Fourth Blog Reflection

My progress in learning the instructional design process appears to have leveled off. When I first began, and saw the model with all of the boxes, and words in contexts I was not accustomed to, I felt stressed and worried about how I would memorize it all. The choice of words seemed so foreign to me and the components made sense but seemed awkward to me. I felt as though I had a pretty good idea on how to instruct effectively. However, seeing all of the components of the model, and becoming intimate with each one through the assignments we have had, has helped me to take that simplistic view of instruction and more finely define those components, and follow a defined pattern for each instructional unit I will be involved in. I feel as though I have an even better idea of what makes instruction good, complete, and effective in a much more definitive way than I did before I began this class.
The factors influencing my learning progress include the routine of the class, which is basically repetitive. The work load is significant, more than I would have expected, and while I haven’t been able to devote as much time as I realize is necessary, or suggested to achieve complete success, I have been able to get most of it done in a timely manner. This helps me understand the material in the best way I can. I drill this to my children constantly, and while I feel good about practicing what I preach, I also have a new appreciation for what my older children are faced with in competition with their regular lives. Being out of an academic setting for 24 years and beginning with a class that includes learning theories has helped me to see how things have changed for the better with regard to learning, and while these changes are annoying and sometimes stressful, I do believe that they increase my ability to absorb and maintain new information.
My understanding of the learning theories has gone from not even knowing what learning theories were to knowing in significant detail what each represents. For me, in acting as an instructor, the most satisfying part is being able to observe learners gain new knowledge and skills and feel satisfied with what they have acquired. Using the ideas in the learning theories greatly enhances that possibility. The relationship of these theories and the instructional design process includes my realization of how much this information helps with the design of both the instructional material and the instructional strategy. It helps me understand that if I am to be an instructor, I need to push as much responsibility to the learner as is possible, which requires greater preparation as an instructor/designer, but yields greater results and satisfaction for the learners. I guess at this late stage of the game, class is almost finished, the main suggestion for improvement is to emphasize to the students from the very beginning that this is a graduate level class, and a very demanding one at that, but one which if all of the work is done, can lead to satisfaction of a big job completed, and that a significant amount of learning will occur, and that the foundation of the students understanding the degree they will be obtaining rests completely in this class. I wish there were not so much work involved, or that there was more time to get this all done, but I know it is beneficial in the long run.