Welcome to AET520 Instructional Strategies in Adult Education and Training
This course builds upon the foundation provided in the instructional design course and focuses on development and implementation of instruction that facilitates adult learning. Learners examine and apply models, strategies, and methods for planning and for implementing instruction. Instructional approaches, engagement strategies, and management of the instructional environment are explored.
Course Title: / Instructional Strategies in Adult Education and TrainingCourse Schedule: / 3/18-4/28/08
The Online Weekly Schedule begins on Tuesday and ends on Monday
Course ID: / OLS Forum - MAEDAET.03-18.MAET0725-AET520
Required Text(s): / Lang, H. R. & Evans, D. N. (2006). Models, strategies, and methods for effective teachings, Pearson Education
Vella, J. (2001). Taking learning to task: Creative strategies for teaching adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Electronic Resources: / Course Website -
UOP eResource
Instructor's Name: / Eli Collins-Brown, EdD
Telephone: / 309-691-9488
UOP Email: /
Alternative Email Address: /
Availability: / I am very hard to get in touch with by phone so your best bet is to send me an email. I check my gmail email throughout the day, so if it's an EMERGENCY, please send your email to this address. Throughout the duration of this course, I check my UOP email at least once a day (except the days I don't sign in). I typically respond immediately to any emails, but reply within 24 - 48 hours. I usually take Friday and Sunday off from class, but will post a note if I'm taking a different day off during a particular week. I don't check email on my days off.
Please post any questions about course content in the OLS forum under the Questions thread. This allows everyone to benefit from the answers and to help out. If you email me with content questions, I will request that you post your question in the Questions thread in the OLS forum.
Email me with questions or concerns of personal nature.
OVERVIEW
Course Description: / This course builds upon the foundation provided in the instructional design course and focuses on development and implementation of instruction that facilitates adult learning. Learners examine and apply models, strategies, and methods for planning and for implementing instruction. Instructional approaches, engagement strategies, and management of the instructional environment are explored.
Topics: / Effective Communication and Instruction Techniques
- Describe effective communication for facilitators
- Analyze the relationship between interpersonal skills and instruction
- Examine information components of an instructional module/training plan
Instructional Planning
- Explain components in the development of an instructional module/training plan
- Analyze components in the implementation of an instructional module/training plan
- Examine planning and instructional variables
Engagement of Adult Learners
- Analyze methods of engaging the adult learner
- Describe the essential components of collaborative learning
- Describe compelling questioning techniques
Instructional Approaches
- Examine the roles of the facilitator and the learner in various instructional approaches
- Examine teaching/training concepts
- Explain the rational for selected instructional approaches
- Create an audience-appropriate instructional module /training plan
Critical Thinking and Problem-Based Leaning for Adults
- Examine problem-based learning
- Employ components of critical thinking to improve cognitive skills
Management of the Instructional Environment
- Identify element of effective course syllabi/instructional agendas
- Analyze proactive management strategies
- Describe appropriate responses to challenging participant behavior
WEIGHTING OF ASSIGNMENTS
Assignment / Due / Points
Individual (70%)
Effective Instructor Reflection / Week 1 / 80
Instructional Module/Training Plan Part 1: Vital Information / Week 2 / 100
Instructional Module/Training Plan Parts: 1 & 2 / Week 3 / 150
Instructional Module/Training Plan Parts: 1,2,& 3
(must be posted in the e-portfolio) / Week 5 / 150
Instructional Module/Training Plan Snapshot / Week 6 / 100
Participation / All Weeks / 120
Total Individual / 700
Learning Team (30%)
Favorite Ice Breaker Document / Week 2 / 50
Best Practices Presentation / Week 4 / 150
Course Syllabus and Instructional Agenda / Week 6 / 100
Total Learning Team / 300
Total Course / 1000
How Point and Percentages Equate to Grade
95+ / A / 74-76 / C90-94 / A- / 70-73 / C-
87-89 / B+ / 67-69 / D+
84-86 / B / 64-66 / D
81-83 / B- / 60-63 / D-
77-79 / C+ / -59 / F
Course Changes Assignments in this document take priority. While the reading assignments and learning objectives remain the same, some of the assignments in this syllabus have been customized for this particular course. Policies and Procedures Attendance and Participation
Attendance
Please see the first post in the Main Forum for the attendance requirement for this course.
Forums
Main: This is the main forum for the class and is where discussion is
conducted. It has read-and-write access for everyone.
Chat-Room: This is a read-and-write access forum. It is designed as a
place to discuss issues not related to the course content. This is the
forum to which we will send our bios.
Course-Materials: This is a read-only forum, which means you can read
messages here but cannot send any. This is where I will post the course
syllabus and materials.
