Developing and implementing a higher education quality initiative

The Oakland University School of Education and Human Services\u27 Quality Initiative is discussed in the context of the history of higher education and quality management, with comparison to initiatives at Fordham University, Lienhard School of Nursing, the College of Nursing at Rush University, the University of Alabama, Oregon State University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago

Using the Definition as a Compass to Teach Backgrounds, Issues and Trends

The “issues and trends” graduate course at Wayne State University endeavors to prepare professionals who have a historical and philosophical grounding in addition to technical skills. In this course the definitions of educational and instructional technology that have emerged over the years are viewed as compasses, pointing to concepts and issues predominant in each historical period. AECT’s current definition book, Educational technology: A definition with commentary (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008) provides the core readings for this course. Specific issues and the class activities associated with each are discussed

Design and Development Research: A Model Validation Case

This is a report of one case of a design and development research study that aimed to validate an overlay instructional design model incorporating the theory of multiple intelligences into instructional systems design. After design and expert review model validation, The Multiple Intelligence (MI) Design Model, used with an Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Model, was tested for use by four practicing instructional designers. Instruction developed for learners using this model was then evaluated measuring post-test and attitudinal scores with 102 participants. This report also provides a reflection on the lessons learned in conducting design and development research on model validation. The procedures and findings have implications for the processes involved in instructional design model validation through designer use and program implementation

Uncertainty, Reflection, and Designer Identity Development

Uncertainty is a defining quality of the design space and it stands to reason that designers’ personal attitudes toward uncertainty may influence design processes and outcomes via cognitive, affective, and/or behavioral channels. Individual attitudes and behavior patterns related to uncertainty may constitute a critical element of designer identity, which represents the synthesis of knowledge, action, and being. This qualitative study examined how graduate students in an instructional design course reflected on their experiences and beliefs regarding uncertainty. Participants were more reflective when discussing a general experience with uncertainty than their current attitudes toward uncertainty in design. Findings support the use of narrated reflection in design education related to uncertainty and identity. Implications for design education interventions and design are discussed

A Review and New Framework for Instructional Design Practice Variation Research

This article reviews practice variation in the field of instructional design. First, it compares instructional designer practice as reported or observed in several classic research studies. This analysis is framed by the standards established by the IBSTPI competencies for planning and analysis, design and development, implementation and management. Although no certain causal linkages exist, we briefly review some of the reasons posited in the literature to explain ID practice variation (i.e. lack of time and resources, control in decision-making, the designer’s perception of a task, underlying philosophical beliefs, and designer expertise). Limitations of the literature-base are explored, followed by a proposal for an alternative view of ID practice variation and recommendations

Design Ideas, Reflection, and Professional Identity: How Graduate Students Explore the Idea Generation Process

Within design thinking, designers are responsible for generating, testing, and refining design ideas as a means to refine the design problem and arrive at an effective solution. Thus, understanding one’s individual idea generation experiences and processes can be seen as a component of professional identity for designers, which involves the integration of knowledge, action, and being in support of the professional self. Using written journal responses from graduate students in an introductory course in instructional design, this study explored how students used reflection to reconstruct experiences relating to the emergence of design ideas. Findings indicate that students were able to use reflection in support of professional identity development concerning design ideas, although attention to emotional aspects was lacking and many struggled to move from descriptive writing to meaning-making. Implications for professional identity development for designers and for future research are discussed

Reflection and Professional Identity Development in Design Education

Design thinking locates the designer as the arbiter of the design space, personally responsible for managing uncertainty, leveraging failures, and gaining insight through reflection to maintain momentum and deliver meaningful design outcomes. As design education becomes more closely aligned with design thinking, the field will need to shift its understanding of the role of the designer and support students in developing professional identities that reflect this understanding. This study investigated the use of reflective writing in an introductory design course to help students explore and interpret their design beliefs, experiences, and self-awareness. The results indicate that authorial presence, analysis, and narrative quality are common qualities in reflective responses, but emotion is notably lacking from student writing. Students were highly reflective in relation to a general experience with uncertainty and least reflective when discussing ideation processes. Implications for design education and research are discussed

Developing Designer Identity Through Reflection

As designers utilize design thinking while moving through a design space between problem and solution, they must rely on design intelligence, precedents, and intuition in order to arrive at meaningful and inventive outcomes. Thus, instructional designers must constantly re-conceptualize their own identities and what it means to be a designer. Within instructional design, professional identity development is intimately linked to the concept of design precedents. Reflective practice appears to be a natural avenue for supporting identity development in student designers, as it challenges them to think deeply about concepts and experiences through interpretation, evaluation, and revision. The authors conducted a preliminary study examining how graduate students in instructional design use reflection to build their identity as instructional designers within a design thinking framework. While this study was preliminary in nature, it represents an important first step in exploring how instructional design students can use reflective practice to develop the foundations of their professional identity, particularly within the design thinking framework

MPATI: The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (1959-1971)

It is 1964 and high in the sky, flying in a figure-eight formation over a 200-mile radius and six Midwestern states, is a plane with a large 24-foot antennae hanging from its belly. Transmitting 24 separate courses recorded ahead of time then played back to member schools in six states, the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI) was designed to meet the need of providing educational television to a wider audience. In the late 1950s, the FCC decided that certain channels would be allocated for non-commercial educational use. Schools were bursting with students; teachers were in high demand and educators wanted television classroom instruction to ease their burden. Offering simultaneous programs to schools across the country similar to commercial networks seemed impossible. Hence, the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction, a not-for-profit consortium of educational institutions and television producers, was born

ID Model Construction and Validation: A Multiple Intelligences Case

This is a report of a developmental research study that aimed to construct and validate an instructional design model that incorporates the theory and practice of multiple intelligences. The study consisted of three phases. In phase one, the theoretical foundations of multiple intelligences and instructional design were examined to guide the development of such model. In phase two the model components were determined and an initial model was constructed. In phase three, the model was reviewed and validated by experts in the field of instructional design through a three-round Delphi study. The result was a revised and validated Multiple Intelligences Design Model. This paper presents the decision-making processes and procedures used in model development, and provides a framework for the internal validation of instructional design models using expert review procedures