EDIT 705
Instructional Design

George Mason University
Spring 2006

   Slides of presentation for project on assessment 

This course was the most difficult course I have taken.  Although the subject is of significant interest to me and as a teacher I have been doing many of the strategies proposed, I grappled with each of the readings, the assignments, the lectures, and the assessments.  Knowing that the subject matter would be key in my new position, creating workshops and training sessions, made the class no easier to comprehend.  Part of the difficulty was that the vocabulary was so foreign.  

We went through the systematic steps of designing effective instruction in such a way that anyone could present the material with success.  For my final project I designed a SOLO workshop that I have presented several times. It included an Instructor's Module.

The most promising and helpful component was the construction of the hook.  I created a simulation to help teachers understand what it might be like to have a learning disability so they would have motivation to learn about the Assistive Technology and perhaps be more likely to allow and even encourage students to use it.  Part 3 of the project would not be transferred to the website but the Organizational Strategy and Media Overview can be seen.

I handed out a “quiz” for the teachers to complete.  Most teachers received the paper on the left. They were to combine pairs of symbols in such a way that they made sense.   Two lucky teachers had the Kanji (Japanese characters) with translation.  Not only did the majority of the teachers have no idea of meanings behind the symbols, they also had to worry about forming strange symbols.  Many of our students have a similar experience when trying to write in class.  Having a hook did help the teachers realize how students felt and did engender interest and motivation.  

this is a quiz created in Kanji as a simulation of Learning Disabilities   This Kanji had translations for the symbols.

   In the workshops and trainings I do for my school district, there is little time to follow all the steps required for effective instruction.  I would like to read more about instructional design.  I'm sure that as I begin to create online workshops and learn more about the instructional possibilities with wikis, blogs, and other newer media, the structure and concepts of instructional design are sure to be of great value.

 Presentation slides about cognitive strategies  An Inspitation organization chart of ideas

Here are some slides from my training workshop using Co:Writer, Write:Outloud, and Draft:Builder with students who have difficulties with writing.

Kanji activity analogy    Kanji activity instruction    Slides of Final Project   Slide identifying some of the difficulties students have with writing

Description of the software features that help students with the writing process  The assessment activity directions


Back to Courses

More Courses

Home