Instructional Design Overview

Advising 101 Design Documents

3 Column Table

UbD Template

Design Outline

My innovation idea was to create an online resource of advisors’ knowledge and information. My innovation intends to create a significant learning environment that capitalizes on the authentic learning opportunity provided through a student’s first semester in college.

The Advising 101 course is planned as an asynchronous online course that can be used to complement synchronous advising. Advisors can provide deeper learning opportunities while forming trusted advising relationships throughout the course to enhance their synchronous advising sessions.

Initially, the Advising 101 course will be piloted within google classrooms. The Advising 101 course could then evolve into the University’s learning management software (LMS) for automatic enrollment upon initial acceptance. To begin this process effectively, some instructional design considerations need to be explored.

  • What is the subject, level of instruction, and intended audience?
    • The subject for this course does not fall within traditional classroom subjects or grade levels but instead aims to provide advising information to first-time college students. This intended audience comes from a variety of academic and personal backgrounds. Some students will begin their journey with developmental education requirements, and those who graduate high school with their associate degrees. Some students assume that advisors serve the same role as high school counselors, and others will be ready to take responsibility and ownership of their academic experience. Some will have overly involved parents, and others will have no family support or guidance.
  • What are the key institutional documents (i.e. syllabus, outline, accreditation standards, etc.) that will influence your design process?
    • The University catalog plays a key role regarding institutional documents. University policies and procedures are outlined and drive nearly every interaction. Degree plans, course requirements, and drop/withdrawal procedures are the primary professional standards advisors must help students navigate. Connecting students to these governing documents and showing them the value of seeking and verifying information for themselves will be a significant driving force in my instructional design process and purpose for the advising course.
  • Are you using competency-based education (CBE) or outcome-based education (OBE)? Why?
    • Since I seek the intrinsic motivation provided through outcomes-based education, this course will include reflection activities on degree/career/personal purpose. This OBE approach is critical to allow students to find and connect with their reasons for pursuing their education interests and encourage exploration of those long-term motivations. For many young adults, college is their first truly free experience, which can be overwhelming. Through outcomes-based education, this course can provide choice, ownership, and voice through the authentic learning experience provided through their first semester in college.
    •  Nonetheless, I will also use competency-based education for knowledge-based assessments. Upon admission into college and while preparing for course registrations, advisors do an overwhelming amount of information transfer. This course provides a resource that students can complete at their own pace, exploring topics that interest them or pertain to their immediate needs and having critical assignments based on external indicators. Quizzes on policies regarding academic standing for students marked at-risk on progress reports fall into CBE, which can help identify students needing clarification or additional guidance.
  • What design approach have chosen? Why?
    • I have unknowingly been using the ADDIE design approach throughout the ADL program. I will continue with this design approach as I embark upon this opportunity to try instructional design. Up to this point, the entire program has asked that I analyze my specific situation for a needs-based assessment of what is lacking for students and advisors. The design phase is always where I struggle the most since I have yet to gain experience in curriculum planning. I want to be sure that the course drives students toward embracing a learner’s mindset, so I need to be strategic with how content drives learning—adding technology that does not move students toward identifying their own personal why will be another assignment for them to watch or check-list to meet. The development phase will be an exciting opportunity to develop the content for each course section. Through this phase of the design approach, activities, and assessments must align with the learning outcomes set for the course. Implementation will help identify those areas of the course the students are immediately drawn to explore through course statistics. Pre-tests and feedback surveys can help refine and clarify content. Finally, the project conclusion evaluation assesses the effectiveness of the course. Careful reflection on whether or not the class met the learning outcomes set provides revision opportunities.
  • How will you balance assessment Or/For/As learning?
    • As mentioned previously, the goal of the advising course is to guide students toward self-regulation. Assessment as learning through reflection is a vital component of this advising course. Assessment of learning will help students show their advisors and university administration that they understand the onboarding content provided. Assessment for learning allows students to embrace the learner’s mindset as they support one another and give feed-forward to their classmates.
  • Are you moving your learners into deeper learning? If not, why not?
    • The goal is to help students become self-differentiated learners. The advising course aims to provide learners with choice, ownership, and voice throughout the authentic learning opportunity provided through their first semester in college. By creating a significant learning environment, the advising course aims to move students into deeper learning, which will help serve their educational goals throughout their time with the University and foster lifelong learning well beyond their time with the institution.
  • Who controls the learning?
    •  The advising course is student-centered. The course gives students ubiquitous access to their advisor’s knowledge and information. Advisors will act as facilitators while fielding questions from students. Student questions are the driving force as advisors direct students to modules within the course. Additionally, advisors will assume a coaching and mentorship role as they help students process critical thinking and problem-solving as needed within the learning environment/relationship. And while there can be required modules related to registration or university policy on an as-assigned basis, the intention is for the student to control their experience through free-choice content modules on various topics.

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