- Reading Chapter 18 (R/D7*): What are, in your mind, two unique or interesting or different or noteworthy ways Instructional Design/Technology has been used in business & industry that you believe could be usefully applied to your own professional work? Explain.
The Roles of Instructional Designers in Business and Industry are very similar to what teachers do in the classroom. The teacher is sometimes the sole designer if they teach a class no one else teachers. Sometimes teachers work in teams to design classes so that they are the same among teachers. Teachers can also network with other teachers that are not in their building or district and can use these other teachers as consultants. I feel that teachers can also use people in business and industry especially elective/hands on skills classes because learners are learning how to do that skill when they leave.
Evaluation is also very important to education. In business and industry evaluation is looked at in a different way. In education we evaluate student learning with tests, quizzes, or projects. In business and industry evaluation is looked at in return of investment (cost of training vs. money saved because of training) and decreased work time or increased productivity. It is measured in dollars and cents. However, I feel that we can take the advanced evaluation methods and apply them to our classrooms. I really like the confirmative evaluation method which looks at what the learner still knows later after given the training and some time to apply that training (Cognitive approach to learning?). I look at education and can only think that a final exam is similar. I feel information in the classroom is given in a chunk, test, new information, test, etc. How much old information is remembered? We use a final exam as a confirmative evaluation method or do we?
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you that business and industry and education share similar roles with technology use. The important part of technology use is the evaluation piece--the difference is business is measured in dollars and cents and education is in measured learning. Our education piece is harder to evaluate than the dollar and cents from business, but hopefully it will turn into dollars and cents for the student.
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I agree that teachers can have the different roles that those in the business and industry worlds carry out, but the myjority of teachers, as of now, are generally sole designers with tidbits of input from others at times. This is at least, from what I've seen and have experienced so far in my teaching career. Yes, there are districts and groups of staff that collaborate on a regular basis, but most often it is not mandated or the general status quo as it is in business and industry.
ReplyDeleteYes, hands-on/elective classes can more easily use people in business and industry. It would be nice if certain aspects from business and industry translated easily into other subject areas as well. Some are more difficult to measure.
Evaluation definitely needs to be re-thought in certain areas. I think this is why summative assessment is so important. With summative assessments it is easier to present many opportunities for students to practice, discuss, and be exposed to a certain topic or idea, thus allowing it to really sink in. You (the teacher) can see where most students are in their understanding of a topic after teaching it and then repeat or re-teach the information in new ways, giving them new ways to experience or further experience the topic. That way, once a formative assessment is taken, the students are more likely to have applied and internalized the information.
What I like about business-style evaulation is its clear, up-front approach. Sometimes teachers think that they keep their students on their toes and force them to over-prepare by keeping what's on a test or what a project should look like a secret. I think that students should see the test at the beginning of a unit, write rubrics together, write some of the test questions. They will have more invested in the evaluation process, and therefore retain more of the information. I think it is wise to adopt some business evaluation techniques since we are teaching the future business workers & leaders.
ReplyDeleteYour final question has me thinking... I have always been uncomfortable with the concept of the final exam. In my observation, students tend to "cram" for their finals (or unit tests for that matter) in order to achieve satisfactory grades, but that really isn't learning. True learning occurs when a concept is applied and practiced until permanent understanding sets in.
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