CECS 6020: Week 1

My previous experience with Instructional Design is somewhat unusual. As a learner, I took an instructional systems design course for my masters. We strictly followed the Dick & Carey model. As this was my first experience in the area, I didnt realize the constructiveness of this model. It makes sense, it most cases, and is fairly simple but if all instruction followed the same model (i.e. this one) education would be extremely boring. *UPDATE* I now believe the difference between basic and advanced instructional design is that basic follows a scripted model. Advanced ID is based on a learning theory, not a model.

Though I have been teaching high school for four years, including leading professional development, I have never considered myself an instructional designer. Though in preparation for my instruction, I am doing just that. I guess I never knew the act had a formal name. After exploring several of the learning theories (i.e. advanced instructional design), I was excited to discover that my instructional methods, based on what I considered common sense, where outlined in these learning theories. For example: I already used the concepts of situated learning and problem based learning in my classes. When I began teaching I had no formal training or experience in instruction. I based my instructional methodology on how I preferred to learn and what made sense to me. Apparently I knew more than I thought I did.