“To conceive of knowledge as simply a collection of
information seems to rob the concept of all of its life . . .
knowledge resides in the user and not in the collection.
It is how the user reacts to a collection of information
that matters.” Churchman (1971)
I have had the pleasure of taking part in a continuing education (CE) course along with many of my colleagues, entitled Designing Learning. This particular course is offered on-line through the University of Calgary. The course is designed for anyone who is interested and/or responsible for delivering educational content. The course focuses on the instructional design (ID) process utilized for the development and implementation of curriculum.
Many of us interested in education and teaching often find ourselves struggling to find our way through a maze of educational theory and best-practices. We do so because we all have one goal in mind; the “Ah-Ha moment” when we see the results of our efforts making a difference for our learners. That is what Instructional Design is all about. Designing learning that will give our learners many “light-bulb” moments instead of leaving our learners in the dark. Giving teachers the proper tools to design learning that will be most effective. It teaches us the ability to recognize performance gaps and design learning to effectively address these gaps. Instructional design gives us the tools to design curriculum that will actually teach what we intend our learners to learn.
The course teaches a systematic approach to identifying your learners’ needs, establishing goals and objectives, and selecting educational strategies to meet those needs. We also learn how to evaluate the learning environment to ensure outcomes are aligned with teaching strategies and assessments.
We have been using many of these concepts for years in the Sunnybrook Canadian Simulation Centre, which was instrumental in our successful accreditation by the RCPSC. This course has helped to reinforce the value of Instructional Design and has challenged myself and my colleagues to think about future design challenges to tackle throughout many areas of the Sunnybrook organization. I encourage anyone who is responsible or interested in teaching to become familiar with the principals and methods of instructional design.
Challenge yourselves to implement the tools of ID to new or existing projects, even if it’s just a little at a time.
Little by little, we can all find our way out of the maze.
Here are some links to get you started:
http://www.ryerson.ca/lt/resources/instructionaldesign/#strategies
http://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/
Susan DeSousa, B.Sc, RRT
Coordinator: Sunnybrook Canadian Simulation Centre
