comprehensive reflection

Life is Good, and I do Believe it's Getting Better

In 2005, while stationed as a Marine Safety Officer at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, I was introduced to two performance improvement related concepts that would alter my career. First, I learned about the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) system of quality control, which I applied to our unit’s quality management program. The second concept surrounded linking motivation to instruction, which I learned at the annual Coast Guard Human Performance Technology (HPT) seminar.

Applying the PDCA to unit processes for improvement strategies taught me the value of performance support by defining improvement strategies as outcomes in business terms, including customer service and financial savings. I used the PDCA in a similar fashion as the ADDIE Model. PDCA took the guessing out of how to improve a key mission or support process by using a systematic approach that began with planning and ended with implementation. Then, when I attended the HPT seminar and observed Dr. Keller’s presentation on motivation in learning, I was introduced in broader range of Educational Technology (EDTEC) and my interest in EDTEC was sparked! Returning from the seminar, I happened to read First Things Fast (1999) by Dr. Rossett. After completing the book, I didn't completely understand it, but knew I wanted to pursue graduate studies in EDTEC. Fast forward two years, and here I am on the verge of graduating with a Masters Degree in EDTEC from San Diego State University.

It is easy for me even after a year in the program to realize I still don’t know as well as I should many of the theories, principles, or models. However, as I wrote my comprehensive reflection, I recognize it is not what I don't know that matters as much as what I do know. Ideas such as Kirkpatrick’s Levels of Evaluation, the ADDIE model, informal learning, performance drivers and barriers, Clark’s Performance/Content Matrix, and Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction are all integral parts of my EDTEC experience. The year has gone by fast with numerous highlights from the projects I completed, the teams I worked with, and the faculty and fellow students I have been surrounded by.

I look forward to the challenge of applying my skills and knowledge in real applications. I am fortunate for my Coast Guard career and the opportunity of earning an advanced degree in EDTEC. I echo the sentiments of George Dawson, the son of an African American slave who endured many hardships yet learned to read at the age of 98 and despite it all felt inclined to emphasize that life is good and it continues to get better by the day (Dawson & Glaubman, 2000). Although my hardships pale mightily in comparison, I agree with Mr. Dawson that life is good and it does get better by the day.

IMPORTANT IDEAS THAT I LOVE

Of the wide range of skills and knowledge I have acquired under the umbrella of Instructional Systems Design (ISD) and HPT, two broad ideas have emerged that I have naturally gravitated towards as I reflect on how I will impact Coast Guard training. The ideas include:

Designing value enhancing learning experiences
Defining learning/performance outcomes by results or business terms.

Together, these ideas illuminate the functional convergence of ISD and HPT related to my Coast Guard EDTEC career goals. They are best illustrated by EDTEC ideas that I love, including: Functional Context Education (FCE), CLAM high value learning strategies, R. C. Clark and R. E. Mayer’s Personalization Principle, the ICARE model, and Blended Learning.

IDEAS SHINE THROUGH

Functional Context Education (FCE)

I view Functional Context Education (FCE) as more than just a literacy improvement program with roots in World War II training of marginally literate recruits (Sticht, 2002). Rather, the FCE is a motivational approach to education and a tool to support training automaticity. Training in the military is challenging. The military is one of a few employments that you can’t really put a sign out for “Need: One Explosive Handling Inspector, please send resume.” Training often begins at the bottom with little skills or experience; some learners may like their field of study, where others are directed to it. The strength of FCE is the application of learning in context to support motivation and training, as well as increase skills such as literacy. Learners don’t want to learn how to drive a rescue boat from a de-contextualized lecture relating boat rescues to mountain rescues, rather they want to learn in the real context learning environment. The FCE is about making training learner focused, relevant, authentic, and need to know information.

Learning can be viewed in two schools of thought, Behavioral Psychology and Cognitive Psychology. FCE shows applicability to both domains. For example, I can design a FCE programmed learning tutorial that is Behaviorist skill and drill in testing, but also incorporates Cognitivist based challenges where the learner seeks out information used in constructing a meaningful interpretation or problem solving. An FCE focus in learning endeavors ensures that the learner will understand the training relevance and increase motivation to complete and master the training.

