Metacognitive Essay
When looking back over the past three years, it is amazing to think about how little I knew when I first entered this program. When deciding which degree to pursue, I reflected on skills that I already possessed as well as my interests. Since I was a teacher, I knew that I wanted to stay in education. However, I knew that I wanted to have more influence than within the four walls of my classroom. My interest in instructional design actually came about as a result of attending workshops as a teacher. I thought that by giving workshops, I would be able to influence many teachers and subsequently affect all of their students. I wanted to teach teachers. The goals of the instructional design program seemed to match that interest.
Upon entering the program, my very first class was measurement and evaluation. I was fairly comfortable in this class. I was regularly involved in analyzing test data for my school. I understood standard deviations and median scores. Because I had some prior knowledge with assessment, I was able to really deepen my understanding and even use my knowledge as I continued to analyze data for my school. At this point however, I still didn't have a good idea about the field of study I was pursuing.
I didn't really begin to understand what instructional design is until the following fall when I took ID 1 with Dr. Ge. At the time, it felt like I was introduced to absolutely everything there is to know about instructional design. Having very little knowledge about the field, it was very overwhelming to come into contact with so much information at once. I learned an incredible amount about the field of instructional design, learning theories, and myself as a learner. Because everything was so complicated and new and overwhelming, I knew I was learning. I definitely felt the cognitive dissonance that I realize now was my schema accommodating new knowledge. In this course I learned about the basic ID model (ADDIE). I also learned about Gagné and his taxonomy and events for learning. By completing an ID project, I became familiar with instructional design as an iterative process. I interacted with and learned with my peers in a way that I wasn't used to. I appreciate now the community of learners that was being developed and why, although at the time I found it excruciating to read and reply to everyone's posts online. I learned about myself as a learner. I had certain expectations for 'school', and this class began to challenge those expectations. Although the 'transformation' wasn't complete with this class, I began to look forward to constructive feedback and opportunities for revision. I began to appreciate the insights that my peers had to offer, where at the beginning of this course, I was terrified for someone other than the teacher to read and 'judge' the worth of my work. I think that this transition of thinking may be one of the biggest transitions I made as a learner throughout this program.
In addition to the tremendous amount I learned about instructional design and myself as a learner in ID 1, another key area of learning and development throughout this program were the courses geared toward visual literacy and visual design principles. These classes were especially useful when considering the design and development of instructional materials. For me, these classes included Web-Based Instruction, Text-Based Instruction, Visual Literacy, and Introduction to Instructional Technology, all taught by Dr. Bradshaw. Before taking any of these classes, I might be able to look at instruction and have a pretty good idea about whether the visual design was appealing. However, after taking each of these classes, I have strong understanding of principles related to the visual design of learning materials. I also learned an incredible amount about how learners process and interpret visual and text messages and how to consider these factors when designing instruction. These principles and concepts were probably the most universal that I learned while in the program. Regardless of the content of the project, the visual principles will apply. Additionally, these classes were where I learned all of the technical skills that I developed throughout the program. Prior to the program I had zero experience with tools like Photoshop or Dreamweaver. These courses required me to learn these tools and apply them to projects I was working on. Again, I feel like these skills are very transferrable. I have continued to use these tools and skills that I developed beyond the courses taught.
Another key learning point in the program has been completing the comprehensive exam. This exam really is exhaustive of everything learned throughout the course of the program. The exam required me to reflect on everything I've learned, and articulate it. While I felt like I had a good understanding of the learning and instructional theories and strategies that I was going to use for the project, actually articulating my knowledge in a way that thoroughly expressed my understanding was more challenging than I initially expected it to be. However, the process of applying and and articulating all of the principles and concepts learned throughout the program allowed me to realize just how much I have learned.
Through the completion of the comprehensive exam, I also came to recognize specific strengths that I possess as an instructional designer, as well as areas that I still have room to grow. Certain portions of the exam seemed to come more naturally to me, while others were more of a struggle. Particularly, I feel that I am able to clearly articulate my ideas and support them with literature. I am able to align my beliefs about learning with various learning theories and choose strategies to support learning based on those beliefs and theories. One thing that is still quite a struggle for me is bringing my ideas to life through the use of technology. My technical and development skills are lacking. Additionally, I struggle with task analysis. My struggle seems to be that the task analysis methods that I am familiar with seem to be defined and linear, whereas the instruction I am trying to develop largely depends on the learners' choices. It seemed difficult for me to define what the tasks would be and map them into a flow chart when learners could very well choose very different paths throughout the instruction. Throughout my reading, I became familiar with task analysis methods that are geared more toward problem solving and constructivist types of learning environments. However, I did not feel like I had a strong enough understanding of these methods to employ them.
