School is back in session, and this course is going to be quite the challenge. We are being tasked with building an online course. I am both excited about this challenge and a bit nervous about it at the same time.
After watching the video outlining the different theories (LearningDctr., 2010), I definitely feel I that I have adopted a constructivist approach to teaching. I learn by doing, so I tend to teach my students in the same manner. Moreover, I find that my students are more engaged in the learning when I give them enough information to get them started and let them work through the lesson/activity, asking questions as needed. As I design my course, I will take a constructivist approach, while making sure that my learners have an opportunity to reflect on their learning (cognitivism) and apply what they have learned in their own classroom setting (connectivism). Since "the primary objective of any eLearning course is to give ... learners the information and skills they need to improve some aspect of their lives" (Pappas, 2019), applying Gagne's 9 Events to my online course works very well, providing a path on which to follow. Therefore, I feel Gagne's 9 events will prove invaluable to me as I plan a comprehensive course that will help my learners meet the objectives.
As I began reading about the UbD (Understand by Design) framework, I realized that I already utilize the backwards design process to some degree in most of the lessons I teach already. Now that I am teaching face-to-face and virtually at the same time, I do tend to state objectives and goals more clearly, in the way of "I will" statements on a daily basis. When I let students know what the goals and expectations are, they seem to feel more confident in taking the first steps toward reaching those learning goals. Even though this year is my first true experiece teaching virtual students, I have pushed myself toward blended learning over the past few years. Because I teach in the cafeteria (affectionately referred to as the classeteria), I made the commitment to go 100% digital. I feel that this has prepared me, in a small way, for this course. For this project, I will definitely have to shift my thinking a bit more, so that the modules I create can be completed with little or no face-to-face interaction.
Since I will be interviewing for assistant principal and digital learning specialist positions in the very near future, my audience will be adult learners on my prospective campus. I want to design an online course that will help my teachers gain the skills they need to help their students thrive in a blended or 100% online learning environment. I will use the UbD framework to flesh out the professional learning plan I created for a previous course, essentially putting that plan into actionable, authentic professional learning modules that I can present to prospective employers. One of the common questions that I have been asked in interviews is "What can I bring to their campus/district?" This online professional learning course will be a great piece to "bring to the table'" so to speak. One thing has become evident to me: this pandemic has changed the face of education, and we must support our teacher in developing a different approach to teaching to increase their effectiveness in their classrooms (Bates, 2015).
References
Bates, A.W. (2015) Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning (Chapters 1 & 2).Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/
LearningDctr.(2010, June 17). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism & Learning and Instructional Theory [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YOqgXjynd0
Pappas, C. (2019, September 24). How To Apply Gagné's 9 Events Of Instruction In eLearning. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://elearningindustry.com/how-to-apply-gagnes-9-events-of-instruction-in-elearning