Context based learning is also important to transferring new information to long term memory and developing automaticity. FCE worked problems, case studies, scaffolding, and complex problems with defined job related goals all help the adult learner construct meaning and think like an expert. I can remember a past oil spill clean-up course I attended that discussed oil absorption and adsorption. In the classroom I couldn't’t understand the theories. When we went into the field in the afternoon, and I could practice with oil collecting material, I worked in a functional context on how the two theories differed in oil collection properties. I saw and learned by applying both concepts within a working context that illustrated their differences. I believe one of the reasons the EDTEC program is so successful is the fact that projects, such as the ED 795A seminar client/consultant project, are treated in the context of real work deliverables rather than theory based assignments only.

CLAM System and the Personalization Principle

Contextual learning is related to the overall look and feel of the classroom or e-learning instruction. The learning environment, whether a web site or course should be authentic, relevant, and motivational in order to keep learners attention and interest. In Dr. Rossett's EDTEC 685 on Performance Technology, we discussed two motivation based theories: The CLAM System of High Value Learning strategies (2006), and Clark and Mayer's Personalization Principle from their book, E-learning and the Science of Instruction Handbook (2003). Both concepts focus on learner centered and value enhancing instruction principles.

CLAM stands for contextually authentic, learner focused, attention riveting and message extending learning experiences that mirror real world performance. The system is similar to Dr. Keller's ARCS model on Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction linked to instruction. Getting "CLAM-IER" as Dr. Rossett stated in class has a real tie into e-learning web sites and other training applications. One example of a CLAM based web site is the Plymouth Plantation Thanksgiving interactive site (http://www.plimoth.org/OLC/index_js2.html) that takes a typically boring history lesson into a fantastic inquisitive educational adventure led by authentic pedagogical agent kids. It has the authenticity and attention to support increased learning. Thinking CLAM-IER has helped me with the overall look and feel of several of my EDTEC projects, including my Container Inspection tutorial for EDTEC 671 where I focused on authentic learner centered frame based instruction. In the tutorial, I used Captivate’s branching scenario, real photos to provide challenging choices to simulate a real world inspections to support the learner to apply their knowledge in case based FCE instruction. The tutorial is about to be adopted as a training tool for the entire Coast Guard.

Along with CLAM is Clark & Mayer's (2003) Personalization Principle that focuses on conversational style to assist learning. Conversational style is important to adult learners who need to feel confident in their learning environment and feel comfortable engaging with the computer as a social conversational partner. It is easy to write instruction from a SME, technical, or convoluted English background and lose the learners interest or confidence. It can be as worse as placing manuals straight on to the web. The Personalization Principle also refers to use of pedagogical agents as on-screen coaches. The Plymouth Plantation example above uses two children as on-screen pedagogical agents. Agents could be CLAM based authentic people like you or I, or even animated characters. For Dr. Marshall's EDTEC 684 Project Management class, our team designed “Oliver the Owl” as a pedagogical agent to help learners navigate a ficticious Department of Homeland Security educational web site for developing watchful, informed, secure and educated Americans.

ICARE System

Last summer I took my first online courses in EDTEC 540 and 541. Before learning about Gagne and M. David Merrill or other instructional frameworks, I was immediately impressed by the systematic and structured style of ICARE that supports reflection, application, and clear modular outcomes. It is not the content that is often the problem in e-learning instruction, but rather it is the choice of framework delivery, as Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Ritchie pointed out in their 1998 Teaching and Learning Online article on ICARE.

ICARE is a five part system (Introduction, Connect, Apply, Reflect, Extend) that can incorporate aspects from many taxonomies, including Robert Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, M. David Merrill’s Component Display Theory (CDT), and Benjamin S. Bloom’s Taxonomy for Higher Order Learning. For example, in the Introduction section for ICARE, Gagne’s gain attention event is incorporated. The introduction also informs learners of the objectives and stimulates recall of prior learning. In the Connect section, new information is presented and contextual relationships are established. The Apply section is the practice section. In the Reflect section, focus is provided on relationships and Cognitive thought supporting Bloom’s Taxonomy of Higher Order Learning, such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Finally, the Extend section builds on the Reflect section proving further exploration opportunities, resources, as well as closure to the module.

The ICARE model/system provides a consistent framework that instructs and incorporates reflection and cognitive extensions helpful for both the instructor and the student. It can even be applied to instructional classroom lessons, as EDTEC and fellow Coast Guard student Ed Beale and I did with our major lesson plan for a Train-the-Trainer instruction. We used ICARE as a vertical lesson framework and as a modified horizontal framework for content, references and key lesson points. The clear and consistent model supports adult learning confidence by knowing what comes next. It also provides a creative approach to instruction that captures what Clark (1999) argues as the four major sections of technical training: Introduction, supporting information, the key lesson task, and a summary. The emphasis in ICARE remains skill acquisition.

