Prepared for EDTEC 572, Technology for Course Delivery, Spring 2007. 
This artifact includes a Powerpoint brief, five-minute Quicktime movie, and theoretical lesson plan.
Understand many theories and models, choose from among them appropriately, and apply them effectively.
Faced with the challenge of teaching people something in only five minutes, I knew the subject had to maintain a tight scope. The constraints of the assignment dictated attacking only one terminal objective. Drawing on my own expertise, I chose to teach people how to identify any iceberg within five minutes.
In developing this lesson, there were many possible educational theories from which to draw. I considered approaching the lesson from a constructivist standpoint, because my adult learners would have to model their future interpretations based on new data received from outside the instructional context. Ultimately, I incorporated some constructivist elements in the final exercise, but chose to focus more on a behaviorist approach given the limited time.
The lesson follows Clark's model of programmed instruction, where the student receives an introduction, is told of the importance of the material, is taught the objectives, and is given an opportunity to practice what they've learned before the final assessment (Clark, 1999). I also used Bloom's taxonomy as a guide, engaging the learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains (Bloom, 2005). In the cognitive domain, the learner is presented with iceberg knowledge, comprehension is tested through application exercises, and they are finally given a chance to analyze various icebergs for identification. In the affective domain, the lesson is tied to a value the learners have while at sea, namely, the need to not encounter unidentified icebergs. To engage the psychomotor domain, the learners will pair photographs of actual icebergs with the identification taxonomy presented during the first part of the lesson. In this way the learner will model behaviors they’ll use at sea in the performance context (pointing, then identifying) while sorting iceberg types. The learning methods of Gagné were of lesser importance in designing this instruction, but several elements of the nine events of instruction are still present. The lesson gains the learners attention, and maintains it within a simulated environment while guiding learning, eliciting performance, and providing feedback.
To engage the learner in the shortest amount of time, it was necessary to concentrate on root-level aspects of adult instruction, best summarized by Keller’s ARCS model, which advocates gaining student attention, showing them relevance, building their confidence, and leaving them with the satisfaction of having learned something new and useful. First, I put the students at risk, modeling their presence aboard the Titanic (or a modern cruise ship) faced with an unidentified iceberg. That immediately got their attention! The scenario also showed them why knowing how to identify icebergs might be relevant to their real-world performance context. When presenting the terminal objective, students gained confidence in the knowledge that they were only learning two major types of icebergs, and five sub-types. At the end of the lesson, the students would be satisfied knowing they could successfully identify images of real iceberg types presented at random.
As strange as it sounds, there were very few photo examples of certain iceberg types to use during instruction. The problem stemmed from the need to find enough examples to use for practice items, and different but authentic examples for use in assessment items. The “wedge” type iceberg is very rare, and I could only locate two authentic images in my personal collection. The opposite problem held true for other iceberg sub-types: there were too many images available. As a seasoned ice observer, I knew that my short lesson required absolutely ideal examples, free of any possible ambiguity. Choosing from the many instances of the “pinnacle” type, for example, was challenging. In the future, I’ll concentrate on building adequate instruction, leaving placeholders where needed, and enlist the help of other subject matter experts to provide the best possible examples.
This work demonstrates my ability to take a complex topic, apply a variety of educational principles, and produce an engaging, accurate, and aesthetically appealing instructional product. I queried my learners after a month went by, and all of them were able to correctly identify a random image of an iceberg. My material was designed to maximize the transfer of iceberg taxonomy, despite the inability of my learners to practice. The work also shows my ability to reduce a complex topic into basic components, and sequence them for maximum learning transfer.
This was an exceptional learning opportunity for me. Large, involved classroom sessions are tedious for instructors to prepare, and of questionable value for the students. In contrast, short lessons can be directed at niche learning requirements with relatively minimal work. Shorter lessons are more likely to be accessible to the learners, and therefore more likely to be retained and transferred to the performance context. Short lessons are also more easily adapted to different mediums. I converted the original instructor-led powerpoint into a video podcast, and placed the slideshow on a web site with a text transcript of the instruction. When all was said and done, the lesson replaced a static Coast Guard web page with a buffet of interactive and transportable options.
Bloom, B. & Chapman, A. (2005). Bloom’s taxonomy: learning domains. Retrieved
April 9, 2007, from http://www.businessballs.com/bloomstaxonomyoflearningdomains.htmClark, Ruth C. (1999). Developing technical training (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: International Society for Performance Improvement.
Kruse, K. (2007). Gagne's nine events of instruction: An Introduction. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art3_3.htm
Kruse, K. (2007). The magic of learner motivation: the ARCS model. Retrieved April 9, 2007, from http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art3_5.htm
