Section 5

• Chapter 18 discusses instructional design in business and industry. Give an example of rapid prototyping and discuss how this could be used in education.

An example of rapid prototyping is a math teacher creating a prototype of a geometric figure, so the students will have an example of an end result for an assigned project. This prototype would be a workable model because the teacher needs to be able to take it apart and show the students how it is pieced together. When I was in geometry class our teacher gave us a project every six weeks as an alternative to a six weeks test. The project that she assigned consisted of us creating a different figure each time depending on what we were learning at that current moment. A prototype would have been useful then because I would have had a 3D example of what I was making, but I had a picture with step-by-step instructions on how to create it instead. In my opinion this made the assignment difficult for hands-on learners and visual learners. The workable model would have made it possible for the teacher to take the example apart and let the students who are hands-on or visual learners to experiment with it to see how their project would be created.

• Chapter 19 discusses instructional design opportunities in military education and training environments. I had the opportunity to work two summers in Orlando on a faculty fellowship in the advanced distributed learning lab (ADL) discussed in the book and saw first hand some of the constraints placed on some of the tools that could be used for learning. Pretend you are hired as a consultant for the military. They want to use technology in its training, but electronic access is not always available. Using the Full Spectrum diagram, what alternatives could you suggest for a successful program?

In order to incorporate technology into military training using the Full Spectrum diagram I would start with the classroom. The classroom is the easiest place for electronic access, so I would have all the available technology there to train the soldiers on how to use them. In the classroom the soldiers would have computer-based simulations for training as well as internet access to complete all their personal studies. This technology can be used at the base as well. Once the soldiers are deployed mobile devices would be better to use, such as PDAs with access to the internet to continue their personal studies and if necessary when electronic access is unavailable to charge the PDAs simple pen and paper can be used.

• Chapter 21 looks at radical educational change in P-12 settings. I visited the Chugach School District in Alaska and know Richard DeLorenzo very well. I can assure you that this change can occur in our schools. Review the Step-Up-To-Excellence methodology and the GSTE. Outline a staff development activity that will introduce both methodologies to your colleagues. 

When we have staff development meetings at my school we are always divided into groups by our departments. An activity we could do to introduce both methodologies would be to then take the department groups and make then into two teams. One team would be the GSTE team and the other team would be the Step-Up-To-Excellence team. The tasks of these two teams will be to learn each step thoroughly and come up with a presentation to teach it to the other team. This will take one meeting to complete. The next meeting the teams will then take the processes they learned and create their own plans for the schools using each step. These plans will then be presented to the rest of the staff.

• Navigating through the ranks of a faculty member in higher education can be tricky. A good institution has support for its faculty and provides faculty development opportunities to grow and learn. Research three different university offices for faculty development. Answer the following questions for each office:
• What are the different names used for faculty development?          

1)    Harvard University  Development and Mentoring

2)    Stanford University- Faculty Development

3)    Texas A&M- Faculty Development

• What division is it under?

1)    Office of Faculty Development and Diversity  

2)    Faculty Development and Diversity Office

3)    The Office of the Dean of Faculties

• What services does it offer?

1)    Faculty mentoring, published resources, staff development

2)    Resources, programs, initiatives, reports, and publications

3)    Orientation and resources

• How often are programs given and what specifically are they?

1)    A new faculty institute is available yearly, and meetings are available almost monthly they are mostly social gatherings for staff

2)    Programs are given almost every other month and they are for scholarships, and incentives for continuing education

3)    Seminars for faculty development are available and they are given by each term, such as spring or fall