Blended Learning

I look at great training as a process than just a solitary event with an emphasis on outcomes. As a process, training should use all available levers to assist with learning transfer. Blended learning is that type of a process that integrates a variety of instructional sources and styles. It could be as simple as integrating a self-assessment assignment prior to classroom training or a series of training follow-up emails to support learning transfer. Blends include formal and informal learning or classroom and online instruction. For my ED 795A project for SPAWAR Systems San Diego, my analysis for re-engineering and enhancing a Train-the-Trainer course included blended learning pre-class online self-assessment, follow-up e-coaching, and online modules to support the instructor led training and reinforce learning transfer and the shift from training to performance.

The focus of any of the many types of blends possible remains the same: outcome based learning tied to performance. Two of the more structured methods discussed by Dr. Rossett and Rebecca Frazee in their 2006 American Management Association (AMA) white paper on Blended Learning opportunities include Anchor Blends and Bookend Blends. The Anchor Blend starts with a main classroom event followed by a variety of independent experiences, such as online sources. In the Bookend Blend the learning experience is now three-part. There is an pre-event, like a self-assessment or brief assignment, a core learning experience in the middle (either classroom or online), followed by practice or learning extension opportunities. The power of blended learning is the combination of seemingly opposite approaches, such as formal and informal learning or classroom and online learning, to achieve enhanced training results. The importance of blending is using the best available tools to get the desired learning outcomes. As outlined in the Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning (2006), research supports that what happens before and after formal training is important if not more important than the training event itself. The use of communities, e-coaching, formal and informal training, and pre/post assignments are all part of the blended learning approach.

WHY DO I LOVE THEE?

My love for my ideas is based on functionality. I am attracted to common sense real world theories. For example, Thomas Sticht (2002) explained the real value of learning in technical training is contextualizing content and instruction to areas that the learner will be functioning in for work. Motivation (and literacy) is supported if the learner can relate to and see the context they will be performing in. I saw a non-example of this in the Coast Guard first hand with training regulation enforcement that was done in difficult to understand and de-contexualized verbiage. I am attracted to training programs that emphasize functional context-based learning. I do recognize the value of de-contextualized learning for some advanced training, but not for majority. I believe in the common functionality of the FCE because it is to the point and easily make sense to the learner. For similar reasons, I am also attracted to Merrill’s Pebble in the Pond (2002) ISD point of view where he states that certain objectives at the beginning of formulating instruction are often still abstract in the linear ADDIE model fashion, and rather, focus should be applied on the content first, as well as the functional context and the problem at the core. Then, you can progress from there with authentic, context based education.

Literacy development is important, as Sticht’s Functional Literacy (FLIT) program has shown. However, I argue that motivation is even more important. Learners do need to know how to read regulations or manuals, but if they are not motivated to learn, then literacy is less of the issue. Functionality for the everyday worker is at the core of my love for EDTEC principles. Taking it one step further, FCE should also then help the learner go beyond remembering and applying, but also developing in the work context the ability to analyze, synthesize and evaluate as Bloom's Taxonomy describes. Because the Coast Guard relies on rapid training of new people and constant turnover, my passion is to help people become motivated to learn effectively, efficiently, and develop automaticity.

Dr. Rossett has reiterated numerous times in lecture and in Beyond the Podium (2001, with Kendra Sheldon) the ability to boost learning and performance by designing authentic and real-world environments that challenge learners to apply their knowledge. In today’s multi-media based world, the look and feel of a training web site or program will directly reflect the interest and learning transfer. E-learning is more than content put online. It is about connections, touching the mind, soul and as Dr. Rossett mentions, “the belly.” This also applies to informal learning environments. For example, in a 1995 article on motivation in museums, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Kim Hermanson argue that when complex information is presented in a way that is enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding, the learner will be motivated to pursue further learning.

Using conversational tone in training is a huge and effective instructional principle to enhance learning transfer and motivation (Clark & Mayer, 2003). I love the idea of using 1st and 2nd person language like “you” and “I” to increase the connection between the material and the adult learner. In 2005, the entire Coast Guard was required to take a FEMA emergency management e-learning tutorial. The content was good, but feedback included comments on the disconnect between the material and our context, such that the overall feeling was how does hurricane or tornado issues apply to me in California? With a little bit of effort, the training could have been more personalized using a conversational tone and personalization which would result in better comprehension and support.

