Online Course Syllabus Template Tool

At FACT we have developed the Online Syllabus Template Tool (OSTT) to provide instructors developing online courses for higher education with:

- a context-specific syllabus structure consistent with the OAR model
- a sample syllabus that models best practices
- an easy-to-modify Microsoft Word template

The OSTT is an Adobe .pdf file that can be opened in the free Adobe Reader program. Users can navigate in the tool just as they would in a web page by mousing over buttons and clicking. Users can use "show info"/"hide info" buttons to toogle between a pageview that shows the sample language and or a pageview that shows descriptive information.

A download of the OSTT is available here.

Merrill's First Principles Situated in the OAR Model Domains

Merrill's First Principles of Instruction (2002, 2006) state that learning is promoted when:

• Instruction takes place in the context of real-world tasks that are progressively difficult
• Learners activate relative cognitive structures by recalling or demonstrating prior knowledge or experience
• Learners observe a demonstration of new knowledge
• Learners apply new knowledge, receiving feedback and coaching that is gradually withdrawn
• Learners integrate their new knowledge by reflecting on, discussing, defending, presenting new knowledge and creating personal ways to use it

We have developed a instructional design model which situates Merrill's First Principles in the OAR Model domains:



The task (or problem) is a Resource and the core component available to influence and/or measure student behavior. Objectives are statements created to define and/or measure desired student behavior. Activities are opportunities created to inlfluence and/or measure defined student behavior.

There are two types of Activities: Acquisition and Application. Merrill's activate and demonstration phases are Acquisition Activities, where opportunities to gain knowledge and skills are created to influence defined student behavior. Merrill's apply and integrate phases are Application Activities, where opportunities to demonstrate knowledge and skills are created to influence and/or measure defined student behavior.

References:

Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-59.

Merrill, M. D. (2006). First principles of instruction: a synthesis. Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (2nd Ed.). Prentice-Hall, Inc.

OAR model page on Wikipedia

I have created a page on Wikipedia describing the OAR model: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OAR_model

I would appreciate feedback from interested parties!

Discovering and Documenting Faculty Pedagogical and Technological Beliefs

The Subject Matter Expert Personal Resources Inventory (SMEPRI) is a context-specific instructional tool developed to aid Instructional Designers in understanding the pedagogical and technological beliefs of Instructors. It is not designed to conduct an exhaustive inquiry, but rather to gather critical data from a short interview.

The SMEPRI gathers qualitative and quantitative data from four categories: time, experience, attitude and pedagogy. In our practice, Instructional Designers use this data as the development foundation for new online courses delivered through our learning management system-- Blackboard. We have seen that course designs based on the Subject Matter Expert/Facilitator's beliefs provide the greatest opportunity for alignment with their practices.

If you are interested in learning more about the SMEPRI, please contact me at george.joeckel@usu.edu.

Pedagogical Beliefs in Online Courses

Here is another excerpt from a chapter my colleagues and I have in publication:

"Our experience has led us to conclude that the pedagogical beliefs held by the SME/F are the best instructional foundation for original designs of courses delivered online through a LMS. This conclusion is supported by Ertmer's (2005) examination of the research conducted on teacher beliefs: '…beliefs are far more influential than knowledge in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems' (p. 28). She also draws a direct connection between pedagogical beliefs and technology skills:

Given that these [technology] skills are unlikely to be used unless they fit with teachers’ existing pedagogical beliefs, it is imperative that educators increase their understanding of and ability to address teacher beliefs, as part of their efforts to increase teachers' technology skills and uses (Ertmer, 2005, p. 37).

Ertmer (2005) demonstrates how pedagogical beliefs have a global effect on a teacher’s perceptions about new instructional tools and practices when she states 'Even new information (about technology, alternative teaching methods, etc.), if attended to at all, will be filtered through these existing belief systems' (p. 30). Our instructional process recognizes and embraces this filter by systematically exploring, documenting, and integrating the SME/F’s pedagogical beliefs into the course design."

We have created an Instructional Tool to facilitate the systematic discovery and integration of pedagogical beliefs called the Subject Matter Expert Personal Resource Inventory (SMEPRI). In an upcoming post I will provide more information on this tool.


Reference:

Joeckel III, G.L.; Jeon, T.; Gardner, J. (2009). Instructional Challenges in Higher Education Online Courses Delivered Through A Learning Management System By Subject Matter Experts. In H. Song (Ed.), Distance Learning Technology, Current Instruction, and the Future of Education: Applications of Today, Practices of Tomorrow, Idea Group Publishing, New York. Chapter accepted for publication.

