Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

My situation is rather unique and unlike most graduate students in Educational Technology.  I am an Occupational Therapist and have practiced for 17 years.  In January 2014, I began working as a professor and fieldwork coordinator for the developing occupational therapist assistant program at Tyler Junior College.  I was asked to consider pursing a master’s degree in order to be eligible to become Program Director when the current PD is prepared to retire.  I chose the Educational Technology Leadership program so that I could pursue a degree that was education-based, without holding a teaching certificate.  I am hoping to gain knowledge and training to enhance the education of our students.  Though the training of therapist assistants requires hands-on and face-to-face interaction to develop specific skills, the advances in technology should be able to provide unique opportunities for student learning and advance our Program beyond what similar Programs are offering.   The Program Director position will not be available to me for a few years, but in the meantime, I plan to help develop curriculum and use technology frequently in our students’ educational process. 

In my degree plan, I am including electives in higher education and gaming and simulations.   These electives will support and enhance the area of education where I am currently working.  I do not feel I have learned enough at this point to know exactly what skills I need to pursue, but I am hoping to develop simulations and web-based learning for the students to gain knowledge without the need for direct instructor intervention.  Our Program has been limited by state legislation and we are concerned about our ability to provide all of the skills necessary to our students prior to their graduation and licensure exam.  The knowledge from my graduate education should provide additional support to the curriculum and enhance the students’ learning. 

Finally, I don’t feel that professional organization membership would benefit me at this time.  I am currently a member of the occupational therapy professional organization and feel that would support my current position more than the technological organizations.   I will consider a membership with the technological organizations if we determine it will support our Program and student success.  

Trends & Issues Various Settings

Instructional Design and Technology is prevalent in many contexts and is subject to the same ebb and flow as any area that relies on technology as its cornerstone. Three areas where this is most evident, and most relevant to my current position, are health care education, P-12 education, and post-secondary education.  Health care education trends are moving towards problem-based learning and simulations where the integration of technology is key.  P-12 education also is also seeking the broader integration of technology into student guided learning and solidifying knowledge and skills for the use of technology in the 21^st Century.  Post-secondary education is leading the way in technology integration with the growth of online environments and LMS for easier and faster distribution of information, grades, and training.   In all three cases, the use of technology can help reduce the work on the instructors, after the development and implementation stages are completed.  With all of the benefits that technology integration provides, however, there are inevitably going to be drawbacks and obstacles.  In health care education, the use of technology is ideal for providing objective knowledge, but it is not yet able to provide the interpersonal skills needed for working directly with people.  In P-12 education, technology benefits the educators by allowing them to use technology for lower level learning and memorization, but the technology has not yet proven to be significantly more effective than the teacher’s instruction when assessed objectively.  In post-secondary education, technology presents challenges because very few of the current professors are willing to broaden their current knowledge base to include the use of technology in their instruction.

 

In my current position as a professor for a new Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, my duties include instruction, development of new curriculum, implementation, assessment, and planning.  We are a Program of two – myself and the Program Director.  The load is significant and it is challenging to determine the best way to provide the knowledge needed to our students in the most effective way possible.  My position mirrors the integration of all three of the types of education I have discussed above: I am in the field of health care education, in a post-secondary setting, with many of the same challenges that P-12 educators face.  As a Program, we are trying to balance simulation with hands-on learning and integration of interpersonal skill development.  Problem-based learning is important and the method in which our students will be tested for their national certification exam.  We are a Program in a post-secondary context which includes the use of a LMS and the tendency to shy away from the new technologies that could aide in education that are unfamiliar to both of us as practitioners and as educators with limited experience in the classroom.  Finally, as in the situation of P-12 educators, we need to prepare our students for documentation systems that are electronic and assistive technology that could benefit future patients.  We have to consider this without forgetting about the art of the practice of OT which involves direct contact with people in times of great need and vulnerability.  I am hoping we can strike a balance, which will be ever changing, between “modernization” of our field with the use of technology and the “old school” way of interacting with patients and achieving their personal goals. 

