Internship Week Three

Week of May 26.

 

This week I received feedback from my advisor regarding the process that was being followed for the internship. He recommended that in light of the fact that the instruction are already created that it would be easy to focus instead on starting with what was there instead of completing the entire ID process. This was excellent advice. I shifted my focus from looking at the gaps in the instruction to following the ID process.

Documentation of the ID problem was reviewed. Input from the SME was considered. The SME felt that it was important to build upon what was already created, pointing to both the older print material and the newer flash instruction as a good start at meeting the objectives. The existing print material and the newer flash instruction will be evaluated to see how well they meet the objectives. Once that part of the ID process is completed. His concerns for the instruction being applicable and transferable will become part of the objectives for the course.

The start point for this will be the same as it is for any other ID project. The first step is conducting a needs assessment. This was an interesting question for me because the original problem to assess current your materials and look at the gap between what existed and what was needed and assist in designing the new instruction. However the ID process is more comprehensive than that and requires starting with the difference between desired performance and current performance. This also requires performing a learner analysis.

Input from the SME was a critical part of understanding the learners. This SME has many years of experience working with the Department of Transportation as well as the goals of the educational component and how it works with changing roles and needs of the transportation workers.

Reflection

It was a nice change in perspective this week. I was reminded how easy it can be to lose focus on the process and was reminded of the importance of following the process. It's very tempting to assume that the need with which you are originally presented is the need that actually exists. It's an important part of ID to reprocess. This can reveal missing information or misinformation and ensure a more complete alignment between the needs and the end product. I feel determined to make sure that all the process as completely and accurately as I can and still get a product completed in the time frame allowed by the short semester.

Mike