Standard 4: Professional Knowledge and Skills
Candidates design, develop, implement, and evaluate technology-rich learning environments within a supportive community of practice (AECT,2012)
Performance Indicator: Collaborative Practice - Candidates collaborate with their peers and subject matter experts to analyze learners, develop and design instruction, and evaluate its impact on learners.
Artifact: Collaborative, interdisciplinary lesson plan using augmented reality (AR).
Description: This lesson plan was co-created with 2 other doctoral students with content expertise in 3 disciplines. The primary goal of this lesson plan was to create an interdisciplinary (math and history) lesson plan using Augmented Reality (AR).
Reflection: Three subject matter experts (Math and History Education, Instructional Design, and Augmented Reality) worked to plan and design this lesson. Together we shared a goal of creating a lesson for students, where they could practice the content while using augmented reality. It was a unique opportunity because this project had to be truly collaborative rather then cooperative, i.e. we could not have been successful using a 'divide and conquer' approach. Each team member/subject matter (SME) had to work synchronously together ensure that the final project was clear and cohesive.
Performance Indicator: Leadership - Candidates lead their peers in designing and implementing technology-supported learning.
Artifact:
1.2 ETAI Conference program (Page 11)
Description: This slide deck serves to represent the presentation given at the English Teacher's Association of Israel (ETAI) pre-conference event (PCE) with the Israeli Ministry of Education for Teacher Education in Jerusalem, Israel July 2019.
Reflection: This presentation highlighted the need for careful selection and evaluation of technology in the classroom as well as the need to train teacher's to work backward's from outcomes in their lesson design. In addition, careful selection and use of Multimedia-based on Mayer's (2012) Multimedia Learning Principles- in learning materials was emphasized.
Performance Indicator: Reflection on Practice - Candidates analyze and interpret data and artifacts and reflect on the effectiveness of the design, development and implementation of technology-supported instruction and learning to enhance their professional growth. Artifact: Multimodal Template: Application created using the 'design thinking' methodology.
Description: This artifact was created for the course 'Design of the Learner Experience' which required the use of the Design Thinking methodology of product development while applying the concept of User Experience or UX to ensure the effectiveness of the product design.
Reflection: The 'Mulitmodal Template' was created with educators in mind. Its purpose is to support those who create learning materials but may not be aware of the Mayer's (2012) Multimedia Principles. These principles help us to see the benefits of learning with words and pictures rather than words alone but also provide evidence of the need to minimize cognitive load. In order to fulfill the requirement of the project, we were required to apply the iterative methodology of Design Thinking, an approach that places user experience and iteration at the forefront of it's development strategy. To keep design user-centered required a significant amount of user observation, polling, and user testing. In addition, this process recommends that wire-framing and prototyping be used to collect data for iteration prior to building the final product. All of these steps ensure that we are creating a product to solve an authentic problem while providing a seamless experience for the user.
Performance Indicator: Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates design and implement assessment and evaluation plans that align with learning goals and instructional activities.
Artifact: Conceptual document, using backwards design at a large online University (do not have permission to show)
Description: This artifact would be google doc used to create a 'course concept' for a course in the Master's of Data Science program for a large online American University. This concept doc is step one in creating any and all courses at this institution. It contains the three competencies for the course, suggested learning materials and technologies, the final project (e.g. scenario, instructions, rubric) and a list of proposed topics and skills for all ten modules.
Reflection: Since this university applies backwards design for their course development, the course concept document serves to provide a 'wire-frame' of the entire ten module course with a completed final project design. The Learning Designer (LD) works with a subject matter expert (SME) to first create a summative assessment that will assess the learners on the three competencies provided by the dean. Once this has been approved and finalized then we begin mapping topics, skills, materials and technology for the course. The LD ensures that all topics, skills, and formative tasks align with the competencies and serve to support the acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful on the final project. After this course concept document is iterated and approved, the LD and the SME begin building out the proposed content of the course.
Performance Indicator: Ethics - Candidates demonstrate ethical behavior within the applicable cultural context during all aspects of their work and with respect for the diversity of learners in each setting.
Artifact: Article written for Three Rivers TESOL (regional professional organization)
Description: This article was written as part of a professional development grant received (June 2018) by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL). It describes how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be applied to the design of lessons in mainstream content area K-12 classrooms (and in higher education) to support differentiated learning needs.
Reflection: UDL helps educators to re-frame their understanding of English Learners (ELs) from that of a deficit to an asset approach to lesson design. Through UDL, we can see that it is not the learners who have deficits but in fact it is the institutions that serve them, and the facilitators choices in materials and lesson delivery.A universally designed learning environment can be more inclusive while supporting higher order thinking skills in all learners.