In my advanced level secondary school, I was a biology and chemistry major student. The two year study was very intensive and the syllabus came from hell (seriously, we had so much to cover that the teachers themselves were not sure how we would ever get to ¾ of the syllabus). Effective course design begins with understanding who your learners are, deciding what you want them to learn; determining how you will measure their learning; and planning activities, assignments and materials that support your learners’ learning.
Effective design – my experience as a learner
Despite the fact that Biology had a lot of materials to cover, our teacher decided to share with us her focus, important topics that we must cover and what we should know by the end of the course. She sort of customized it for us based on the time factor and the need to pass our final exam.
Her materials/contents had a very clear flow. She encouraged us to draw what we have understood after every topic. She often gave us time to explain what we think the topic is all about when we started, explained difficult concepts by using familiar, often funny examples, she would draw a diagram showing how concepts work together, relating previous topic and mentioned what we will cover after that topic. Her resources were directly linked to a specific topic that we were to cover.
Her materials had a lot of illustrations (that did not have Split-Attention effect and reduced redundancy) in the form of drawings and graphics. Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2013, pg. 190 mentioned three ways to make instructions text concrete and more comprehensible by making using of illustrations, concrete words, shorter words and active sentences. She also used a lot of examples to illustrate the ideas (Carter, 1985).
Son & Goldstone, 2009 suggested that when the objective is the transfer of skills and knowledge, then learners need to presented with multiple contexts or concrete examples to support the transfer. In delivering the materials she would combine directive and non – directive interventions.
In effective design my experience as a learner
On the other hand, the Chemistry teacher materials, lacked structure. The step size (jumps or transitions in instruction) was too high; it was very difficult to follow the notes. He assumed that we have background knowledge and decided to make large jumps between ideas. The terminologies he used were not consistent, no explicit references back to what we previously learnt. Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2013, pg. 191, using consistent terminology and providing reference to prior learning helps to make the new information easier to comprehend by providing a context.
I also feel the method he used was wrong especially looking at the age and levels we were in. He used what is known as non-directive instruction where students arrive at conclusions with minimal guidance from instructors. The method is said to encourage students to think critically on their own, forces them to make decisions for themselves, fosters a genuine curiosity in the unknown and an appreciation for hard-earned knowledge, and cultivates self-reliance and tenacity. Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2013, pg. 195 mentions that as instructional designers we must take into consideration the cognitive load we place on learners as they work with the materials we have designed. Instructional designers must ensure that learner use less effort to process the information.
In my view, the materials and method used deprived us an opportunity to process new materials easily. Ineffective materials + bad delivery method = low pass marks and drop outs. I still remember him as a teacher who contributed to my low pass in chemistry!
I also feel the method he used was wrong especially looking at the age and levels we were in. He used what is known as non-directive instruction where students arrive at conclusions with minimal guidance from instructors. The method is said to encourage students to think critically on their own, forces them to make decisions for themselves, fosters a genuine curiosity in the unknown and an appreciation for hard-earned knowledge, and cultivates self-reliance and tenacity. Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2013, pg. 195 mentions that as instructional designers we must take into consideration the cognitive load we place on learners as they work with the materials we have designed. Instructional designers must ensure that learner use less effort to process the information.
In my view, the materials and method used deprived us an opportunity to process new materials easily. Ineffective materials + bad delivery method = low pass marks and drop outs. I still remember him as a teacher who contributed to my low pass in chemistry!
Sources:-
- Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2013). Designing effective instruction (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- How can we best measure the effectiveness of our instructional material?http://www.researchgate.net/post/How_can_we_best_measure_the_effectiveness_of_our_instructional_material
- Customized Instruction: Four Characteristics of Effective Instructional Explanations
http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/customized-instruction-four-characteristics-of-effective-instructional-explanations/
