Introduction
Instructional design helps teaching professionals in optimizing the effectiveness, efficiency and appeal of learning experiences. Instructional design involves the identification of the current state of the needs of learners, clearly defining the envisioned end goal of the instruction and creation of the interventionist measures to help in the learning process.
Bowden & Marton, 2004, p. 287) say that the process is closely linked o andragogy and pedagogy theories of learning where the instruction may be learner, teacher or community led. More often than not the process involves analysis of learner needs, design of the instructional manual, implementation and evaluation or assessment of the success or failure of the process (Reigeluth, 1999, p.208).
It’s important to note that instructional design has strong links with cognitive and behavioral psychology which also inform the modes of learning behind instructional design (Gronlund, 1995, p. 49).
This instructional design plan will be based on Gagne’s (1992) nine events of instruction whose components will be analyzed throughout the paper with integration of learning theories that will be used in actual learning situations (Leung, 2002, p. 57).
Information from your performance objectives task
Poor performance in the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) in open-ended questions has become common leading to concern that there could be a gap in instructional models that teachers use. This therefore necessitated the need to carry out the study that provided the information to make decisions on what needs to be done to improve the students’ performance.
Most of the students have an average score of less than 77% that is attributed to laziness on the part of students as well as lack of attention in class. Addressing the above coupled with the distinctive characteristics the students have will ensure the problem is minimized.
The analysis identified in third graders characters like inquisitiveness and curiosity to know developments in their surroundings, casualty and keen on the components of the schools environment, energetic and playful and anxious about learning.
The main goal of this analysis is to; address the need for teaching techniques to focus on remedial programs that guide students on how to handle CR questions.
The objectives will be
- To achieve improved performance on CR questions by elementary students in Racine Unified School District
- To promote parental involvement in students’ learning
- To improve critical analysis skills and manner of expression amongst third grade students
Instructional strategies that you plan for implementation
Gagne’s nine events of instruction
According to Gagne’s plan, there are different levels of learning that require unique types of instruction. This model can be applied here in teaching students in third grade in answering CR questions. The nine events according to Gagne’s plan will aid in the achievement of the objectives that were set in the initial analysis.
The model involved nine steps namely, capturing or gaining attention, informing of learners about the objectives of learning, simulation recall of prior learning, presentation of stimulus material, provision of learner guidance, eliciting performance, provision of feedback, performance assessment and enhancement of retention transfer.
Gaining attention
This will involve arousing the third grade students’ attention. Novelty or surprise will be essential. It may involve asking the third graders questions to ensure they are motivated to participate in learning about answering CR questions.
The strategy here is teacher questions where the teacher acts as the conductor in order to orchestrate learning. The teacher also guides performance. The student will act as the expert and will response to the questions while seeking new information.
Informing the learner of the objectives
The teacher will infirm the third graders what is expected of then by the end of the lesson. This can be contained in the objectives hand out that will be issued at the beginning of the lesson. For instance it may read: by the end of the lesson, you will be:
- Able o read and understand CR questions
- Able to answer CR questions
- Able to apply them in your real life conversations’
Stimulation of recall or prior learning
It’s agreed that young students especially those in third grade retain concepts and new information better when they are related to something they already are familiar with. The t4eacher will be aiming to make help them make a connection with their personal experiences that relates to answering CR questions. This can be done through posing of a question that helps students focus on the task at hand.
Presentation of stimulus material
Information is presented to students at this stage and teachers will ensure it’s organized in into meaningful portions that they will be able to remember. Gagne suggests using real life examples to help the third graders retain the information. Experts suggest plenty of exercises and case studies that will help students remember what they have been taught.
Provision of learner guidance
This stage puts emphasis on the communication between the student and the teacher. It’s a critical means of providing guidance to the third graders. It will help the teacher evaluate how the students are doing and if they are absorbing the skill being taught. Gagne suggest teacher include other means of guidance like case studies and questions examples of CR questions. It’s also important at his stage to use visual aids.
Eliciting Performance
This stage will involve a lot of practice from the students under guidance from both teachers and parents. Parents will play a big role especially with homework exercises. New and old examples will be used to test if the third graders understand the CR answering skills they have been taught.
It’s imperative for the teacher to specify the practice format and the nature of the responses he/she expects from the students while being relevant to the objectives set earlier on and eliciting the exact performance that is stated in the objective.
Provision of feedback
From the performance, the teacher will gather feedback that will give further guidance on whether the third grade student has grasped CR answering techniques or not. The teacher will then act on the information to provide more information and examples to the students.
Assessing performance
The assessment will be carried out to determine if the desired learning among students occurred. The best assessment will portfolio assessment that will involve collection of materials that include tests and assignments that he/she has been doing. The teacher then assesses to determine if there is any progress. The scoring method will be done on the predetermined rubrics that are set by the school or department.
Enhancement of retention and transfer
The teacher should aim at helping students retain the knowledge they gained in CR response programs and using them in their daily activities.
Learning theories
The above strategies mainly used the cognitive and constructivism theories in their approach to education. The strategies incorporate cognitive strategy through emphasis on events that make use of the memory system.
The strategies also assume that the prior knowledge that the third graders have is critical to their learning of CR answering techniques. They do stress on brain based learning that the third graders need to develop from an early age.
Similarly, the strategies emphasize on the constructivist approach to learning. In this case the strategies underscore the importance of the experiences that the third graders have gone through and the knowledge they have gathered from these experiences as important in learning CR response techniques.
Learning module
Purpose
To help students grasp the skills needed in answering CR questions using a previous a take home assignment.
Materials
Students will need space to work in groups. They will need plain papers and pens to narrate their experiences and those of their colleagues. They will also have a spate sheet of paper with questions that will guide them
Procedure
The students will need to answer the questions contained on the separate piece of paper according to instructions. The instructions will generally center on the experiences they had during a discussion of take home assignment with their parents. From the answers, the teacher will be better placed to determine of the students have grasped the skills needed to answer CR questions.
The purpose of putting them in a group will be to facilitate exchange of ideas so that the weak students will be able to learn from the strong ones. The approach in this module I learner centered and aims to help the learner to do practice while identifying hi r g=her weaknesses. The activity will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour of two lessons every week.
References
Bowden, J.A & Marton, F. (2004). The university of learning: Beyond quality and competence. Oxford: Routledge
Gronlund, N.E. (1995). How to write and use instructional objectives. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.
Leung, W. (2002). Competency based medical training. New York: Routledge.
Reigeluth,M.C. (1999). Instructional-design theories and models: Volume 2.New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers.