IDE632. Goals and Objectives

Most of the readings in this module focused on Behavioral Objectives or Performance Objectives. Actually I'm not sure how am I going to apply that to my situation/ model, because I think the real problem with my system is not a performance problem (even though it looks like one --> SSTs do not perform as expected). I think that SSTs performance problem -their accountability-, is only the tip of the iceberg. It is only a manifestation of a larger problem, which is the complexity of SSTs responsibilities/roles.

The goal of the model is actually to simplified the system (SSTs working mechanism). As I put in the graphic in my "module two" posting, my model's purpose would be to help SSTs create a simpler course deliverables and simpler system of class preparation. So that they don't have to spend too much time to prepare the class.

However, if I think again, my model should help SSTs have better performance. Hence, the behavioral objectives/ performance objectives would be:

1. SSTs will be able to prepare each Sunday's lesson-plan according to the steps indicated in the model
   
2. SSTs will be able to utilize the resources provided to prepare game activity as part of the lesson-plan
3. SSTs will be able to utilize the resources provided to prepare songs to be sang as part of the Sunday School activity.
4. SSTs will come regularly at Sunday School
5. SSTs will report to coordinator if cannot come to Sunday School
6. SSTs will be able to welcome new children in class, and encourage class to blend in with the new-comers
   

IDE632. Conditions of Change

Now, that we know the problems and the needs. What next is a plan for CHANGE. It is certain that "change" is needed in order to implement and facilitate the ID plan. There are Eight Conditions for Change described by Donald P. Ely*. These condition will work as a catalyst for the change to happen.

I will try to describe Ely's Eight Conditions for Change according to my context.

1. Dissatisfaction With the Status Quo

• Indicator: Something is not right. Things could be better. There are needs for improvement.
• Situation: SSTs often feel overwhelmed with their responsibilities. There are too much things to do in order to fulfil their role, while most of them are busy person. Besides, there has been complaints from children’s parents.

2. Knowledge and Skills Exist

• Indicator: The people who will implement any innovation must possess sufficient knowledge and skills to do the job. Knowledge & skills can be acquired in many ways.
  
• Situation: The SSTs (people who will implement the innovation), are people who are not incompetence. The incompetence they seemed to have were because they do not have sufficient time to study the material comprehensively, or to prepare the job/visual aids. A better system that can help them fulfill their responsibilities, while saving their time, is needed.

3. Resources are Available

• Indicator: Tools and other relevant materials that are accessible to assist learners to acquire learning objectives.
• Situation: Tools and materials are not a problem here. “TIME” to explore those materials is what the SSTs lack.

4. Time is Available

• Indicator: Good time. Implementers must have time to learn, adapt, integrate, and reflect on what they are doing.
  
• Situation: This condition is surely a challenge for the SSTs, since the roots of the problem is their lack of time. However, if only they want to reserve some of their time (at the beginning) to learn, and adapt, it will save more of their time in the future.
  

5. Rewards or Incentives Exist for Participants

• Indicator: A satisfaction for a job well done, more (or better) resources, etc.
• Situation: In this context, the rewards or incentives would be a more efficient and effective teaching preparation and teaching in class method. If they can fulfill their SSTs responsibilities while saving their time to do their other activities/ work, it will surely be a reward for them. Since they are actually a passionate SSTs who just lack of time. The absence of complaints (or even a positive feedback) from parents would definitely be incentives for them.

6. Participation is Expected and Encouraged

• Indicator: Shared decision making, communication among all parties involved, and representation where individual participation is difficult.
  
• Situation: This is not something impossible to put in realization. SSTs coordinator will first communicate this idea to the church board, and then with their help this idea can be communicated to all SSTs. This is obviously something that can't be done without group participation.

7. Commitment by Those Who are Involved

• Indicator: Commitment should occurs at all levels.
  
• Situation: This is also not something that is impossible to happen. With extra effort from the SSTs coordinator to persuade, and then maintain the SSTs motivation to keep their commitment in adapting the new method, hopefully change will eventually occur.

8. Leadership is Evident

• Indicator: Leaders should provide initial encouragement to consider new ideas; they insure that the necessary training is given and that the materials to do the job are easily available; they are available for consultation when discouragement or failure occur; and they continually communicate their enthusiasm for the work at hand.
  
• Situation: I believe in this case the leaders could be the SSTs coordinator, as well as the Church Board (or specifically the SSTs supervisor). If they both can really understand how critical is this process, then the SSTs coordinator can propose for necessary training for the SSTs. With the help from SSTs supervisor (who represent the churh board), they can submit this proposal to the church board, and then organize the training.
  

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*Conditions that facilitate the implementation of educational technology innovations, by Donald P.Ely, Journal of Research on Computing in Education, vol.23, no.2, Winter 1990, pp.298-305

IDE641. Class 01 - Quoting Nick Smith

On the first class of IDE641. Techniques in Educational Evaluation, Nick Smith -the professor- has already showered us with lots of 'wisdom', which most of them are on the subject of Evaluation. I think some of these are the wisdom you won't find in textbook. If only I have my audio-recorder with me, I would asked his permission to record everything he said. Lucky enough, I managed to catch some important (and some are enlightening) lessons. (note: not all of these are verbatim)

(on Evaluation)

• This isn't evaluator merely as data-collector, instead we diagnose & serving the four function of Evaluation: measurement-evaluation-research-management.

