Instructional Design

Andragogy

Minimalism (J. M. Carroll)

What works for me?

View of learner
Adults need to know why they are learning, how it will benefit them, how it relates to what they are doing in life.  Self-directed learning.  Learner motivated by internal goals.  Want to be acknowledged for their knowledge or what they know.  Physical environment for learning is important.  Sometimes not sure of abilities. 

View of learner
Learner focuses on accomplishments. Learning tasks/projects should be realistic.  Allows learners to improvise and use reasoning skills. Learner chooses learning sequence.

 I chose these two models because of my training in adult education and specifically career and technical education.  The Minimalism design model was specifically designed for computer training and since I taught Microsoft Office Suite I was interested in learning more about the model.  Minimalism is rooted in Bruner and Piaget’s constructivism. 

View of Instructor
Teacher as facilitator.
Help learner recognize intended and unintended learning outcomes.

View of Instructor
Learner-directed activity. Should be a close link between training and actual system. Minimize amount of reading and let learner fill in “gaps”. 

 
I have always thought you should read and research as much as you can so I am not totally sold on the less is more concept, as it relates to reading and Minimalism.  I think Carrol’s intention is to make the written instructions as concise as possible. 

View of knowledge (how does one get it?)
Wealth of knowledge which can come from previous life experience.

  Able to problem solve.

 Links new knowledge with existing knowledge.

Responsible for own learning.

View of knowledge (how does one get it?)
Draws on learner’s unique set of prior knowledge.

Intuitive 

I like the way adults apply new knowledge to prior knowledge although sometimes can over-analyze if they will ever use the knowledge.  This sometimes keeps them from growing in new knowledge. 

Minimalism view of knowledge at first glance could be seen as false confidence although errors are expected so learner feels free to explore, discover and prove new knowledge.  

Typical teaching behaviors or strategies
Promote inter-dependence not dependence.

Role-playing

Case studies

Typical teaching behaviors or strategies
Individualized instruction. Learner given “real-world projects” soon in course.  Self-contained activities. Can be performed in order or out of sequence. Link learning objectives to prior knowledge and experience. Uses errors as opportunity to learn.

Learners start learning right away…no need for introducing the topic.  I have experienced this with software training in business and industry.  Learners already know a lot about the product and they just want to get started on the hands-on activities.  Performing tasks out of sequence as in Minimalism is also very common with software applications.  My students would skip over parts like Excel and Access and finish Word and PowerPoint sections first.    

A couple key terms and what they mean
Learner-centered (environment where learners bring beliefs, knowledge & skills).

Self-directed learning (learner takes responsibility for own learning).

A couple key terms and what they mean
Discovery learning (inquiry-based method)

Object-based learning (hands-on learning)

Guided exploration (problem solving discovery)

Both Andragogy and Minimalism require learners to be self-directed. 

Both bring prior knowledge to the learning environment.

Minimalism seems to be more activity driven.

How one measures learning
Learning contracts.

Questioning skills – ask student “What Questions do you Have”?

 Use formative assessment all during course. 

Receive and give prompt feedback.

  Reflective writing.

How one measures learning Error recognition. According to the University of Alberta, Canada, training can involve a set of separate steps of instructions and in for this example contained a set of 25 cards instead of a 94 page manual.  “Each card corresponded to a meaningful task, was self-contained and included error recognition/recovery information for that task…the information provided on the cards was not complete, step-by-step specifications but only the key ideas or hints about what to do. In an experiment that compared the use of the cards versus the manual, users learned the task in about half the time with the cards, supporting the effectiveness of the minimalist design”.  

I found that my students did not want to read the intro, project and overview in our Shelly Cashman text but instead would ask on which page the actual instructions started for the project. I think balance is important however, and as the University of Alberta article points out “ In the end, the research suggests that designers strike a balance between writing documentation that provide the flexibility to enable the user to acquire both declarative knowledge and/or procedural knowledge depending upon their unique learning needs.