Final Project: Library Learnin'

While I have accurately outlined my thought process and application of #IDE15ALA in my four weeks of blogging for this course, we are charged with synthesizing all of our learning into one conclusive post. What follows is full outline of my course in

Integration and Alignment (aka: finishing my assignment)

My previous post got me through question 1 of our assignment, forcing me to review my situational factors and how they integrate with my course goals. The rest of the questions stumped me, so I skipped ahead and moved through the worksheet that actually designs the course and gets down to the nitty gritty. I thought I would hate it. Turns out, the designers of THIS course knew what they were doing, because the worksheet was meaningful, applicable, and involved higher level thinking about the details of my learning module. I think part of my issue is that I am building from scratch, so thinking about learning activities, assignments and assessments was incredibly necessary, and in reality, takes a lot of time and intentional thought.  It was overwhelming to break down a library session into manageable pieces because I tend to think of it as a giant pie, instead of all the ingredients separately.

Week 1: Forumulating Significant Learning Goals

Like many colleges and universities, mine is engaged in an assessment overhaul. We do not have an assessment culture on our campus, and there has been a concerted effort from the Dean's office to create one. This has been a long and painful process for many, as I am sure anyone in higher education can attest. Teaching faculty are not accustomed to defining goals, outcomes, and mapping course sequences towards departmental visions. Even for someone like myself, who has (albeit limited) a K-12 background, this process had brought out out some of my worst characteristics: I hear "assessment matrix" and I become sullen, sassy, or socialist, depending on the day.

Week 1: Wait, There's Homework? Developing Situational Awareness

Any teacher knows that the best homework allows the student to interact with and apply the course materials to a specific context, whether the goal is mastering physics equations, prescribing medication to a patient, or assessing relevant sources for a research project. After sitting in dozens of workshops and conferences about information literacy, it is a relief to have the time and accountability to work through my goals for a library session and create something with purpose so I don't end up like Calvin:

Why Instructional Design

Instructional Design is one of the trendy, educator-speak kinds of words that drive my professor-husband crazy. It's right up there with "assessment matrix", "learning outcomes", "rubrics," learner-centered teaching" and the like. As someone who thought she would be a high-school history teacher after graduating from college in 2001 and as the sister of an amazing teacher (who is the pioneer of a STEM-based charter school in my hometown), I know that instructional design is just a fancy word for what good teachers have always been doing. You think about what you want students to know, how you (the teacher) will know that they know it, and then the lesson plan is how you get from the one to the other. Currently, that's called "instructional design."