• We do evaluation to help someone decide something.

• There are no perfect evaluation. There are trade-offs. They all have flaws.

• Evaluation is always political.*

(on making mistakes)

• These are the common problems, people make the same mistakes. Don't make the same mistakes, go on make new mistakes! (note: this is one is my favorite!)
  

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*There was further discussion about this idea in the second class. I'll save it for next posting.

IDE632. Module Two - Needs Assessment/Front-End Analysis/Discrepancy Analysis

Roger Kaufman* made a good point when he said "There are differences between 'need', 'want', 'desire', and 'require'. When we use the word 'need' as a verb we are usually risking our jumping to a solution before defining the problem." I guess this is where we usually fail when troubleshooting a situation. I admit that I was lost in a maze of my own system's problem. I felt that the situation of my system is like a tangled web. It's just hard to define the problem. Thankfully, after some discussion and brainstorming with a friend, the web can be slowly untwisted.

Before I breakdown the problem, I will describe why it is important to close the gap.

1. SSTs (Sunday School Teachers) are responsible to the community they serve (including parents' of the children), as well as to the church board who organize and sponsor/ fund all the activities in Children Ministry. Any complaints from the community should not be ignored.
2. SSTs are people who have been trusted by the community to serve in the Children Ministry, to create a warm, fun and save environment for the children so they can learn about Gospel and have a good fellowship in the Children Ministry.

So, this is how I map/ do the Discrepancy Analysis:

(please click on the image to enlarge)

Given the current situation, the model I'm going to develop is to serve only Needs #1 and #2. I am not going to focus this model on how to recruit more SSTs. Several recruitment attempts have been made, however people's responses were not quite favorable since they (most likely) realize (or have stereotyped) that being an SST requires a lot of time and energy. Hopefully when Needs #1 & 2 are met, additional SSTs will be easier to find.

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*Determining Educational Needs in Educational Systems Planning by Roger A. Kaufman, Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1972, pp.30

IDE632. Module One

This is some information about my context that I'm going to use for practicing Instructional Development. I will give some definitions of each part, based on Thomas E. Harries module on General Systems Theory.

Context: K-12 (Children Ministry)

System (the collection of integrated entities which have arbitrarily been designated as of central interest, such as a school) : Children Ministry of Bintaro Presbyterian Church, Indonesia

Suprasystem (the larger system of which the system of interest is embedded) : Bintaro Presbyterian Church, Indonesia

Subsystem (a smaller collection of entities which comprise a portion of the system of central interest) : Sunday School Teachers, the children, children's parents, church board

Information Channels (Information: input of sensory data to a system which creates order, reduces uncertainty, and makes predictable) : SSTs regular meeting, e-mail, Parents-SSTs meeting, post-mail, weekly bulletin.

Subsystem Interface (the boundary between subsystems which has the option of accepting or rejecting information) : the church's administrator, beadle, Children Ministry co-ordinator.

System Dissonance (an inefficient, unsatisfactory feature or phenomenon of a system which renders it less functional or more inefficient than it could be) : SSTs' accountability

Symptom (the overt events or visible evidence of a problem/ system dissonance) : decrease in SSTs quantity, inconsistency in attendance, complaints from children's parents.

IDE632. Introduction of My ID Model

As part of completing the course requirements, I will design an ID Process Model that fits a context in which I am working now or expect to work in the future. My Professional Context is actually K-12, because most of my works in the past, in the present, also in the future (I hope) lie in that field.

Thinking about what system should I choose for this assignment, I know that I want to use a K-12 context. However, I can't help myself not to think of the Children Ministry as a context in which I learned a lot about K-12. Therefore, for this course assignment, I will focus my context in the Children Ministry.

I began my service in the Children Ministry as a Sunday School Teacher (future known as SST) in my church in Indonesia at 2004. Being an SST gave me a chance to observe and to learn about the dynamics of all the SSTs that also servicing in Children Ministry. All the SSTs can be considered as Volunteer Teachers or volunteer workers, and the church itself I consider as a Non-Profit Organization which organize us, the volunteer teachers. In any organization, there is always issue of ones' performance. This assignment gave me opportunity to analyze my system and then develop an Instructional Model. I really hope the ID Model I'm going to design can be useful in the real practice.

We'll see.

My PLE (Personal Learning Environment)

It's been a while since I wrote my last posting. Winter break is definitely over (although the winter is not over, at least until March.. *sigh*). However, Spring semester has started. New semester, new spirit! This semester I am taking three courses :

1. IDE 632 - Instructional Design & Development II (by Gerald Edmonds)
   
2. IDE 641 - Techniques in Educational Evaluation (by Nick Smith)
3. IDE 761 - Strategies in Educational Project Management (by Alan Foley)

I will still use this blog as a space to keep track of myself in terms of my learning in IDD&E. Means, this blog will serve as my Personal Learning Environment (PLE; the term I just learned from IDE 632) not only for IDE 632 class -which requires me to write reflection on my PLE-, but also for other courses that I'm taking.

I will try my best to post my notes/ reflection on learning, regularly. Feel free to leave any comment, suggestion and/or question.