Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

I have a little something in the works, and it will make a lot more sense (and application) once it’s revealed. Until then, it’s back to regular business. This week, I’ll be discussing the term ‘Instructional Strategy’, explaining a couple of variations, and providing a few reasons why it’s essential to understand the term in relation to your course development.

Instructional Strategy

Basically, an instructional strategy is an all-encompassing plan of attack for your course. It defines what will be taught and how that information will be taught. Essentially, the instructional strategy is the blueprint that drives your learners to achieve the performance objectives (more on that in the coming weeks) you have defined.

Instructional strategies are typically selected based upon the type of learning that needs to occur. One person may take a philosophical approach (e.g. learning based exposure to the environment) while another chooses an instructional strategy based on the type of learning (e.g. verbal information needs to be conveyed meaningfully in order to enhance retention). In the end, it all comes down to personal preference and most folks learn as they go.

Alright…sounds simple enough, but why is it so important?

The instructional strategy is important because it is used to conceptualize and lay out the course before getting bogged down in the design and development (it’s quite costly to fly by the seat of your pants in those phases). Without a clear instructional strategy, you will be doomed to make some costly mistakes later on down the line. Furthermore, failing to develop an instructional strategy will open up your work to further interpretation by clients, potentially increasing revision cycles (time is money).

Two types to consider:

A macro-instructional strategy provides an overall blueprint for a larger learning experience (e.g. an entire course), whereas a micro-instructional strategy dictates each part of the learning experience (from the course to the module to the unit to the lesson, etc.). If you’re looking for a cover-your-butt type of instructional strategy, the kind that doesn’t come back to haunt you in the end, the micro-instructional strategy is the way to go. Think about how annoying you feel when someone else is micro-managing you. Well – there’s good reason (sometimes), and that’s because the want to dictate each and every little thing…annoying for many occupations, but as an Instructional Designer, it really just protects you in the end.

This week, I was inspired to write about Learning Management Systems (LMS’) after experiencing several frustrating days lodging support tickets with a client’s LMS of choice (well – with the folks in charge of support; I doubt very much the LMS would have been able to respond to my queries, especially once they became a bit more emotionally charged). I was explaining my frustration to a friend, who was perplexed by the acronym, so I decided that 1 – I was being ignorant, assuming that everyone was privy to its meaning, and 2 – that it would be a good term to define on this week’s edition of Terminology Tuesday!

So, “What is an LMS?,” you ask.

Ryan K. Ellis defines an LMS as “a software application that automates administration, tracking, and reporting of training events.” (2009) While this definition is quite broad, it does the trick at describing the basic functions of an LMS. Basically, an LMS is where individuals may house and deliver their training materials (administration), track student progress (or even the progress of courses in development), and generate reports (varying from storyboards to student progress to student achievement). It really depends on how robust the LMS is, because all LMS’ are not one in the same. While they may all serve similar functions, there’s a market, and organizations developing these LMS’ want to stand out from their competition, so there is usually some variation from LMS to LMS.

Alright. It sounds like I need to get me one of them LMS’; how do I decide?

Choosing an LMS is like choosing the type of underwear you prefer – it’s really about preference, what meets your individual needs, and what you’re most comfortable with. There are many variables to consider when selecting an LMS, and I could talk your ear off for hours, so for now I’ll just narrow it down to a few guiding questions you should ask yourself:

1. What is your budget? There are several reliable open-source options (Moodle, for example), which are free. But free comes with it’s own limitations. Moodle has been around for many moons, so there is a fairly large support community in place and a lot of equally free plugins to leverage the LMS’ out-of-the-box capabilities. If you’ve got some cash to spend on the infrastructure, you can choose between smaller or larger scale LMS’ – you also have the option to select an LMS on a per-user type of pricing model (e.g. many post-secondary institutions use the per-user pricing model because it turns out to be more cost-effective than spending say 100,000+ on a large enterprise priced model (which are often used by larger organizations like the Department of National Defence or other government entities).
2. What do you need from your LMS? Do you need an LMS that is easy to set up and more or less idiot proof? Do you need one with robust reporting capabilities? Do you need one that will allow you to easily control access to courses? Do you need one that can handle a large volume of students?