On a more global scale, the idea of educating the world’s learners is a much more complex one.  I believe our American education system is attempting to integrate the complexities of a modern world with a slow moving process in trying to convince those who are reluctant to “get on board.”   The models of IDT use in Asian countries are based on significant governmental support, but that is not the only method.  There are creative teachers in Japan that have struck out on their own to develop new, subject specific methods that are shared among teachers in the same subject become a “tradition.” (Suzuki & Jung, 2012) These methods are passed along and prove to be effective.  In Korea, IDT has been most dominant in the corporate world.  The government in Korea has begun setting “national learning policies” (Suzuki & Jung, 2012) for e-learning and teacher mandates for training every 3 years.  Though it appears that both Japan and Korea are incorporating technology into educating their children, their methods seem to be based on governmental control and mandates.  In the U.S., continuous teaching training is required, but it is not concentrated on technology.  The idea of governmental control of teacher education could potentially provide the students opportunity, but it would not provide for individuality of the need of the students in a particular state, city, or district.  Not all areas can afford the training, equipment, and facilities that will allow the students the exposure and use of technology.  Over time, this is occurring, but the implementation is gradual as the more experienced teachers can be trained and educated on the benefits and use of technology.  Our national laws are present, but not as restrictive as Asia.  Conversely, European education is much more traditional, emphasizing didactic learning. Europeans are more skeptical of the online concept and see the idea as restrictive and not as flexible.  Americans can learn from this idea as well: technology is not a substitute for a teacher.  It is an enhancement, a supplement.  Technology does not automatically make teaching, or learning, better.  Its judicious use is important, but not exclusive.  

Suzuki, K. & Jung, I. (2012).  Instructional Design and Technology in an Asian Context: Focusing on Japan and Korea. In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 239-247) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 

Human Performance Technology

 A performance problem, to me, is one that prevents efficient achievement of goals and objectives.  In relation to my therapy students, I have found there is an issue that is beginning to emerge: the students want to ask so many questions that are related to topics other than those we are currently discussing, and there is so much material that needs to be covered in such a short amount of time, I am finding that we are becoming further behind in our learning schedule.  The program director and I have brainstormed an idea that will hopefully decrease that interruptions during class time.  We have decided to periodically, every two-three weeks, have an informal lunch with the students that will allow them time to ask us questions and seek clarification/ answers in a non-threatening, relaxed environment.  This also provides a chance to engage with our students and build a relationship with them that will, hopefully, encourage them to increase their participation and learning in the Program.  It is an intentional sacrifice of our time that is outside our office hours, but our first "meeting" seemed productive.  We can now ask the students to refrain from asking unrelated questions during class time, and reassure them that our Friday lunches can be a time that we can discuss those questions without affecting necessary instructional time.  The meetings are not mandatory, so the students have the opportunity to attend, or not.  We are hopeful that this will prove beneficial to their time in our Program.  

An additional problem we are anticipating is that students may not be understanding the information when it is provided in class, but do not feel confident this early in the Program, to ask questions.   We are planning to provide an index card to the students at the end of class once a week, possibly more, so they can write down something they have a question about or would like further clarification on so that we can address those concerns before they are tested on the material.  It can also be a chance for the students to write down something they have learned in class so we can get an idea about their level of understanding of the material to guide our teaching.  That can give us an indication about moving forward with new material which will build on what has already be provided.  

Performance support systems were first introduced in Gloria Gery's book, "Electronic  Performance Support Systems in 1991.  The definition has evolved in the past fifteen years and can be defined as "a system that provides performers with varying levels of access to support information and tools at the moment of need." (Nuygen, 2012)  As it relates to the problems of my students asking unrelated questions and students asking for clarification of concepts by using the note cards, the idea of performance support is a possibility.  I suppose students can be asked to email questions to be addressed outside of class time; however, the concern I see with that would be the absence of the benefit of others hearing the questions and the answers as well as the removal of the sense of community the face-to-face interaction provides.  It also goes against the idea of "moment of need."  In reality, the "moment of need" idea is what is presenting the problem in the first place.  The students want to share a story or ask about something that doesn't relate.  If I took time out for even half of my students to do that, I would never be able to convey the information needed.  The chance for the students to respond after class on the note cards for their need of clarification of a topic, seems to be a more immediate type of performance support.  Our Program is not set up with a lot of online components to support classroom learning, so the idea of having computer information to directly relate to the material is not a solution at this time.  

In relation to management of knowledge related to the problems we are facing in our Program, the best knowledge would be the tacit knowledge from my fellow professors.  I can ask other, more seasoned, professors how they deal with extraneous questions and how they make immediate assessment of students' learning without asking each of them individually.  The method of collection would most likely be word of mouth. The other possibility would be to include our professional development specialist on campus to see if she had any ideas, and/or if she would help to conduct a short survey of other professors outside the School of Nursing and Health Sciences for ideas and suggestions.  She could then share the information with her monthly PD emails and include the information in the annual new professor training.  She also has links to training and information on her PD page to information for professors to refer to when they have a "moment of need."