Technically sound instructional framework has to be the building block for any instruction. What I love about the ICARE system is the systematic and consistent way it supports challenging the learner by first gaining confidence and then supporting analysis and reflection. ICARE is compelling because it incorporates aspects from chunking content, gaining attention and stimulating prior learning, while supporting meta-cognitive thought and higher order thinking skills like apply and evaluate. I have seen a lot of instruction that is just content and does not support functional context or reflection. Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Ritchie argued in their paper on ICARE the fact that cognitive thought support and higher order thinking is often the least valued or included part in instruction. Reflection is important, as pointed out in the Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning (2006), because it supports recall, associations, and transfer. To forge connection links, participants must be given time to reflect on what they have learned. Consequently, the ICARE system is one method that goes beyond the behaviorist style skill and drill emphasis instruction. My love for ICARE is tempered by the reality that many instructional frameworks exist and although ICARE works in a variety of applications, the key is to use the best ISD tool for the job.

I am also attracted to extended learning environments where transfer of knowledge and focus on skill acquisition is at the core. The big umbrella of blended learning supports moving from training to performance based outcomes, yet blended learning is currently barely used in the Coast Guard. Training is often not a process, but rather a one time instruction that often ends at the door after class. Blended learning supports my passion for recording knowledge management for future applications. For example, use of online communities are one aspect of blended learning that is often under utilized from a knowledge management point of view. Capitalizing on the smarts of an entire community is a resource that can increase the effectiveness of instruction and knowledge management. The attraction of training based on blended learning methodology tied to a knowledge management system is both compelling and practical. In a survey of 300 training professionals in a joint study by ASTD and Balance Learning reported that more than two-thirds of respondents ranked blended learning as the most effective and cost-efficient form of training and felt that by 2006 blended learning will make up 30% of all corporate training budgets (Rossett & Frazee, 2006). In addition to the role of communities and knowledge management, Marc Rosenberg (2002) pointed out that knowledge management systems should support fostering an environment of communities and opportunities for learning. Both blended learning and knowledge management systems share the link of performance based outcomes and training tied to business results.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changing, do you feel the change?

Although I still feel new to the EDTEC field, I recognize the necessary role of change to the technology delivery systems we currently use and even to evaluation of long-standing models, such as how we use ADDIE or Kirkpatrick's evaluation levels. Besides the ideas of designing value enhancing learning experiences and defining learning/performance outcomes by results or business terms, I believe emphasis in our field will continue to grow on use of constructivist problem solving techniques, such as game based learning, greater learner control, tailored sidekick planners and job aids.

I view my upcoming assignment as enacting change. The change I hope to incorporate is functional and contextual based, and tied to ideas such as implementing rapid instructional design techniques at field units or supporting use of blended learning. I am also a strong proponent of informal learning by communities, currently a barely used learning technique. The Coast Guard has numerous communities, but few are tied to knowledge management systems or training. In 2004, I was in a meeting for all California marine event coordinators. The meeting was the first of the kind. In the meeting, I was floored how different San Diego handled permits from Los Angeles or San Francisco. The need of an information knowledge management community still exists.

Change is often a result of necessity. The ADDIE model remains an important tool. However, it also has been subject to criticism. Articles by Diane Gayeski (1999), M. David Merrill (2002) and Sivasailam Thiagarajan (1999) argue that linear models for ISD no longer fit today’s learning and performance focused environments. Alternative models have been developed, all part of change and focus on performance. Faster training, learner focused and collaborative is ADDIE alternatives. I agree with M. David Merrill argument that it is a bad craftsman that blames his tools. A solution he countered with was a content centered problem based modification. In my position, I need to know "First Things Fast" how to support value enhancing change.

Evaluation is another recent leading topic under change. In the February 2007 ASTD Training and Development (T&D) Magazine, Dr. Rossett proposed the need to re-think evaluation in light of technology changes and blended learning. As a proponent of blended learning opportunities, the article made me reflect on how am I going to evaluate Level Two thru Four in informal learning settings, such as from communities? This challenge I recently encountered in my EDTEC 671 Learning Environment Design Course where I redesigned an existing museum exhibit to include evaluation and interactivity (90 Years of Curl: The History of Surfing in San Diego). My concern was how to evaluate learning in the informal setting. My solution was to incorporate an interactive learning kiosk, interestingly enough designed in the motivational shape of a "Tiki God" that can provide information and also collect evaluative data. Change is constant and such that assessment needs to change and adapt with “New World Measurements” as Dr. Rossett (2007) described in the T&D article.

