Edward Oneill joins me to talk about practical instructional design.

Podcast notes

Practical instructional design

Guest

Edward Oneill, Senior instructional designer at Yale.

Teach Better Podcast

I know a little bit about a lot of things. – Edward Oneill (and also Diana Krall, etc.)

What Edward’s clients often need

intuitively-appealing ways of conceptualizing the learning process
a survey of the relevant tools & which fit their needs & capacities

Edward’s special skill

…finding the points in the learning process where assessment and evaluation can be woven in seamlessly

Design approach of Edward’s early courses

Successes

Made sure students had to do something every week
Ensured consistent deadlines
Weekly messages, creatively introducing them to that week

Failures

Disconnected topics, no second chances

You don’t learn anything by doing it once. – Edward Oneill

Not opportunities for practice

I wanted to see it as the students’ fault. It’s so hard to get out of that [mindset]. – Edward Oneill

Biggest challenges in our teaching

Rehearsal and elaboration

It’s about stepping away from the center and helping [students] communicate with each other. – Edward Oneill

Methods for incorporating assessment and evaluation into the design of courses

Have shorter/smaller forms of assessment that aren’t necessarily graded 100% of the time
Use their performance as your own assessment

Bonni shares about teaching with Ellen’s Heads Up iPad game

Jeopardy game as form of reinforcement

Recommendations

Bonni recommends:

Parker Palmer quote

I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the joy. When my students and I discover uncharted territory to explore, when the pathway out of a thicket opens up before us, when our experience is illumined by the lightning-life of the mind—then teaching is the finest work I know. – Parker Palmer

Edward comments:

There is a special privilege in people letting you help them grow and change. – Edward Oneill

Edward recommends:

On Becoming a Person, by Carl Rogers

As a teacher, I need to see you as a unique learner. If I really try to understand you and try to help you grow, it is not so much about information transfer; it is a more humane kind of relationship. – Edward Oneill

When you’re passionate about teaching and you focus on it and you try to improve – you do. – Edward Oneill

Closing notes

Practical instructional design

Teaching in Higher Ed