Learners’ perceptions of instructional design practice in a situated learning activity

Abstract

This case study investigated learners' perceptions of value from participating in a learning activity designed to model professional instructional design practice. Learners developed instructional design products for a corporate client in the context of a classroom-based course. The findings indicate that learners perceived different kinds of value which varied according to the degree of integration of learners' goals with client's goals, ranging from (a) co-constituted value (in which learners perceived the value of their participation as being inextricably bound to creation of value to the client) to (b) satisficing value (in which learners engaged with the activity so as to generate value for themselves while providing sufficient or good enough value to the client) to (c) salvage value (in which learners did not participate in the activity in the manner intended, but attempted to salvage some personal value from their participation). A framework relates these learners' perceptions of value to three main features of such learning activities: what you do, how you do it, and who you are accountable to. The relative worth of these different kinds of value is discussed, and proposals for influencing learner perceptions of value are presented.

Developing Middle School Students' Interests in STEM via Summer Learning Experiences: See Blue STEM Camp

“…Research involving social learning theory and placing students in authentic learning environments has been recently conducted involving language acquisition, community building, engineering writing, pedagogy of teacher education, art curriculum for K‐5 students, and corporate business applications (Comas‐Quinn et al., ; Edmonds‐Cady & Sosulski, ; Johri & Olds, ; Korthagen, ; Pitri, ; Wasko & Faraji, ; Woolf & Quinn, ). The consensus between these research projects is students are able to develop a deeper understanding of content when one is involved in its real‐world application rather than formal learning in school, which is often not transferred as one might wish.…”

“…The consensus between these research projects is students are able to develop a deeper understanding of content when one is involved in its real‐world application rather than formal learning in school, which is often not transferred as one might wish. Scaffolding also appeared as an important part of teaching students in this manner, as instructors initially helped students and promoted community but eventually stepped back allowing the pupils to take full charge of their activity (Edmonds‐Cady & Sosulski, ; Johri & Olds, ; Woolf & Quinn, ). By applying situated learning theory to educational practices, students collaborate in groups (Comas‐Quinn et al., ; Edmonds‐Cady & Sosulski, ; Johri & Olds, ; Korthagen, ; Mills, ; Paretti, ; Pitri, ; Shaltry, Henriksen, Wu, & Dickson, ); engage with people in community, which teaches them how to interact in professional settings (Edmonds‐Cady & Sosulski, ; Johri & Olds, ; Korthagen, ; Shaltry et al., ; Woolf & Quinn, ); and work through real‐life challenges (Comas‐Quinn et al., ; Edmonds‐Cady & Sosulski, ; Johri & Olds, ; Korthagen, ; Mills, ; Shaltry et al., ).…”

Case Studies in Instructional Design Education: Students’ Communication Preferences During Online Discussions

“…Multiple authors have indicated the relevance of cases in ID education (Choi and Lee, 2008; Jonassen, 1999, 2011; Jonassen and Hernandez-Serrano, 2002; Woolf and Quinn, 2009). In this study, where participants took part in several educational activities such as peer-reviews, discussions, small group presentations, or instructional projects, results indicate that case studies analysis was perceived by the participants as the most valuable learning experience in the course.…”

Studying Teaching Presence in Relation to Learner Performance in Blended Learning Courses in a Tanzanian University: A Mixed Design Approach

“…Though teaching presence is a major area for research in blended learning, there are still divergences as to its effect on student academic performance (Almasi & Zhu, 2017;Vo, Zhu, & Diep, 2017;Thomas, 2018;Kwak, Menezes, & Sherwood, 2014). Research shows that how learners perceive a learning activity cannot be predicted in advance (Petraglia, 1998a(Petraglia, , 1998b cited in Woolf & Quinn (2009). Consequently, it cannot be assumed that learners will perceive the value of an activity as intended by course designers (Woolf & Quinn, 2009).…”

“…Research shows that how learners perceive a learning activity cannot be predicted in advance (Petraglia, 1998a(Petraglia, , 1998b cited in Woolf & Quinn (2009). Consequently, it cannot be assumed that learners will perceive the value of an activity as intended by course designers (Woolf & Quinn, 2009). Still, other researchers have echoed that instructors "perception of what teaching is and what role they think they play has influence on the way they teach (Morgan, 2011;2018a).…”