advised the team that we should try to include both a rationale and a connection with learning theory for our recommendations to be more convincing. This feedback had some influence on subsequent work, particularly, the instructional unit created for MDDE604.  These Recommendations for Re-Design of MDDE 604  involved collaborative group work required us to participate as a team to describe and apply learning and motivational theories to the re-design of the instructional guide for MDDE604. This assignment also demonstrated that I was able to participate effectively in collaborative group activities, and organize and convey ideas effectively with others as a member of a team. In addition, during the completion of this assignment, it was crucial to balance the workload, prioritize tasks, recommend strategies to complete the assignment, and balance my own preferences with other team members to produce the best result. Finally, this assignment required me to manage workload, and balance other work priorities with the completion of this task within time and structural constraints.

The next assignment chosen for the portfolio is  MDDE603: Assignment Three: Principles of Practice  which continued my ongoing journey of reflection about principles of practice as an instructional designer. I sought to reflect more systematically on these principles, and apply them when designing new courses for Northwest Community College’s CCP (College and Career Preparation) program. The artifact is significant because it acts as a pause-point, a reflective piece of writing that required me to integrate theory with practice. I chose this topic to explore a number of issues immediately relevant to my professional context. In MDDE603: Principles of Practice, I discussed the implications of personal perspectives and epistemological orientations for the teaching-learning process by analyzing the results of the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI), and described my current teaching context, and concluded that a key objective for me as an instructional designer is to empower learners towards becoming more self-sufficient and confident learners. In addition, I also discussed the common criticisms and controversies relating to the use of traditional and emerging instructional design models in distance education. For example, I described the impact of my experiences with learners who had been compelled to endure under the residential school system, and how these experiences have led me to become more compassionate to the previous experiences of learners and the effects of negative past experiences on their readiness to learn. Based on these experiences, I identified instructional strategies that would bolster learner beliefs of self-efficacy and encourage autonomous learning. Based on instructor feedback, I demonstrated an effective analysis of several learning theories such as cognitive learning theory, constructivism, and self-efficacy theory. I successfully combined these theories into several useful principles for teaching practice which were justified for my own teaching context. I appropriately applied instructional design principles to my teaching context. However, the feedback also suggested I pay more attention to the analysis and discussion of underlying theory when applying theory to practical teaching contexts.

The development of the MDDE604-Assignment 4: Instructional Unit demonstrates the final product of the development of an instructional product for use with adult literacy learners. It is a journal writing unit. It was a challenging assignment, as it combined all the theory taught in the course with the need for building a practical unit of instruction relevant to my professional teaching context. It required me to demonstrate that I was able to apply instructional design principles and models in distance education. The section devoted to project management considerations described a number of activities of the instructional design process, and discussed the challenges of applying design principles to an adult literacy program. The MDDE604 Professor, Mohammed Ally, recommended that the instructional unit might be improved by shortening the length of the learning goals and objectives, and introducing more interactive activities for learners.  The MDDE604-Assignment 4: Instructional Unit was created as the final project in March 2008. This artifact demonstrates the final product of the development of an instructional product for use with adult literacy learners. The focus of this instructional unit is on the practice of process writing and critical self-reflection using blogs in which adult literacy learners explore topics that describe various aspects of the fostering of personal voice in writing. It was a challenging assignment, as it combined all the theory taught in the course with the need for building a practical unit of instruction relevant to my professional teaching context. It required me to demonstrate that I was able to apply instructional design principles and models in distance education. The section devoted to project management considerations described a number of activities of the instructional design process, and discussed the challenges of applying design principles to an adult literacy program.  This artifact is significant in that it was a final product in what I found to be very demanding and practical course, leading me to develop the required skills to take on the role of a curriculum designer for English courses for an Aboriginal Health Access Program. The unit of study I prepared for this assignment was later revised and incorporated into a self-paced course, ENGL 043, an English course for first Nations learners seeking to develop communication skills and knowledge to prepare for entry into health care programs.