In summary, rapid instructional design, context based instruction, blended learning, tailored planners and sidekicks are all part of what I feel is the knowledge management focus that supports extending the learning environment with an emphasis on value enhancing performance results. The element of change in the field of EDTEC is about more than just training topics, delivery, and technology. Rather, it is about linking instruction to business outcomes. The future trajectory of EDTEC I believe will continue to increase in emphasizing performance and training as linked areas. We are already seeing this with organizational learning communities, such as the Coast Guard online learning catalog where individual instruction tutorials are now available online 24/7. Finally, as Kevin Oakes (2006) added, when discussing the role of the emergence of talent management with training and knowledge management, it is about breaking down organizational silos and supporting the convergence of training and human resources in order to obtain, train, and retain knowledge workers. My love is about helping the worker to do their job to the safely and to the best of their ability.

Onward and Upward: A CLAMOROUS Life after SDSU

I look at my EDTEC role in the Coast Guard similar to my past role as a Marine Safety Inspector. I do not need to know the entire Code of Federal Regulations or every EDTEC article in the Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, but I do need to know where to look to find the need to know answers and then use them in value enhancing ways. Knowing ADDIE is important, but knowing how to implement rapid instructional design and analysis is even more important.

In the brief time I have attended San Diego State University, I feel like I have absorbed a lot of EDTEC information quickly without totally digesting it. I really can’t say how I’m going to use it all in my next assignment, or what I will turn to most, and which of it I’ll let go of. I am excited for my EDTEC 775 field experience this summer to practice what I have learned, and then to take it even further at my next tour at Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma, CA. In a way, I feel like a kid who had a rapid growth spurt and is slowly losing the awkwardness and coming into his own.

Leaving SDSU at the end of summer is also a bittersweet moment. Being immersed in the learning environment again after being away from higher education for 13 years, nine of which were in the Coast Guard and two as a beach loving surfer (who had reached the advanced stages of the leisure society Dr. Saba spoke of in ED 795B) was a great opportunity. I feel that finishing the program also means that I am less knowledgeable as the newer EDTEC students who are receiving constant updates on the latest practices. Although it is hard to leave, I also yearn to return to Coast Guard missions and a job that truly matters. My learning hasn’t ended, it has only started. ASTD, ISPI, magazines and online resources, including SDSU's EDTEC community will keep me fresh.

In summary, it is not only what I have learned so far, but rather more of what I will continue to learn and apply after I leave the program. Life is in fact good, and it is getting better by the moment.

References

Clark, R. C. (1999). Developing technical training: A structured approach for developing classroom and computer based instructional materials. (2nd ed.). Washington: ISPI.

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2003). E-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers for multimedia learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Hermanson, K. (1995). Intrinsic motivation in museums: Why does one want to learn? In J. H. Falk & L. D. Dierking (Eds.), Public institutions for personal learning: establishing a research agenda (pp. 67-78). Washington, DC: American Association of Museums.

Dawson, G. & Glaubman, R. (2000). Life is so good. New York: Penguin Books.

Hoffman, B., & Ritchie, D. (1998). Teaching and learning online: Tools, templates, and training. Retrieved on November 21, 2006, from ERIC database.

Merrill, M. D. (2002). A pebble-in-the-pond model for instructional design. Performance Improvement, 41(7), 39-44.

Oakes, K. (2006). Talent Management: The new silver bullet? Sumtotal Systems.

Rosenberg, M. (2002). The seven myths of knowledge management. Context Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2006, from ERIC database.

Rossett, A. & Schafer, L. (2007). Job aids & performance support: Moving from knowledge in the classroom to knowledge everywhere. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Rossett, A. (2007, February). Leveling the levels. Training and Development Magazine, 61(2), 48-53.

Rossett, A. & Frazee, R. V. (2006). Blended learning opportunities. American Management Association. Retrieved December 1, 2006, from ERIC database.

Rossett, A. (2006). Learning with CLAM: A tour of high value strategies. Retrieved October 20, 2006, from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/icare/start.htm

Rossett, A. & Sheldon, K. (2001). Beyond the podium. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Rossett, A. (1999). First things fast: A handbook for performance analysis. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Sticht, T.G. (2002). Functional context education: A scientific, evidenced-based approach for adult literacy education. Retrieved March 25, 2007 from
http://www.nald.ca/info/whatnew/headline/2002/evidence.htm

Thiagarajan, S. (1999). Rapid instructional design. Retrieved October 15, 2006, from http://www.thiagi.com/article-rid.html

Wick, C., Pollock, R., Jefferson, A., & Flanagan, R. (2006). The six disciplines of breakthrough learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

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