Section 5

So sorry...technical difficulties didn't let me publish last night ;(

The chapters in this section identify trends and issues with instructional design and technology in a variety of settings: military, health care, P-12, higher education, and around the world. In this week’s blog post, tell which setting you are working in or intend to work in. Then identify one thing that you learned from reading about each of the other settings and explain how that concept, idea, or approach could be adapted to your setting.

I am currently a stay at home mom, but have three years of teaching experience with 3rd grade (2 yrs--self-contained, 1 yr--math & science). The year that I quit teaching to stay at home with my son--we were thrilled that they were going through and replacing all of the chalk boards with dry erase boards! No fancy technology, or projectors--just no more chalk dust and chalky hands!

While I was in the education field and as I am now experiencing in my substituting days, I can definitely see how the military culture has an impact on instructional design. One of the very first quotes that I connected with in Chapter 19 in talking about how the instructional designer "must produce training that meets the requirements of the military as well as the needs of the individual (p.186)." This is a must have frame of mind in any teaching situation. I picture all of the requirements of teachers in meeting demands of TEKS, STAAR, etc. and see how easy it was to overlook the needs of my students on an individual level. One of my favorite things to do in my classroom, as we came closer to the days of those looming tests, was to have them write things on an index card that worried them about the test---fear of not passing, forgetting things, etc. I would collect them all and explain that now I held each of their fears in my basket, they were no longer "theirs." It seemed to ease some of their fears and gave me a great opportunity to read the index cards to learn of ways to meet individual needs. This is only one tiny example of ways that I tried to keep my students needs met on an individual level while still focusing on the requirements of the "military."

As I continued to read and gain a little insight to the thoughts of the authors, so many similarities begin to emerge in the classroom I was in and what I am seeing today in the school systems. The issues that the book highlights on pages 188-189 are key components to factors that many schools face today: funding--are there really any districts that do not face issues with funding?, technological range--every school in the nation is trying to facilitate learning with funding and keeping up with our ever-changing, fast paced technologically forced world, delivery environment--making sure that any advancements in a classroom setting are used to the very best of it's ability to enhance a classroom setting is always a challenge!, design constraints--implementing new technology into classrooms that will actually provide an enhanced learning environment without adding new & unnecessary demands on teachers is vital, and lastly, the people--making teachers stay up to date in their field of knowledge while adding new advanced technology components is a challenge, but one that proves to be critical.

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I am certain that in several points of my short teaching career I used several different methods of teaching and a variety of teaching models as stated in the other chapters of this section. I had always heard that teaching was not a one size fits all type of job and I learned that valuable lesson very early on!

Chapter 20 focuses on the roles of instructional design in a variety of health care settings. One way that I felt the PBL section was pretty spot on to my classroom. I loved taking every possible opportunity to give my students hands on learning. They loved the hands on real life application activities in the classroom and it seems to have had a real impact on their learning.

 

Chapter 21 focuses on the P-12 trends. I found this one a little more challenging to make a connection with, but felt that for the most part it was easy to agree with some of the GSTE (Guidance System for Transforming Education). I feel like many of the items listed in the tables on pages 212-213 were valid and can easily be seen in many teaching strategies in classrooms today. Focusing on the needs of the students while keeping mind the core values such as teaching respect, responsibility, etc.

R-E-S-P-E-CT     C-U-L-T-U-R-E      R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-L-I-T-Y

In Chapter 22 we see the trends in higher education. I found some interesting and valid points in this chapter as well, but I found it hard to relate to the information past the "Lecturer" phase. I have zero plans to go back to school and find it hard to even compare myself to someone in a higher standard of education--therefore making it challenging to think of how to adapt my setting as such--however, I did like the Instructional Design Generator Model! I feel like teaching is a team effort now days and as I am finding in my substituting, the teachers have always worked together, but now days seems to be much more of a group effort in switching classes and only teaching a couple of the tested subjects.

 

 

Finally, looking at Chapter 23 focusing on the trends for the "world at large."  The authors of this chapter take a deep look at the industrialized vs. the developing world.  As stated on p. 236, "the primary concerns of decision makers in developing countries will likely go to creating relevant, effective, and efficient learning opportunities for the young."  I feel like these are valid concerns not only for developing countries, but for our schools here in the US as well.  Responding to the needs of the student population is something that a teacher feels a desire to seek in the classroom through the lessons/activities used to instruct.  I feel like the authors discussing the needs in foreign countries have to include adults many times, could also include many areas here in the US.  I used to teach in a very low, scio-economic area at a school that was considered Title I. Many times as the school is focusing on events to reach out to the community, they looked at ways to include parents and promote opportunities for adult education.  At a recent health fair where students were educated on bicycle safety, there was also a booth about GED opportunities as well as healthy food portions from infants through adults. 

In conclusion, I would say that making sure to provide the best opportunities for your classroom using various teaching methods and designs should be a major component to any successful teachers classroom.  Teaching is not a "one size fits all" career choice and one of the ideal characteristics of teachers is to be able to adapt to meet the needs of the students.  Many times, you don't have complete control where or what type of setting you will be teaching in, so it's important to have an open mind and the ability to adapt as needed.