Instructional Design Reflection

This instructional mock-up was my first attempt at creating instructional materials for learners over the age of five. It came with some interesting learning curves but was a fun first attempt at the process. Overall, it was nice having the templates and a set goal in place from the start. Being my first time taking on a project of this nature, having those materials allowed me to gain a better understanding of what was being asked.

The target learners for this instructional mock-up were the faculty members of a fictional university. Giving the assumption that they already had some of the necessary skills that would be required for the modules. This allowed myself and my team members to focus on key parts of the instruction while briefly touching on areas that it was assumed learners were already knowledgeable in. Making it simpler to ensure that the materials aligned with the needs of the university and the learners themselves.

The instructional mock-up that my team created broke the information down into modules effectively. Ensuring that there wasn’t an overload of information in each module. The team also worked hard to make sure that the information provided in each module met the specifications of the requested requirements and was still user friendly not just for the target learners, but also for anyone who may come across or be provided access to the instructional materials. This is an important aspect of any materials that instructional designers create. While the primary focus should be the target learners, the materials should also be informative for those who may come across them.

With this in mind, when looking at the instructional mock-up, my team made sure that the information provided not only directed learners’ attention to specific areas but also created a learning environment that directed their actions towards an end goal, meeting the specifications of the role of instructional text (Govender, S. & Jaffer, T. (2021). Designing our instructional text in this manner also supported the team meeting the needs of the learners. It helped direct their focus to each step and supported the actions they needed to take in order to create the materials being asked of them.

The design case that was provided to each team was well thought out and informative. This really supported the ability of my team to meet the goals that were outlined and provided to us, and the needs of the learners that would be potentially using the materials. One of the most important parts of delivering instructional materials is meeting the needs of the intended learners, but equally important is meeting the needs of the requesting party. Not only did my team work hard to create materials that were user friendly and met the needs of the intended learners, but we also made sure to double and triple check that we were meeting the goals in the instructional design every step of the way. Looking at those goals almost as a checklist while developing the final mock-up was such an important strategic aspect of the process as a team. It allowed us to compartmentalize each item and give them equal attention and effort as we worked through the process.

While I enjoyed creating this instructional mock-up with the support of a team, I generally prefer working independently. This is primarily due to the ways that I process information and work through each step. I do the majority of my work in one sitting and then let it settle before coming back to review. This doesn’t work for everyone and that can make team projects complicated. One thing that I would like to have done better is the cohesiveness of the finished mock-up. Each module was completed by a different team member and to me they felt a little choppy. You could tell that they were not all created uniformly. I would have liked to edit each module to make them appear as if they were more uniformed with writing style and appearance. The team not really being on board with assigning specific jobs or tasks made this difficult to accomplish. The issue really came down to the communication and each team member being at different skill levels. There was also the issue of understanding what was being asked of us. Rather than communicating and ensuring that each member was on the same page, the conversations were awkward and there was not as much accomplished as there could have been.

Overall, I had a great experience creating the instructional materials mock-up for this class. I feel like I have learned a significant amount of new information that can support me not only in my future courses, but also in many other endeavors that may come my way. While my primary goal is to continue working the early childhood field of education, that may look vastly different than what I am doing today. Having the ability to develop and create instructional materials that can be used by anyone wanting to grow in early education is such an important aspect of my goals. I really look forward to using these new skills to advance my goals and support those around me who are also working to become better early learners’ educators.

References:

Govender, S. & Jaffer, T. (2021). Designing Instructional TextLinks to an external site.. In J. K. McDonald & R. E. West (Eds.), Design for Learning: Principles, Processes, and Praxis. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/id/designing_text