Curricular Assessment: The Who, What, Where, Why, When, & How!

 

I have been working on a series of training sessions that can be offered remotely, in-person, or asynchronous as a final project for my EDU 625: Integrating Technology into Learning course. In my work at GU (Goodwin University), I do instructional design and curricular assessment. In HigherEd, the revision process in curricular design can often be forgotten and left aside. It is easy to miss this step when educators have to wear so many hats and complete so many objectives outside of teaching, all in the service of the institution. 

But curricular assessment is such an important component to instructional design. There is a reason the "E" in ADDIE, the gold standard framework utilized in instructional design, stands for "evaluation". 

Image Source: https://waterbearlearning.com/addie-model-instructional-design/

Much like the assessment loop, ADDIE is also a continuous loop. Therefore, curricular assessment is not only critical to effective design, curricular assessment is a part of the instructional design process. As a person with a strong background in data analytics, I have found myself working a lot on the "E" in ADDIE at GU. I encounter faculty, almost on a daily basis, that are not well-versed in curriculum alignment and assessment practices. Giving faculty an opportunity to learn how to align, while also showing the importance and significance of why curricular alignment is critical, would help get buy-in from faculty when looking to assess. I am also co-chair of a committee at GU called the University Committee on Assessment. The goal of this committee is to help create a “culture of assessment” at my institution. Giving opportunities for faculty to learn about assessment would help meet our goal and that is what these four sessions were created to do.

I created all four training sessions to be quick and easy to absorb. The sessions were created this way so learners could drop by a lunch and learn session at GU and learn about assessment. Or if the faculty are so inclined, on their own time, or even remotely. Giving learners the choice of when and how they learn is the overlying theme of this training. According to Wankel & Blessinger (2013), the concept of mobility and perceived enjoyment generates engagement from learners by giving learners a sense of control in the learning process. By offering freedom of space, time, and context, learners are allowed to pick and choose when learning will occur – such as in bed, at a doctor’s appointment, on the couch, or during a lunch break. Learners today have the freedom to comfortably learn in any environment thanks to mobile technologies.

When learners are empowered with a sense of control, a sense of agency, learners tend to be more engaged (Wankel & Blessinger, 2013), and if I am going to try and educate learners on a topic that many shy away from, it's critical I give learners as much control in how they learn as I can! Below, you will find all four training sessions on the assessment cycle. 

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Session 1: Plan

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Session 2: Implement

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Session 3: Assess

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Session 4: Revise

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I have learned a lot in this class and consider EDU 625 to be perhaps the most important class I have taken in my instructional design studies while achieving my M.Ed. The focus of this class is on instructional technology and within this domain is where my passion lies. I learned about so many different software platforms that are both extremely interactive and highly engaging. We went over interactive video software platforms such as Ponopto, interactive lesson software platforms like Nearpod, real-time data-technology sources, digital story telling software, virtual 3D worlds, games in learning, and so much more! 

Some software platforms were more difficult to use than others. While I did enjoy the unit on 3D virtual worlds, I found the software used in most cases to be unsatisfactory for learning. Many of platforms are confusing to use and require powerful computers that many students may not have access too. Even my favorite 3D virtual world, Minecraft, can be a steep learning curve for many, with computer software barriers that would prevent students from having a good learning experience.

The thing with technology is, technology is always evolving, changing and progressing. As an instructional designer, I must be willing to do the same. It is so hard to predict where we will be in the next 10 years. And often, such predications entirely miss the mark. A quick search on YouTube with videos from 2010 that predict technology for 2020 will show just how off predications can be. What I do know is, technology use among learners will not decrease over the next 10 years, it will increase. Computers will get more powerful, and computers today will probably be eclipsed by whatever hand-held device we carry in our pockets 10 years from now. With those progressions, come new opportunities.

As educators, we must ride this wave of change with open arms and find ways to organically incorporate the technology that our students live on a daily basis into their education. If I did have to make one prediction, I would say that VR technology is going to evolve and grow. There are virtually no limits to what an educator can do with VR technology, though the prohibitive costs and lack of general adoption still need be addressed before such technologies can become part of the every day learning experience. But I suspect VR is coming and coming in a big way in the years to come. Do you think VR will ever become a big part of the classroom, or do you think VR is just a gimmick?

My personal key takeaway from this course was the discovery of the Adobe Spark software. When I started this project, the project began as a presentation in PowerPoint. Once I was exposed to Adobe Spark and how interactive and engaging the digital story telling platform can be, I switched things up and did the entire project in Adobe Spark and have never looked back. Adobe Spark has become my go-to choice in presentation software when and where possible. I also loved learning about gaming in learning, and found an amazing OER resource called WISC-Online. I am currently developing a course at GU and one of the SME's I am working with loved WISC-Online after I made them aware and will be developing their own learning game for their course.

This class dove deep on learning technology with a laser focus on the importance of interactivity within that space. I am now prepared to bring what I learned in this class to GU where I can use these skills to help foster engagement and increase the interactivity in our classrooms -- be it in person, remotely -- or otherwise.

References: 

Wankel, L A. & Blessinger, P. (2013). Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.