“Ok, but what do you actually DO?”

This week my Foundations of Learning Design & Technology grad school class was tasked with reading an essay by Dr. Ellen Wagner. The article, In Search of the Secret Handshakes of Instructional Design, features an example of a conversation that is all too familiar for those of us working in Learning and Instruction Design Technology (LIDT). In my world right now, this most often occurs when informing people of my area of study in graduate school. 

“Oh you’re in grad school! How cool. What are you studying?”

“Learning Design & Technology.” 

…blank stare…

“It’s studying how people learn and creating trainings using technology.”

“…Ok, but what do you actually DO?”

Wagner’s article goes on to describe just how hard it has been for professional LIDT organizations to come up with an adequate description of what our jobs mean. So when I learned that my assignment was to come up with my own personal definition, you can imagine I found the exercise daunting. I’ve been putzing around all week, trying to get my thoughts in order. Finally, I realized that I give my own definition to people all the time, so why should this be any different?

• What is your personal definition of learning design?

Learning design, to me, is the practice of developing educational experiences where learning theories, knowledge of various teaching methods and learning styles of the audience are taken into account throughout the creation phase. 

• How does technology play a central role?

In today’s world, technology often bridges gaps between the traditional classroom experience and experiences that often would not be accessible to the learners. For example, if students are learning about Egypt and the Pyramids, they can use technology to get a close-up view, learn from a local about the area, or receive facts from the anthropologists who work there. This can be done using video, interactive trainings, Zoom, chat rooms and so many other technological methods. 

Technology also helps us offer our training in various iterations that might be more user-friendly to the learner who needs accommodations due to disabilities. 

Technology can also be used to tailor the user experience of each learner to their preferred type of learning.

• What key phrases or words in your definition are absolutely critical for someone else to understand your approach to teaching/training with technology?

-Developing educational experiences
-Learning styles
-Teaching methods
-Creation

• What does each keyword or phrase mean to you?
  -Developing educational experiences: I want my learners to experience the lesson and not just be taught at. For me each learning opportunity should stand out and be engaging enough for the learner to remember the information presented.
  
  -Learning styles: Learning is unique to each person, and while it’s not possible to give a different lesson to each individual, we can use empathy to ensure that our trainings work for as many people as possible.
  
  -Teaching methods: Understanding the various learning theories and studying various way to impart information to the learners is critical in creating engaging trainings.
  
  -Creation: I love the creativity that can be used in developing the various elements of the lesson.
  
  

• How do the readings that were provided in this module connect to your definition?
  
  One of our readings this week was Chapter 2 in the text Design for Learning. In this chapter, we learned about designing diverse learners and using empathy when considering how to present our material. I loved this, because in one of my previous blog posts, you’ll see that I posit that empathy is needed when considering the user journey and experience with a training. I believe that understanding various learning styles begins with empathy. You first must care that people learn differently in order to want to present your material in ways that would be most effective for the learner.

To me, designing instructional experiences with empathy is like unlocking the learner's brain. My key is understanding how people learn, teaching methods and all the techniques I'll learn throughout my education, career and ongoing professional development.

*Image purchased from Getty Images, no attribution required. 

Gronseth, S. Michela, E. & Oluchi Ugwu, L. (2020). Designing for Diverse Learning, Design for Learning: Principles, Processes, and Praxis. https://edtechbooks.org/id/designing_for_diverse_learners

Wagner, E. D. (2021). What is this thing called instructional design? Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/what_is_instructional_design

At the Very Beginning: My Learning Philosophy (as of right now!)

Arizona State University- Application Essay

Briefly describe an activity or practice you have implemented that reflects your philosophy of education as it relates to your current professional or educational setting.

Overall, my learning philosophy is to paint a picture, show- do not just tell, and to make training engaging for the audience. One method I have employed in my trainings and presentations to foster engagement is to create personal connections to the presenters and encourage the learner to reflect on what we are saying and how it applies directly to their own job or life.

Here is a quick video about my learning philosophy that I put together for the Instructional Design Models course that I took in 2020: https://youtu.be/yUgD8BJME3k.

There is always a place for stoic and formal training, but I have found that making the sessions a little more casual in our presentation style has led learners to relax and engage with us more by asking questions, sharing stories, and giving feedback. When I say we are casual, I mean the presenters will feed off each other’s energy by encouraging laughter, sharing true stories about our subject matter, and even finding touching or funny videos to keep the learners surprised and energetic throughout the sessions. 

 

This has led to great feedback from the learners, with some even proclaiming their sessions as “the most fun I have had while learning as an adult!”

Arizona State University & the Family Connection

Arizona State University- Application Essay

Briefly discuss why you are interested in pursuing a graduate degree at this time. What steps have you taken (or will you take) to ensure that you will be successful in the program?

Many of my current job duties center around creating trainings for our internal community of practice, the Professional Development Specialists. I’ve created some 50 training videos and over 160 other resources and yet I feel I really do not have the educational foundation to support my efforts. Except for one online course in Instructional Design Models, I have been- to put it bluntly- winging it. I am, however, proud of the work I have accomplished so far. After working in this field for almost three years, I have finally decided that this is the path that I want to be on for the rest of my career. Studying Learning Design & Technology would be an excellent place to start!

I was a good student while I was in undergrad, but I was still young, unfocused, and only had a semblance of an idea of what I wanted to do with my life. Now 17 years after graduating, I have learned a lot of life lessons, matured, made mistakes, and recovered from them. I finally know what direction I would like to move and have so much more focus than I did when I was younger.  And after finding success in the Instructional Design Models course and in my certification for User Experience, I feel more confident than ever that I can tackle this program!

Also, in the late 1930’s, my grandparents both attended Arizona State University’s School of Education, (I believe it was called the Arizona State Teachers College at that time) and both graduated with their master's degree. My grandfather even played football under the legendary Dixie Howell. ASU has been a family school for as long as I can remember, and education has been a family value! My father passed last year and I cannot think of a better way to honor him than to attend his family’s alma mater and pursue higher education.

Essay: Empathy is Often Missing from Trainings

Arizona State University- Application Essay

Describe a quality that you believe is critical to working in the field of educational technology and at least one situation where you have demonstrated this quality.

Empathy is the ingredient that should always be included, but so often is forgotten in our everyday interactions. And that is no different in the world of creating trainings. Empathy has no script and for some feels like an abstract concept, but really it is simple. As Brené Brown tells us, “It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating…”

Too often when creating learning curriculum and trainings, we think only of the content we want to relay and how to present it. But I posit that we need to think more about the learner’s journey. What will be their experience from beginning to end? Are we making this as intuitive and user-friendly as we can? Have we anticipated their questions? All these questions contribute to feeling empathy for the learners and the journey they will take within our course. We can account for these and other experience-based questions by using journey mapping, a tool created to help us step into the customer’s perspective.

We must infuse our courses with empathy, but I learned this hard way. In the most recent suite of trainings that I presented to the Professional Development Specialists, the community of practice within my company, I started by focusing primarily on designing the content. And while the content is effective, the course as a whole was not. After launching the training and receiving feedback, I realized that I did not have a clear vision for the learner’s perspective. Even though I had developed an ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate) model it did not account for the learner's perspective, which led to friction and confusion. I realized that while tried and true, ADDIE simply wasn’t enough. Upon doing some research, I discovered the customer experience journey map and gained a better appreciation for the role that empathy plays in learning. I got to work, created my learner’s journey map, and updated my courses.

Now with empathetic considerations, I am finding that learners are staying more engaged with the process and even passing the exams at a higher rate!