There are a couple of overarching principles I have learned and practiced throughout the program. First, one thing that I learned is more of a character trait than content, and was also partially realized through completion of the comprehensive exam, is perseverance. It seemed like every semester I would get to a point where it would have been so easy to just give up. Deadlines for every class would stack up and I would be working late into the night to meet due dates. At times I wondered why I would put myself through that amount of stress. Looking back now, at the end of my program, I realize how short the time I spent here was. Although it was not easy, I am proud to be able to look back and say that I accomplished a very hard thing.
Another overarching principle that I learned through the program is the importance of continued revision. As I said earlier, at the beginning of the program, receiving feedback was very difficult for me. I wanted to create perfect products the first time. However, I learned the value of having multiple perspectives examine and provide feedback on my work. This applies not only to my assignments, but also to instructional design projects. Projects need to undergo multiple revisions in order to ensure instructional soundness and a product that effectively meets all of the needs defined.
Through the completion of this program, I have learned many valuable skills that will be beneficial to me in my future career as an instructional designer. Before the program, I was unable to articulate a rationale supported be research for my instructional decisions. Now, I feel that I am able to do this. As a professional instructional designer, it is important to be able to justify decisions to a client, and to be able to convince a client, through sound reasoning supported by research, that my decisions are best for the instructional situation being addressed. Additionally, I have learned the value of multiple perspectives and collaboration on a project. Before the program, I valued working by myself and and didn't value the collection of varied knowledge available through a collaborative process. Accommodating a group's schedules, ideas, and opinions was always a struggle. However, when working as a professional designer, it is impossible to complete a project in isolation. Instructional designers must collaborate with subject matter experts, clients, writers, programmers and other team members. It is important to recognize the value of the collective knowledge that is available in such a varied group of people. Is is also important to recognize the individual strengths and talents that individuals contribute to the group. The knowledge and skills that I have gained through the completion of this program will be invaluable as I begin a career as a professional instructional designer. However, I do recognize the need to continue to grow and refine my knowledge through reading and practice and am looking forward to doing that in a professional capacity.
For each of the projects included in my portfolio, I have reflected on my experience completing the projects. The metacognitive essays for each of those projects is included on the page dedicated to those projects.
Upon entering the program, my very first class was measurement and evaluation. I was fairly comfortable in this class. I was regularly involved in analyzing test data for my school. I understood standard deviations and median scores. Because I had some prior knowledge with assessment, I was able to really deepen my understanding and even use my knowledge as I continued to analyze data for my school. At this point however, I still didn't have a good idea about the field of study I was pursuing.
I didn't really begin to understand what instructional design is until the following fall when I took ID 1 with Dr. Ge. At the time, it felt like I was introduced to absolutely everything there is to know about instructional design. Having very little knowledge about the field, it was very overwhelming to come into contact with so much information at once. I learned an incredible amount about the field of instructional design, learning theories, and myself as a learner. Because everything was so complicated and new and overwhelming, I knew I was learning. I definitely felt the cognitive dissonance that I realize now was my schema accommodating new knowledge. In this course I learned about the basic ID model (ADDIE). I also learned about Gagné and his taxonomy and events for learning. By completing an ID project, I became familiar with instructional design as an iterative process. I interacted with and learned with my peers in a way that I wasn't used to. I appreciate now the community of learners that was being developed and why, although at the time I found it excruciating to read and reply to everyone's posts online. I learned about myself as a learner. I had certain expectations for 'school', and this class began to challenge those expectations. Although the 'transformation' wasn't complete with this class, I began to look forward to constructive feedback and opportunities for revision. I began to appreciate the insights that my peers had to offer, where at the beginning of this course, I was terrified for someone other than the teacher to read and 'judge' the worth of my work. I think that this transition of thinking may be one of the biggest transitions I made as a learner throughout this program.