Ahhhh! I’m Overwhelmed – Help!

Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. LMS’ are like any other technology – when it’s new to you, it can seem overwhelming to make a decision, but there are plenty of resources out there to help you out. Here are a few:

1. Five Steps to Evaluate and Select an LMS: Proven Practices – Learning Solutions Magazine
2. Choosing a Learning Management System – TrainingForce
3. How to Choose the Right Learning Management System – Edweek

Alternatively, I am happy to provide consultation services, should the need arise. If you’re interested – hop on over to my contact form and send me your queries!

Woowee! This week I decided to tackle the term ‘content curation’ as I recently used the term ‘curating’ incorrectly and it created a bit of confusion. I was looking to develop a list of resources for a personal library of sorts – resources which I could consult, when necessary, to clear the air about Instructional Design related issues. However, what I actually meant was that I wanted to ‘collect’ or ‘compile’ a list of resources, not curate.

So what’s the difference?

Content curation can be considered the process of compiling content from all over the net (or even online), and then presenting that content to a larger audience in a meaningful way.  Just like museum curators – content curators often work around a them (e.g. Instructional Design or Ancient Egypt…) and track down all of best, most relevant content they can find, and display the content in a manner that renders the content most effective. Content curation also reminds me a little bit of the poster boards you developed as a kid when presenting information to your classmates – you were given a theme, and tasked with teaching your classmates about that theme using visual and textual content – curated from many resources.

Compiling or collecting content is essentially just creating a list of resources which you can consult at a later time. I would liken this to the bookmarking functionality of any web browser. For example, I bookmarked a fantastic looking recipe for making quinoa guacamole. I will be consulting this reference this evening when I make dinner for my family. Another example is Pinterest. Now, I feel as though Pinterest walks a fine line between curating and collecting, because the content is being presented to an audience…just not necessarily within a meaningful way; however, content is being collected, and many individuals use Pinterest to house this ‘found’ content, as a library of sorts, for consultation at a later time.

So while I’m having a very face-palm morning when it comes to content curation and content compilation, you no longer have to! I hope this week’s edition of Terminology Tuesday cleared the air for you. It certainly helped me out!

This week, I want to talk about “The Flipped Classroom,” because this has been a buzzword within the Education sector for the past couple of years, and because I’m constantly receiving industry-related emails containing the phrase. With all of the terminology – Instructor-Led Training, Computer-Based Training, Blended Learning, Online Education – there is likely some confusion when it comes to this phrase, and I think we should just clear the air! So here goes nothing:

The Flipped Classroom

This phrase came to light in recent years; however, the approach has been used for many moons. The movement is quickly gaining motion as teachers become more creative with engaging their students and enhancing the overall learning experience. Essentially, the flipped classroom refers to a teaching framework that emphasizes self-paced learning outside of the classroom via online instruction and readings, leaving the regular face-to-face classes for students to engage with the instructor, complete homework, and enhance their overall understanding of the materials.

This way of teaching veers from the traditional ‘chalk-and-talk’ or lecture-based courses, and provides students with the opportunities to consider the instructional materials and any questions they may have prior to beginning to practical, hands-on work.

Why Flip the Classroom?

The ‘old way’ of doing things is very one-size-fits-all, and as we know (or can surmise), one way of teaching does not necessarily suit all learners, leading to student disengagement, frustration with homework/activities, and lower achievement rates. Flipping the classroom provides students with the best of two worlds: the face-to-face interaction and engagement with the instructor is still there, and the self-paced aspect is there. Additionally, with a world full of ‘digital natives’ and the (vast) presence and influence of the Internet, self-motivated learning and inquiry is likely occurring at a more rapid rate than twenty years ago. Information is readily accessible, and most individuals have access to the technology they need to obtain this information – why not leverage this technology to facilitate a classroom experience that may be more meaningful to this new generation of students?

Sure – Flipping the classroom may be a tough sell for a lot of traditional instructors, but the times are changing, and as educators we have a responsibility to adapt to our changing audience and enhance their overall success!

What do you think? Should educators flip their classroom? What are some benefits and limitations of this approach? Let me know in the comments!