Data-driven Design Evolution

Instructional Designers at FACT support all the instructors from the departments to which they have been assigned. Because the instructor is the Subject Matter Expert and the course facilitator (SME/F), they are involved in all of the ADDIE phases. We have created the Data-driven Design Evolution to guide the process of creating original course designs, and course redesigns, in this unique context.

Here is an excerpt from a chapter that my colleagues and I have in publication:

"An ongoing relationship between an ID and a SME/F may lead to an evolution of the course design. Ideally this evolution would be the result of evidence derived from course data that led to changes in the SME/F's pedagogical beliefs. We have created the term “data-driven design evolution” to describe this process. We propose a three-stage model in which the course design shifts from “SME/F-driven” towards “learner-driven”.

In Stage I, there is an insufficient quality of course data to justify changes to the course design decisions/revisions based on learner feedback. This occurs in courses which have yet to be delivered, but it may also be the result of an insufficient quantity of course data. The ID creates a course design based on instructional alignment between the SME/F's pedagogical beliefs and assumptions about learners.

In Stage II, the quality of the course data is high enough to identify learner characteristics that can replace the SME/F's assumptions. The ID provides the SME/F with evidence based on course data that demonstrates instructional alignment or misalignment. When the evidence produces a shift in the SME/F’s pedagogical beliefs, the ID recommends changes to the course design that will increase instructional alignment, and implements the approved changes.

In Stage III, the increase in the quality of the course data has led to a fundamental shift in the SME/F's pedagogical beliefs. He or she has become willing to learner feedback drive design changes to the course. The ID assists the SME/F in interpreting the learner feedback from the latest cohort of learners by using the entire set of course data to control for anomalies. The ID recommends changes and implements the approved changes."

Reference:


Joeckel III, G.L.; Jeon, T.; Gardner, J. (2009). Instructional Challenges in Higher Education Online Courses Delivered Through A Learning Management System By Subject Matter Experts. In H. Song (Ed.), Distance Learning Technology, Current Instruction, and the Future of Education: Applications of Today, Practices of Tomorrow, Idea Group Publishing, New York. Chapter accepted for publication.

OAR model

The OAR model is an Instructional Design model created for a specific context: distance education courses delivered through a LMS (Learning Management System) in higher education.

This is an excerpt from a chapter which my colleagues and I have in publication:

"The OAR model is a visual tool which represents the components of SME-F (Subject-Matter Expert facilitated) online courses in higher education, and their relationship to each other. The OAR model was developed to meet four criteria: a) maintain a strict focus on our particular learning system context, b) create a simple graphic-based aid which facilitates communication among design stakeholders, c) remain inclusive by avoiding the use of jargon, and d) represent the basic order of operations in our ID (Instructional Design) process. The OAR model has proven effective in meeting these criteria by organizing the components of SME-F online courses in higher education into three domains: Resources, Objectives and Activities.

The OAR model defines resources as the physical, electronic and intellectual assets with which a course can be created. These resources are determined by an analysis of the learners, SME/F (Subject Matter Expert/facilitator), ID (Instructional Designer), learning and performing environments, available instructional technology, and other relevant contextual factors associated with a course. IDs and SME/Fs use the results of this analysis to identify real-world problems and tasks to inform the design of objectives.

The objectives domain contains the learning and performance goals that are designed to guide the course. Objectives determine which resources will be delivered to influence learner behavior under specified conditions to meet defined criteria. Opportunities for learners to accomplish the objectives are created through activities that are as closely aligned with real-world problems and tasks as the available resources will allow.

Activities are the actual events that learners engage in to acquire and develop new knowledge and skills. At a minimum, these events involve an agent (most often the learner, but at times the facilitator) following an objective to engage with a resource. Activities are primarily delivered by a LMS and are facilitated and assessed by the SME/F."

Reference:

Joeckel III, G.L.; Jeon, T.; Gardner, J. (2009). Instructional Challenges in Higher Education Online Courses Delivered Through A Learning Management System By Subject Matter Experts. In H. Song (Ed.), Distance Learning Technology, Current Instruction, and the Future of Education: Applications of Today, Practices of Tomorrow, Idea Group Publishing, New York. Chapter accepted for publication.

Hello World

If you are interested in context-specific instructional design for online courses in higher education, check out my presentation from TTIX 09:

Context-specific Instructional Design in Higher Education - Part 1

Context-specific Instructional Design in Higher Education - Part 2