INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN DOCUMENT (IDD)

Course Title: "Skills in Teaching with Active Learning for Community College Educators"

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Active learning promotes the implementation of various teaching and learning methods and activities to put “the learners in a position to think about and apply what they are learning in a real-world meaningful context” (Poole. 2021, p. 69). This course will engage community college educators in experiencing, examining the benefits of, and delivering active learning strategies. Participants will explore the benefits and challenges of a number of effective strategies. Learners working with each other require more cognitive and sensory network involvement than passively learning from a teacher (Hoogendoorn, 2015). The course will be delivered remotely (2 weeks) with a combination of asynchronous learning and two synchronous workshops held through Zoom. Course material will be laid out in a suggested order with learning materials recommended for the learner to access at the LMS before attending the two Zoom sessions. The course will be made up of synchronous Zoom workshops, video resources, online articles, quizzes, writing activities, interactive activities, and the creation of a learner's own roadmap towards applying active learning techniques to improve their teaching skills which they will submit as a final project presentation as a video, audio, or written format.

TYPE OF COURSE

This is an introductory course into active learning. It will give an overview of the theories and concepts, and later tie them with real-life applications that learners can relate to and then transfer to their own classrooms. In this course, post-secondary educators will learn how to effectively plan and execute active learning activities in an inclusive classroom environment at community colleges.

This course will guide the teacher through the processes of designing and executing various active learning techniques depending on their class size, course subject, and delivery mode.

TARGET AUDIENCE AND LEARNER PROFILE

This course is designed for professional educators teaching at the post-secondary level in community colleges, who are specifically involved in the creation and delivery of their courses (in-person and online) in classrooms. The target audience of this course can be from all disciplines and any age group in the context of post-secondary teaching. After seeing how it relates in the classroom, they can then be able to apply the concepts in their own courses.

The learners will be adult life-long learners who are open to exploring new concepts and seek to apply them in their teaching to improve their teaching skills. They seek to turn ideas learned in this course into tangible actions in the classroom.

LEARNING GAP

Active learning is a concept that is emerging in post-secondary teaching. The complex active learning techniques concepts have to be simplified to a form that is more understandable and applicable at a personal level.

I plan to improvise the learner’s skills in teaching by discussing a mix of different active learning techniques depending on the size of the group (large, small, or individual), the availability of the students, and the learning outcomes of the course. I plan to demonstrate co-structuring of the concepts, using interactive video resources, class discussions listening to students' relatable experiences, group discussions, short presentations in pairs, Menti/Kahoot quizzes & polls, trivia quizzes on contemporary topics, role-playing, or other active learning activities.

TERMINAL LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Successful completion of this course will enable the learner to explore active learning strategies while addressing the benefits and challenges of using them in diverse community college classrooms.

COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Describe teaching frameworks that support active learning.
Relate the value of active student engagement to an outcomes-based college education.
Discuss practical active learning strategies which could be used effectively in a diverse classroom.
Examine the challenges and benefits of active learning strategies to be able to use them effectively.
Choose effective active learning strategies appropriate for the group of students and the subject matter.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Resources and links to readings and videos will be provided by the instructor and will be found in the LMS platform, no textbook purchase is necessary.
Read the readings and watch the video contents giving an intro and summary of active learning techniques that they will then be able to define and explain.
Do a classification exercise to choose between active learning strategies appropriate for the size of the student group and the subject matter.
Brainstorm real-life classroom scenarios that use active learning then share with their peers who can either critique or support their example.
Give a short presentation/plan (video, audio, or written format of length not more than 5 minutes or 1 page standard long) on how they would identify effective strategies for active learning with a diverse student population in their community college classroom.

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Course LO 1 (Formative Assessment):

Write/describe teaching frameworks that support active learning in your own words.

Course LO 2 (Formative Assessment):

Write/describe the value of active student engagement in an outcomes-based college education.

Course LO 3 (Summative Assessment):

Find real-life examples of active learning strategies and practices which could be used effectively in a diverse classroom. Assessment is based on strength of example and argument/reasoning using active learning strategies. Use the rubric for evaluation.

Course LO 4 (Formative Assessment):

Examine/discuss the challenges and benefits of active learning strategies in a classroom.

Course LO 5 (Authentic Assessment):

Use a rubric to assess their final presentation project (video, audio, or written format) where they create a plan for using active learning strategies for a group of students.

COURSE SEQUENCING

1. How is active learning supported by the teaching framework?
2. What are the values of active student engagement in an outcomes-based college education?
3. What are some of the real-life active learning strategies/scenarios that can be used in a diverse college classroom?
4. What are the challenges and benefits of active learning strategies and how can you apply them to your classroom thereafter?
5. Conclusion/Summary. Where to find more in-depth knowledge of active learning techniques in teaching?

LEARNING MODEL

The rapid/agile eLearning model will be used as the Instructional Designer is autonomous and a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

Also, the course duration is 2 weeks and this will be a way to maximize time and resources. The course will be delivered remotely with a combination of asynchronous learning through LMS and two synchronous weekly workshops (each for 2 hours) held through Zoom.

LEARNING THEORY

Andragogy will be used as the course is adult-centered and the learners draw from previous experiences, are motivated, and are ready to learn relevant content as well as problem-solving.

Cognitivism is also important to enhance their learning capacity and work with how they think by using various techniques to reinforce their learning. Learning is also not in isolation and is an interpersonal activity.

Brame (2016) makes a crucial connection between activities and students’ learning:

“The activities that students do to construct knowledge and understanding vary, but require students to do higher-order thinking. Although not always explicitly noted, metacognition—students’ thinking about their own learning—is an important element, providing the link between activity and learning.”

COURSE STANDARDS

● Recommended Devices: For the best experience, learners are advised to use a laptop or desktop computer connected to an internet source with video chat and audio capabilities to engage in the online class more interactively in the synchronous parts (two weekly classes).

● Communication Protocol: Learners are expected to communicate with the instructor via email or Slack. If the questions or concerns are technical, they can email the technical help team (their email address will be provided in the course materials). To engage in discussions with peers about content material, there is a Discussion Forum in the LMS to use. Slack may also be used for general group information and announcements.

● Assignment Submissions: Assignments are to be submitted on time on the LMS. If there are issues, they can also be emailed to the instructor. If an assignment is late without a valid reason, 10% will be deducted from the Assignment grade automatically. Also, learners are expected to submit their own original work in the course.

● Course Grading: The passing grade for the course is obtaining an overall 75% score. The grading rubric and assignment weightage will be provided for the learner's convenience.

References

Brame, C. (2016). Active Learning. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/active-learning.

Hoogendoorn, C. (2015, October 15). The Neuroscience of Active Learning. Open Lab. https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/writingacrossthecurriculum/2015/10/15/the-neuroscience-of-active-learning/

Poole, K. 2021. A flipped classroom approach to teaching search techniques for systematic reviews to encourage active learning. Journal of Information Literacy, 15(1), pp. 68–83

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