Reflection on using ADDIE for Project A
I just completed a formal instructional design process following the ADDIE model. I created a three-hour face-to-face training session for faculty professional development on using SoftChalk to create interactive online lessons. ADDIE is an acronym for five phases of an instructional design model developed in the 1970’s by Florida State University for the United States military (Instructional design models, n.d.). Each phase presented challenges but ultimately helped me create a responsive and thoughtful instructional design.
A = Analysis
To start an instructional design following the ADDIE model, I first needed to gather all the information I needed to understand what was needed to create an instructional design that met my client’s needs. Fortunately, my client was Sandra Velazquez, the manager of Lone Star College-North Harris’ professional development department. She had previously conducted faculty-focused surveys and met with her faculty advisory committee. Through interviewing her and the department’s faculty fellow, I was able to glean the faculty performance needs and define the problem this training session should address. I found by taking the time to analyze and pin down the exact problem to address, my instructional design had a true purpose that helped me focus all my actions for the rest of the project.
D = Design
The design phase helped me decide what goals and objectives the faculty would need to meet in order to increase their knowledge of how to use SoftChalk for creating interactive online lessons. I found it helpful to refer to various infographics, such as Allan Carrinton’s Padagogy Wheel English V5 to help me use action verbs that accurately described what levels of thinking and actions would occur in this session to help faculty gain a better understanding of SoftChalk (Carrington, n.d.). Using the Bloom’s Taxonomy reasoning and terms plus keeping in mind Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction helped me devise what activities would best lead faculty to meet the goals of the session (Picciano, 2017).
D = Development
Development is tedious, lengthy and detailed. However, it is also my strongest area of the instructional design process. Developing is the phase where the minutia is captured and the session starts to form into a real entity. Building on what I started in the design phase, I tried to document everything needed to make this training session successful. I was able to create a minute-by-minute guide for any facilitator to use when delivering this session. I created a presentation using SoftChalk itself. I also created a handout for the session participants. I used my graphic design skills to layout these documents in a clear and professional manner.
I = Implementation
In a normal period, my implementation phase would be much stronger. Because this instructional design project was for my master’s class, I had a due date that did not coordinate when my client actually wants to deliver the training session to our faculty. Therefore, my implementation was based on a beta test delivered to my client and one of her staff members instead of to actual faculty. Because my client was thinking about the future session offering, the beta test run of the training was often interrupted with questions and comments about how the future session would be delivered. It was a helpful way to get feedback and conduct a trial run of the session, but I do not feel it was a true implementation.
E = Evaluation
In spite of my weak implementation, I believe I did gain a good evaluation of my design. My client, her staff member, and my class peer all gave constructive feedback to help me improved my instructional design and ultimately create a better session for our faculty. I used a survey tool that helped me calculate the strengths versus the weaknesses in the session. Part of their critique suggestions included improving the survey. I am anxious to see the feedback I receive once the session is truly implemented. I received the best evaluation feedback in the form of live interview comments gathered during the beta test. My client and her staff member freely brought up questions and gave me wonderful and encouraging compliments. I think the evaluation was an important step in improving my instructional design and one often overlooked.
How I will proceed
I think the experience of carefully going through each phase of the ADDIE model to create my instructional design for the Project A: SoftChalk session will make me more cognizant to spend time on all the phases instead of just diving into the Development phase. Defining needs, targeting a problem and writing out actionable and measurable goals and objectives saves time in the end by helping me develop a training session or lesson that will be well received. I will also pay more attention to how a beta test and implementation can provide me with evaluation feedback for future improvement.
References
Carrington, A. (n.d.). The padagogy wheel english V5. Retrieved from Designing Outcomes: https://designingoutcomes.com/english-speaking-world-v5-0/
Instructional design models. (n.d.). Retrieved from Instructional Design Central: https://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/instructionaldesignmodels
Picciano, A. G. (2017). Theories and frameworks for online education: Seeking and integrated model. Online Learning, 21(3), 166-190. doi:10.24059/olj.v21i3.1225
Tags: LTEC 5210