Week 6 Reflection

1. All three of the chapters dealt in part with the need to have a solid goal in mind when starting projects that are based on the end users. I’ll start with this most recent chapter. In the portion written by Jacquie McDonald, the author writes about the Instructional Design Generator model and how “This model has proven more effective than the transformer approach. No doubt we have all experienced the difficulties of redesigning (transforming) materials that are near completion before ID input is sought.” Unless you have a strong understanding of what the desired outcome of the project is from the start, you’re just going to end up redesigning it in the end. In ch. 21 the authors talked about the difference between “Piecemeal vs. Systemic Change" and how Systematic change is better than Piecemeal change because “…if a significant change is made in one part of a system, that part will usually become incompatible with other parts of the system, and the system will work to change that part back to what it was before.” In ch. 2 the authors talk about how ID needs to be goal oriented when they say “Unfortunately, any well-intended projects fail from lack of agreement on the goals or the decision to put off this important step in the false belief that this can be settled later.” Again, if we don’t completely understand what we’re working for as a complete view of the final product from the customer’s point of view, or as the overall ecological systemic view, the project is doomed to failure.

In the middle school setting, or any educational setting for that matter, understanding that sometimes there needs to be a complete systemic change vs. the piecemeal change that schools so often do, would ensure that projects reach the students in a workable fashion that is designed to pass the test of time.

2. While reading ch. 27 I found many of the competencies discussed to crossover into education. One of the ones that I feel I do well are communication, which they discuss often throughout the chapter, and one from the 2004 ISPI/ASTD PT Competencies list “4. Use partnerships or collaborate with clients and other experts as required.” I often work with other teachers at my grade level to prepare projects and assignments for my students.

Some of the competencies that I would like to improve include one from table 27.3 “14. Use media and technology to enhance learning and performance” I would like to improve this because, while I use many of the technologies available through my district, I know that there are many other methods that I could use, particularly software available for free on the web, to reach some of the different learners in my class. Another competency I would like to improve on is “16. Evaluate instructional effectiveness.” from the same list. It isn’t enough to try different things, an effective teacher must also know if projects work, why they are appropriate for meeting educational goals, and if not, can they be modified or should they not be used at all.