The final project for the MDDE605 course consists of three parts:

1. MDDE 605 WebSkills: Assignment 3(2) ; 
2. MDDE605 Assignment 3 (3) , and 
3. MDDE605 Assignment 3 (4) .

These artefacts are significant because it inspired me to investigate the idea of using blogging as a training tool as the basis of a business model in more depth. I came up with the idea of building a potential online training business, and the central service was online blogging courses. But the idea had no substance. Thus, one of my reasons for pursuing independent studies was to develop a sound product, and I concentrated on the theory and practice of edublogging to conduct more in-depth research on its feasibility. The three business planning assignments really pushed me far out of my comfort zone, and challenged me at various stages. Throughout this course, culminating in the final assignment, I was challenged to find and select relevant resources about industry trends and potential competitors, in order to determine potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). I needed to spend a lot of time comparing alternatives between technologies, and needed to determine projected costs for starting up and running the business. I needed to learn and apply skills related to research, and ask specific questions, and visited Community Futures, where I conducted a few interviews with a small business consultant about potential options, and we reviewed and analyzed a number of alternatives, such as delivering training to entrepreneurs using video-conferencing, or providing training services as a faculty member, or delivering online workshops or online training using Elluminate to educators. On my blog, I posted my reflections on the process, and shared resources with peers.

The first part of the project required me to begin the refinement process, to determine the mission, the operating values, the business structure, the products, and the target audience. I needed to spend time considering different possibilities, different directions, then come up with a concise plan that presented and justified these solutions. I had a hard time with this, because my focus of concern was on how to promote me as the trainer, and not how to promote the training service.

The second part of the project required me to use Excel and apply accounting terms. It was a steep learning curve. Though I had a focus, I needed to further hone the service I was planning to offer, and had to consider cash flow, overhead costs, sources of financing, and the course fees. I needed to spend a lot of time becoming familiar with financial terms and accounting practices. I got a lot of help from other students with substantially more experience and business acumen than myself. I blogged my ideas and worked through several issues, including the necessity of including a couple of scenarios in the costing process.

The third part of the project reaquired me to reflect on the change management process. Throughout the course, I found that much of the readings and texts were only partially relevant to my own context. I interpreted the assignment to mean that I needed to map out the changes the Web Skills site and the online courses will undergo, and communicate these changes to potential, as well as existing, customers.

When putting together the Web Skills Business Plan in MDDE605, I needed to recognize, define and analyze a host of problems. I needed to overcome my own tendency to tackle the task as an educator, and approach the plan as an entrepreneur. I had to decide my vision and mission, and identify and evaluate which services to provide, and determine the most profitable way to use technologies. I had to think in an entirely different way to complete a realistic SWOT analysis, and describe my proposal in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I had to access a number of resources online, conduct interviews with community business leaders, and learn about using Excel and basic accounting practices. To determine the relevance of content, and apply guidelines and feedback from other students and the instructor, and other mentors effectively, I needed to consider alternate scenarios, and then decide on the most effective course of action. I needed to formulate a realistic, feasible proposal for a business consultant with Community Futures. I also needed to consider the plan for submission to the College management as well. Thus, the proposal needed to be written so that it could be potentially used to justify and defend my business idea to potential funders. Once I began to approach the Web Skills Business Plan as a potential business proposal for funders, I sought their expertise and feedback. For example, thanks to an interview with a business consultant at Community Futures, I discussed the use of video-conferencing at length as the primary technology for delivering training. However, upon further research, I realized the limitations of using video-conferencing and decided against using it as the primary technology. I needed to investigate the different technological trends in the distance education industry, identify and research potential competitors, and come up with a way to serve a niche market.

Part of the development of the Web Skills Business Plan required me to work through contingencies, and come up with creative, innovative ways to overcome challenges and threats, while also taking advantage and capitalizing on opportunities. I also needed to constantly ask myself about the impact of these training products and services on my own workload. I had to continually ask if these ideas are realistic given my time constraints as an instructor. Thus, it was important not to come up with unrealistic expectations, and I sometimes had to abandon some ideas that would require more work for less time-intensive business activities.