Learning-Team-A, B, C, D and E: These five Learning Team forums will be
used as workrooms for the learning teams. You will be assigned to one of
these learning teams.
Individual Forum: You will see one forum with your name on it. This is a
private forum, shared only by you and me, the facilitator. Your
classmates won't have access to this forum. This is where you will post
some of your individual assignments, and where I will post your
feedback. You can also ask questions here. However, if you have general
questions about instructions of assignments, please post those in the
Main forum, since other students may benefit by that exchange as well.
Participation
Participation is very important online. You will be expected to participate 4 days a week in several different discussions and to contribute at least two substantive discussion messages on each of those 4 days. This is a required part of your grade. Participation consists of notes you send above and beyond graded assignments. This generally means the messages you send as replies to messages from your classmates and me.
Please note that both quantity and quality are important considerations when it comes to participation. For example, a message which says simply, "I agree," does not constitute participation, because it does not add anything of substance to the discussion.
In order to earn full participation points, you must add something of substance to the discussion 4 out of 7 days per week—this would consist of new ideas, your perspectives, pointed follow-up questions, etc. You will find it is much easier to keep up with an Online class when you are logging in and participating regularly.
Discussion question responses will count towards the class participation requirement.
Weekly Summaries
Weekly summaries will not be required in this course although I do ask you to complete a Week-end check-in at the end of weeks 2, 4 & 6.
Final Week Requirements
Discussion question responses will not be required during the final week of the course. The final week will be dedicated to completing the final assignments listed below.
Learning Team Discussion Questions
Postings to the Learning Team and Chat Room forumss will not count as participation. Participation will be counted in the Main forum only.
Expectations for Discussion Question Responses
Discussion question responses should be as long as they need to be to be substantive. For discussion question responses in the Main forum, please post responses to the threads provided. Please do not start a new thread for the weekly discussion questions in the Main forum, rather click on the Reply button.
Unlike your formal written assignments, I do not require that your discussion question responses adhere to specific formatting requirements. However, please make sure to proofread carefully. Grammar and spelling errors may impact the grading.
I expect your discussion question responses to reflect critical thought. Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience and cite any resources you have used, such as website URLs.
Learning Teams
University of Phoenix students are expected to work effectively in diverse groups and teams to achieve tasks. They must collaborate and function well in team settings as both leaders and followers. They should respect human diversity and behave in a tolerant manner toward colleagues and peers.
Several of the assignments in this class will be completed in Learning Teams of three to five students. I will set up these teams midway through Week 1. If you have any requests for teammates, please let me know by Thursday of the first week via private email.
If you experience difficulties working with your team, you are expected to resolve them within the team if possible. However, please feel free to contact me for guidance if you have concerns in this area.
In order to create structure for your Learning Team, you will complete a Learning Team Charter during Week 1. The form for this charter is provided in a separate message in the Course Materials forum and on the Learning Team page of the website. We are going to be using a Wiki to collaborate on the Learning Team Charter. A wiki is a place on the Web where teams can collaboratively create and edit the same document. We will be using PBwiki and I will be posting the link to the wiki and the password. It's easy to use and will expose you to some of the newest Web 2.0 applications that are becoming popular.
At the end of week 4 and 6, you will be asked to complete a Peer Evaluation to assess the contributions of each member of your Learning Team (including yourself). I will take these Peer Evaluations into account when assessing individual contributions to the Learning Team projects. The Peer Evaluation form and instructions for posting are included in a separate message in the Course Materials forum and on the Learning Team page in the website.
Because Learning Team projects are outcome-based, all members of your Learning Team will generally earn the same grade for Learning Team projects. However, I reserve the right to report different grades for different Learning Team members if I see a substantial imbalance in individual contribution.
Learning Teams should provide a brief summary of any communication held outside the forum. Therefore, if you hold conference calls, work in a real-time chat room, or get together outside the OLS (Online Learning System) environment in another way, please post a log, transcript, or summary in the Learning Team forum. Further, do not use any of these supplementary communication tools unless everyone on your Learning Team agrees to the method and to the schedule. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Late Assignments
Late assignments will be penalized with a 10% grade deduction for each day late, unless you have made prior arrangements with me. Deadlines will be defined as 11:59 p.m. MST. If you know you will be offline the day an assignment is due, please make sure to post it early. Anytime you feel that you might be falling behind in the course, it is best to contact me to discuss your situation. As noted in the first message posted in the Main forum, no assignments can be accepted after the final day of class.
If you have an assignment completed by the deadline but are unable to post it in the forum for technical reasons, you can send it to me by email to demonstrate that it was completed on time. However, you must post the assignment in the forum once that becomes available.
