INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

For this project, I created a detailed description of strategies that employed each of the learning theories we explored during the course: Behaviorism, Social Cognitivism, Cognitive Learning Processes, Cognitive Information Processing, Constructivism, and Gagne’s Theory of Instruction. It is an appropriate artifact for this challenge because I clearly connect various instructional strategies with the desired learning outcomes throughout the document. 

Instructional designers must have learning goals at the forefront of their minds as they create learning experiences. An effective design process starts with a strong understanding of appropriate instructional strategies that will help achieve the desired results. During the EDCI 531 course Learning Theories and Instructional Design, we were required to participate in weekly discussions that helped chunk a larger project, which was to design a learning experience using each one of the learning theories we studied. For my project, I focused on how industries can incorporate workweek exercises into their employees’ work schedules. The curriculum’s overall objective was to weave two workouts into each workweek for eight weeks, a goal I identified in the introduction of my project. Throughout the rest of the learning theory documents, I revisit this learning outcome repeatedly. Furthermore, applying each learning theory enabled me to use numerous instructional strategies to meet this objective. For example, small fitness groups (Social Cognitivism) help motivate participants to work toward their individual goals and establish accountability collaboratively. On the other hand, the repetition and rehearsal of yoga flow sequences help encode information into the participants’ long-term memory so that they can easily recall these sequences when practicing independently (Cognitive Information Processing). While designing the learning experiences and the strategies that would work best, I always returned to the question of how this would benefit the learning outcome, establishing the habit of exercise. 

Exercise is critical to my mental health, especially when I encounter work stress. I was inspired to create a curriculum to address the challenges many professionals experience as they try to care for themselves mentally and physically. I conducted extensive research to ensure that my content was credible and based on scientific data. This was the first time I created a learning experience in a context outside the classroom. As a teacher, I have over a decade of experience designing curricula that utilizes the most effective strategies to meet learning goals. Admittedly, however, there were lessons that I had to assemble last minute, and I did not necessarily focus on a deliberate design that was grounded in the best pedagogical practices to meet the objectives. A job aid to support planning quick lessons would have been helpful during these crunch times. This is a tool I would like to create as I venture into the world of learning design and technology so that I do not run into the same issue as an instructional designer. 

This was the first project I completed for the LDT program, and I am still proud of the thought and care I invested in creating a curriculum that I believe will help professionals. This competency will also be a significant component in my EDCI 572 module design as I select the most appropriate strategies to meet my instructional goal. Likewise, knowing that design is iterative and should be revised as needed, I would like to go back to previous work to improve the instructional strategies and ensure that they are the best applications for the desired outcomes. After revisions, I would also like to develop these learning experiences into actual deliverables for my portfolio.