Informal learning at the College where I work is frequent, almost daily, in fact.  There are numerous professors in our School and we often have lunch, sit in each other's offices, and email with questions and discussions.  The informal learning is often shared by word of mouth.  Again, our professional development specialist could likely be a benefit to managing and distributing the information we share in those informal sessions.  The technical programs in our School have a unique nature in the type of learning and material needed to be given to the students.  Some of the informal learning could be shared with other professors, but some of the learning might not apply to professors in other Schools.  Most of the informal learning is spontaneous in nature and would be difficult do replicate for others.  It is likely that other Schools within the College conduct their informal learning as we do.  Fortunately, we have a person designated to help provide needed knowledge management and the types of learning for the professors at our College.  She is open to suggestions, addressing needs as they occur, and seeking out new information and making it available to the professors who need it.  

Nyugen, Frank. (2012).  Performance Support.  In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 96-104) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 

Evaluating and Managing Instructional Program and Projects

Instructional design models are numerous and the evaluation models are varied.  It is important for educators to continually evaluate their instructional methods to ensure effectiveness.  Two examples of evaluation models for this purpose include Rossi's Five-Domain Model and Patton's Utilization-Focused Evaluation Model (U-Fe). 

Rossi's Five-Domain Model indicates that "each evaluation should be tailored to fit local needs, resources, and type of program." (Reiser and Dempsey, 2012.)  This model emphasizes five areas of assessment including: needs assessment, theory assessment, implementation assessment, impact assessment, and efficiency assessment.  Each of these areas are crucial to determining effectiveness for any instructional design.  When planning courses for our particular Program, the two professors were guided by accreditation standards from our national organization for educational institutions.  Those standards included all aspects of theory, implementation, impact, and efficiency for our therapy students.  The needs assessment for our Program, and its content, were completed prior to course development.  However, the course content, theoretical base, and implementation specifics have been planned and carried out by the Program Director and myself. Since our Program is brand new, classes have been session for two weeks, our efficiency and impact have not been able to be assessed at this time.  In my situation, instructional design should not only lead to learning and learner satisfaction, but the learning should be directly applied in my students' future career in the treatment of their patients.  The impact and efficiency will be gauged by the students' success on their national certification exam and licensure as well as their ability to find a job and begin practicing. 

When using Patton's Utilization-Focused Evaluation Model, the instructional designs are assessed by readiness assessment and a situational analysis, identification of primary users and uses, focus and design, assessment of data, continuous use of assessment, and meta-analysis.  In relation to my current Program, many of these same domains have been described related to Rossi's model; however, two exceptions are the addition of the specifics of continuous use of assessment and meta-analysis.  Our courses will undoubtedly undergo frequent assessment as we test our students and determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods and content.  A meta-analysis would also be beneficial after we begin to have graduates of our Program and collect information regarding certification exam pass rates and employment percentages.  That would be an even stronger assessment of the instructional effectiveness.  

If I was put in the position to develop professional development sessions related to technology use in the classroom during a period of economic decline, situational leadership would be an effective way to facilitate and manage the project and resources.  First, it would be important to take inventory of the available resources and determine the strengths/skills of the team members for the project. Second, an assessment of objectives for the PD sessions would provide a plan for the content and design implementation. Next, team members would be assigned to various aspects of the sessions including content, video/audio as needed, and evaluation of staff learning based on the team members' abilities.  I would encourage the team members to work from other PD sessions which have been previously designed to provide direction, institute sessions that utilize current material and available technology, and search for related resources that already exist and can be adapted to their current needs. This could prevent the need to invest unavailable resources in new materials.  It would be important as the manager for the project to consistently praise and reward, as able, the effort and results of the team members' work.  Frequent monitoring of team members, and the sessions as they develop, would prevent decreased efficiency and increase objectives being met without excess work that does not produce the needed results.  I would also encourage team members to "test" their material and design to reduce the need for follow up after the PD sessions have been implemented with the staff/faculty.  

Johnson, B. R., Dick, R (2012).  Evaluation in Instructional Design: A Comparison of Evaluation Models. In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 96-104) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.