Feedback Each week, I will provide grades or scores and comments on assignments within 7 days of when they were submitted. I will post feedback to your individual forum in the OLS. After I send feedback each week, I will post a notification in the Main forum. Incompletes There is no provision for incompletes in this course. All work must be completed and submitted by the posted due dates and the final day of the course. Academic Honesty Academic honesty is highly valued at the University of Phoenix. you must always submit work that represent you original words of ideas. If any words or idea used in a class posting or assignment submission do not represent your original words or idea, you must cit all relevant sources and make clear the extent to which such sources were used. Words or idea that require citation include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications, whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the content of such communication clearly originates from an individual source. Please see the University of Phoenix Catalog for more information about academic honesty, including consequences of academic dishonesty. Privacy and Confidentiality in the Online Classroom One of the highlights of the University of Phoenix academic experience is that students can draw on the wealth of examples for their organization in class discussion and in their written work. However, it is imperative that students not share information that is confidential, privileged, or proprietary in nature. Student must be mindful of any contracts they have agreed to with their companies.
AssignmentsIndividual
Instructional Module/Training Plan Project
Throughout this course you will design a one to two hour lesson for an adult audience using the UOP material "Instructional Module/Training Plan template", found in the course in the eCampus. The Instructional Module/Training Plan will be submitted in three parts, each part building upon the previous section:
Week 1 - Read through the Instructional Module/Training Plan template in the course module
Week 2 - Part 1: Vital Information
Week 3 - Parts 1 & 2:
Week 5 - Parts 1, 2, & 3 Submitted in the TaskStream portfolio site.
Week 6 - Shapshot
View the video overview of the project. Must have the most current Flash player to view it.
Week 1 / Effective Instructor Reflection
Prepare and submit a 350 - 700 word paper about an effective instructor you have had during a previous educational/training experience:
- explain the educational/training setting
- describe two professional behaviors or characteristics that the teacher/facilitator exhibited
- describe two personal behaviors or characteristics that the teacher/facilitator exhibited
- summarize why you think that the teacher/facilitator was effective
Check the calendar for due dates / Week 1 - post in Individual Forum and in TaskStream
Week 2 / Instructional Module/Training Plan - Part 1
Complete the Instructional Module/Training Plan template (found on the eResource classroom). / Week 2 - post in individual forum and in TaskStream
Week 3 / Instructional Module/Training Plan - Part 1 & 2
Include the folling components:
- Attention Getter
- Describe the attention getter activity in detail
- include any necessary handouts or materials
- Detailed Input of Content
- Create a sentence outline detailing the content of the lesson
- Focus on what the learners need to know (NOTE: Part 3 will focus on how to present the information)
Week 5 / Instructional Module/Training Plan - Parts 1, 2, & 3 / Week 5 - post in TaskStream only
Week 6 / Instructional Module/Training Plan Snapshot / Week 6 -
Learning Team
Week 1 / Teams will be assigned no later than Friday of Week 1.
Teams should read through the Learning Team information and complete the Learning Team Charter on PBWiki (see Learning Teams for the URL to the wiki).
Post a note in the team thread when the Learning Team Charter is completed on the wiki.
Check the calendar for due dates
Week 2 / Favorite Ice Breakers
Locate 3 websites which include ice breaker activities for adult learners. Select two ice breaker activities per learning team member. Compile the ice breaker activities into one document with a cover page.
Post to the Main forum at an attachment, but in the text box give an explanation of one activity the team found to be interesting and/or engaging. / Post in Main Forum under appropriate thread
Week 4 / Best Practices Presentation
Research best practices for adult instruction/training (e.g. engagement/discussion techniques, utilization of technology, etc.). Instructional best practices "are general principles, guidelines and suggestions for good and effective teaching that are supported by research" (Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, University of Texas at Austin, 2006). Each individual team member should present 5 best practice suggestions with the team.
As a team, select the top five best practice suggestions. Create an 8 - 13 slide PowerPoint presentation consisting of five best practice suggestions for adult instruction/training. The presentation slides should include the following:
- Introduction
- One to two slide per best practice suggestion including description, its rationale, and application
- Conclusion
- References on the final slide (APA format)
Week 6 / Course Syllabus and Instructional Agenda
Research elements of effective course syllabi and instructional agendas. Share your AET515 Instructional Design Plan with the learning team (or digitized version of a post secondary instructional plan or training plan).
As a team, select two team members' instructional plans to use for the creation of one course syllabus and one instructional agenda. Be sure to include the important elements of an effective course syllabus and an instructional agenda as found in the team's research. Include an outline of the Instructional Plan from AET515 with the corresponding course syllabus and instructional agenda
NOTE: Student may want to consider posting this assignment to their personal Presentation Portfolio in TaskStream. This is not required.
Learning Team Evaluation
Each team member will complete the Learning Team evaluation and post it to their own individual forums. / Post in Main Forum under appropriate thread
Calendar