Journal entry and reflections

Instructional Design

A recent study determined that "educational design research integrates design and research into a socially responsible approach to inquiry related to learning and teaching" (Oh, Reeves, 2010, p. 263). The Oh and Reeves study is just one example of why I include research-based design in my practice. Oftentimes, it behooves me to discover a variety of techniques available to address certain situations, and without research, I would have no access to those various techniques. Research allows me the opportunity to discover how others view the same problems that I am confronted, but even more importantly allows me to see solutions that I might not otherwise consider.

As Henry Clay Lindgren wrote in the 1950's "the terms theories of learning has a formidable sound to it. It may connote research with mice and monkeys, complex mathematical formulae, and esoteric research papers" (Lindgren, 1958), but what it really means is what do we (as teachers) do in our classroom to ensure a learning environment.

To accomplish the learning environment in my classroom, some of the theories I have applied include collaborative teaching, the multiple-intelligence theory, and even a smidgen of the portable learning theory. Collaborative teaching in my classroom means that I communicate in a regular and ongoing manner with other like-minded individuals on curriculum and activities for the students. Collaborating with other instructors and teachers allows me to bounce ideas around in an effort to deduce whether others have tried similar tasks, and whether they have worked, or failed. Additionally, collaborative learning (interactions between students) can be effective as well. A recent study determined that "much has been written about the benefits of collaborative learning in terms of its impact on interpersonal skills and academic achievement (and) many education studies suggest that students learn better when they work interactively with others and that retention of material is improved through collaborative learning" (Bergom, Wright, Brown, Brooks, 2011, -. 19). This type of research can be used in the classroom in a very efficient manner. Creating lesson plans that calls for collaboration within the student population (at least in my classroom) is a staple of the everyday lesson plan.

Also incorporated into the educational environment is the use of multiple-intelligence theory. The theory of multiple-intelligence is one that allows for the implementation of very creative ideas, projects, thoughts and perceptions in the classroom arena. Allowing students the opportunity to work in a manner of their own choosing provides many of them with new and exciting ways to gain knowledge, learn skills, and practice what they have learned. As one teacher discovered "the approach has been appealing because MI-inspired activity menus provide an engaging way for students with multiple levels of ability to summarize what they have learned" (Gardner, 2011, p. 98). In my classroom the same type of discovery takes place, not only by the teacher who discovers how well multiple-intelligence works, but by the students who experience it firsthand.