In addition to the tremendous amount I learned about instructional design and myself as a learner in ID 1, another key area of learning and development throughout this program were the courses geared toward visual literacy and visual design principles. These classes were especially useful when considering the design and development of instructional materials. For me, these classes included Web-Based Instruction, Text-Based Instruction, Visual Literacy, and Introduction to Instructional Technology, all taught by Dr. Bradshaw. Before taking any of these classes, I might be able to look at instruction and have a pretty good idea about whether the visual design was appealing. However, after taking each of these classes, I have strong understanding of principles related to the visual design of learning materials. I also learned an incredible amount about how learners process and interpret visual and text messages and how to consider these factors when designing instruction. These principles and concepts were probably the most universal that I learned while in the program. Regardless of the content of the project, the visual principles will apply. Additionally, these classes were where I learned all of the technical skills that I developed throughout the program. Prior to the program I had zero experience with tools like Photoshop or Dreamweaver. These courses required me to learn these tools and apply them to projects I was working on. Again, I feel like these skills are very transferrable. I have continued to use these tools and skills that I developed beyond the courses taught.
Another key learning point in the program has been completing the comprehensive exam. This exam really is exhaustive of everything learned throughout the course of the program. The exam required me to reflect on everything I've learned, and articulate it. While I felt like I had a good understanding of the learning and instructional theories and strategies that I was going to use for the project, actually articulating my knowledge in a way that thoroughly expressed my understanding was more challenging than I initially expected it to be. However, the process of applying and and articulating all of the principles and concepts learned throughout the program allowed me to realize just how much I have learned.
Through the completion of the comprehensive exam, I also came to recognize specific strengths that I possess as an instructional designer, as well as areas that I still have room to grow. Certain portions of the exam seemed to come more naturally to me, while others were more of a struggle. Particularly, I feel that I am able to clearly articulate my ideas and support them with literature. I am able to align my beliefs about learning with various learning theories and choose strategies to support learning based on those beliefs and theories. One thing that is still quite a struggle for me is bringing my ideas to life through the use of technology. My technical and development skills are lacking. Additionally, I struggle with task analysis. My struggle seems to be that the task analysis methods that I am familiar with seem to be defined and linear, whereas the instruction I am trying to develop largely depends on the learners' choices. It seemed difficult for me to define what the tasks would be and map them into a flow chart when learners could very well choose very different paths throughout the instruction. Throughout my reading, I became familiar with task analysis methods that are geared more toward problem solving and constructivist types of learning environments. However, I did not feel like I had a strong enough understanding of these methods to employ them.
There are a couple of overarching principles I have learned and practiced throughout the program. First, one thing that I learned is more of a character trait than content, and was also partially realized through completion of the comprehensive exam, is perseverance. It seemed like every semester I would get to a point where it would have been so easy to just give up. Deadlines for every class would stack up and I would be working late into the night to meet due dates. At times I wondered why I would put myself through that amount of stress. Looking back now, at the end of my program, I realize how short the time I spent here was. Although it was not easy, I am proud to be able to look back and say that I accomplished a very hard thing.
Another overarching principle that I learned through the program is the importance of continued revision. As I said earlier, at the beginning of the program, receiving feedback was very difficult for me. I wanted to create perfect products the first time. However, I learned the value of having multiple perspectives examine and provide feedback on my work. This applies not only to my assignments, but also to instructional design projects. Projects need to undergo multiple revisions in order to ensure instructional soundness and a product that effectively meets all of the needs defined.
Through the completion of this program, I have learned many valuable skills that will be beneficial to me in my future career as an instructional designer. Before the program, I was unable to articulate a rationale supported be research for my instructional decisions. Now, I feel that I am able to do this. As a professional instructional designer, it is important to be able to justify decisions to a client, and to be able to convince a client, through sound reasoning supported by research, that my decisions are best for the instructional situation being addressed. Additionally, I have learned the value of multiple perspectives and collaboration on a project. Before the program, I valued working by myself and and didn't value the collection of varied knowledge available through a collaborative process. Accommodating a group's schedules, ideas, and opinions was always a struggle. However, when working as a professional designer, it is impossible to complete a project in isolation. Instructional designers must collaborate with subject matter experts, clients, writers, programmers and other team members. It is important to recognize the value of the collective knowledge that is available in such a varied group of people. Is is also important to recognize the individual strengths and talents that individuals contribute to the group. The knowledge and skills that I have gained through the completion of this program will be invaluable as I begin a career as a professional instructional designer. However, I do recognize the need to continue to grow and refine my knowledge through reading and practice and am looking forward to doing that in a professional capacity.
For each of the projects included in my portfolio, I have reflected on my experience completing the projects. The metacognitive essays for each of those projects is included on the page dedicated to those projects.