As someone who has worked in contract roles for nearly their entire career in instructional design, the supra-badge Planning and Analysis was at times intimidating and unknown to me. Typically, my services are engaged during the design or development phase of ADDIE and conclude shortly after (or even before) implementation. In working through the badge challenges, I discovered a great passion for analysis and planning.

 

Several of the artifacts offered for the sub-badges in this supra-badge come from the development of one project that spanned an entire term. For a class dedicated to intentionally walking through the structured Dick and Carey model of instructional design, I created a pencil drawing workshop for preteens. This was a very personal project for me, as it was inspired by one of my own children. I completed a full analysis in preparation for the workshop development, including the work required for three sub-badges (Gap Analysis, Target Population and Environment, and Analysis Techniques for Instruction). To gather the necessary information, I created a survey that was designed to identify the existing skills and attitudes of the learners. I also completed a site visit and reflected on my existing knowledge of the target population (along with my own children, my friends’ children would be participating). To this firsthand analysis and information gathering, I spend hours researching empirical studies discussed in respected academic journals. I made the choice to supplement my own knowledge with objective research because I acknowledged that my own experience and knowledge is biased, as I have a clear personal relationship with all the participants. I wanted to ensure that what I was designing would have more generalized application than just my own child.

 

The drawing workshop project was only one example of using proper analysis techniques to validate information. For the sub-badge Analysis Techniques for Instruction, I also included a literature review I completed for different course. In this literature review, I searched for articles that addressed the effects of mentoring relationships in the workplace on the motivation to learn. I searched through countless resources, identifying the peer-reviewed empirical articles that provided insight into that question. The resulting paper not only highlights my commitment to sound research and analysis techniques but upholding ethical and legal standards related to proper citation and crediting others for their work (more can be learned about my work in that area in the supra-badge Professional Foundations in LDT).

 

Analysis is not restricted to contexts and resources, however. Effectively analyzing available technologies and tools is vitally important as well. In a course focused on the intersection of motivation and instructional design, I participated in a group project in which we created an alternate reality game (ARG). This ARG was designed to allow our fellow classmates to consider how to motivate a struggling fifth grade student through the social cognitive theories of motivation and their related concepts, such as self-efficacy and peer modeling. Part of my contribution was designing and developing an online interaction in which users rearranged a seating chart to enable effective peer modeling. I needed to analyze the instruction and consider a variety of technology tools that might meet the needs of the interaction. After carefully analyzing the needs (robust customization, graded interaction, my familiarity with the authoring tool), I settled on using Articulate Storyline to develop the interaction. The intentional analysis of content, context, learners, and available technologies was instrumental in creating an effective solution.

 

Many of the in-depth analysis work I completed throughout this program was a novel approach. The intentional structure prescribed by the Dick and Carey method was not something I had used before, but I appreciate its detail and the robust body of understanding it encourages. I have since added the structured and well-rounded analysis techniques to my application of the ADDIE model. As ADDIE is the model most used in my experience in corporate environments, I sought to augment ADDIE’s analysis phase with the more detailed Dick and Carey techniques. While not appropriate in all circumstances, I have already been able to more successfully navigate complex audiences and design projects because of this approach. As I seek a direct employment relationship upon graduation, I am confident that these analysis skills will be an asset. I look forward to investigating new content, contexts, audiences, and technologies to further my instructional design practice.