ADL Program, Advising, Blackboard, ePortfolios, Focus on the learning, Innovation Plan, Instructional Design, It's all about the learning, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Online Learning, Outcomes, Why

Free Write


What is your course about?

My course is about onboarding students to college life. The course aims to explain what an advisor is and what they can do to help students. The course outlines the student’s responsibilities in their college experience and within the advising relationship. The course helps students understand university policies and procedures, including support information like success services.

How does it fit into a program?

Advising falls within both enrollment management and student success arenas. Advisors become the centralized hub of information and referrals, which primes advisors as excellent facilitators of the learning process through an advising course. Each major falls within a college department, and there are a variety of program needs based on those differences.

What is it that excites you about this course?

My excitement about this course is two fold. First, the opportunity to help learners become self-motivated learners and to take control of their academic pursuits. I am excited that learners will learn how to navigate the college experience with skills they can apply to life. Secondly, I am excited for advisors to collaborate and combine their knowledge into resources for advisees to grow and learn. There is a future possibility of learners collaborating and supporting one another through both peer-advisors and collective discussions, which is very exciting to consider.

What are the non-negotiable elements of the course?

The advising course must relieve advisors of the information transfer aspects of the advising relationship. Advisors are discouraged and overworked by the sheer number of advisees they must see each registration cycle. Limited time for advising appointments, high turn-over rates, and low-morale among the department effects learners experience and advisors expertise. Through this advising course, advisors will be able to direct learners to resource and free their advising interactions to become life changing relationships that enhance both the learner and the advisors lives.

What are some secondary elements you want to fit in?

I see now that this advising course has the opportunity to help students find their purpose in life and stay connected with their long term goals and motivations for coming to college. All to often when the coursework gets challenge or we face personal obstacles we can decide that college isn’t for us or we weren’t really interested in that topic. I think helping students self-actualize by working through the reflection of their college growth, learning, and challenges can help today’s learners embrace the learners mindset.

ETC:

Sincerely I would like for the advising course to become a place that gives students the choice of delivery method, time of day, social interaction (or lack-thereof), and limits hesitation to ask questions they might perceive as silly or common knowledge to others. I also believe that there is amazing opportunity for learners to support one another and form collectives of support.


Source: Situational Factors: Defining Your Course

ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Evolution, Focus on the learning, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Innovation Plan, It's all about the learning, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Manifesto, Online Learning, Outcomes, Personal, Professional, Reflecting, Why

Where it all began


My innovation plan was born out of a desperate desire to increase student motivation to seek the information they need to be successful in their academic pursuits. When I began the ADL Program, I was advising for a few online graduate Master of Education programs (including this one). I kept having students miss critical deadlines and requirements due to their lack of information. It was not that they did not have access to the information that was provided, published, and available; instead, it was a lack of inquisitivism that prevented them from even beginning the search for understanding.

Revisiting the process and learning I undertook with the facilitation of Dr. Kelly Grogan while creating significant learning environments, I keep looking for ways to align outcomes. What are my desired outcomes? I want learners to be autonomously motivated.

In my typical form and fashion, I begin my studies by reviewing, reading, and note-taking through the resources provided in my program coursework. Inevitably, I search for Learner’s Mindset discussions on the topic and/or YouTube videos on key concepts, terms, or goals.

This source resonates with me and can serve as a reminder to all of us as we endeavor to create significant learning environments.

Jon Stolk recommends that we remember to utilize the following:

  • Real Tools (physical need)
  • Real Choice (thinking, reasoning, decision-making)
  • Real Trust (emotions/feelings)

He continues by stating that “when students feel these things (choice, trust, acceptance, encouragement, care, dialogue), there are extremely strong positive correlations to a bunch of the stuff we say we care about (self-efficacy, metacognition, active help-seeking, creativity, task value, peer learning, and intrinsic motivation)” (TEDx Talks, 2015).

Therefore, I intend to keep these in mind as I prepare to outline my plans for an online learning course’s instructional design. I keep hearing Dr. Harapnuik telling me to focus on the learning.

Reference

TEDx Talks. (2015, November 5). Creating autonomy-supportive learning environments | Jon Stolk | TEDxSMU [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxlFzrfdqa4

ADL Program, Advising, Blackboard, ePortfolios, Focus on the learning, Goals, Innovation Plan, Instructional Design, It's all about the learning, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Online Learning, Outcomes, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting

Design – from the starting line


Backward design…

How extremely humbling to realize that I am finally at the point where I am creating my innovation idea. Everything I have been learning through the program on how to help develop my team through professional learning and ways that these resources can contribute to significant learning environments both equip me with resources and leave me overwhelmed at the reality of this authentic opportunity. I really do have an opportunity to revolutionize advising within my organization.

Now, I get to build my course, my ubiquitous resource, my example of revolutionary advising for learner and advisor alike.

If you are taking EDLD 5318 Instructional Design Online Learning in the ADL Program – How are you feeling in your learning process?

I, for one am still stuck at the starting line – “perfection is the enemy of the good” – has me not even having done my introduction discussion, since we were invited to create that utilizing video resources, I think I want to really plan out my introduction so that it can become a piece of the final product at the conclusion of this course. As a result, I’m thinking that the normally simple piece of each course requires more thought, time, and reflection as a piece of this course’s learning puzzle.

I am going to reach out to my learning community and see if we can plan a collaborative session to brainstorm and discuss our plans. I will share my process as I work through this first Instructional Design assignment in hopes of helping you through your learning process too.

A New Culture of Learning, ADL Program, Advising, Collective, ePortfolios, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Influencer, Innovation Plan, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Community, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Why

Naval-Gazing


While reviewing this weeks content for discussion in the ADL Program‘s EDLD 5318, Instructional Design Online Learning course, I heard the term “naval-gazing.” I had to back up the video, replay it, die laughing, and then search for the meaning and origin of the term.

How have I made it this far in life without ever knowing about this Ancient Greek term (principle of Omphaloskepsis)?!?!

Now here are a few interesting observations.

I have watched this video several times, taken detailed notes, and connected thoughts several times before, never noticing the phrase.

I had to exercise and embrace the Learner’s Mindset to even seek additional information.

I could not help but draw parallels to my learning process throughout the ADL program. Without even realizing or recognizing it at the time, I was detailing the same fundamentals addressed by this discussion in the recent interview I was honored to participate in about the Learner’s Mindset.