A Student’s Perspective
Before applying to be an IDD&E student I spent a lot of time reading the online PDFs from years of the student newsletters posted on idde.syr.edu. [Update May 2020: currently at ridlr.syr.edu] These newsletters shared the career paths of current and former students and allowed me to see the quality and breadth of the education I could receive in the IDD&E program at Syracuse University. As I began taking courses I found that one of the most encouraging aspects of Syracuse University’s IDD&E program is the application of instructional design principles within each of the courses. As a result, each course, in my experience, has produced a valuable artifact for my portfolio and a career resource. I’m sure that I’m not alone in using the department website resources to learn about the courses in the IDD&E program at SU. This faculty spotlight gives potential students a glimpse at the innovative instructional methods used by faculty in the IDD&E program.
In this Faculty Spotlight we focus on adjunct faculty member, Dr. Rob Pusch, of the IDD&E department. Dr. Pusch is a 2003 graduate of the IDD&E program and the Associate Director of Instructional Services for Project Advance.
Dr. Pusch’s history with Huntington Hall (home to the School of Education and IDD&E Department) predates his collegiate studies. Prior to being an academic building Huntington Hall was the hospital. It was at this hospital that Dr. Pusch had a broken arm set at the age of 4. Dr. Pusch vividly remembers that day, “I broke the arm while playing “super octopus” with me playing the role of the super-hero, super octopus. I have no idea how my little friends and I manage to come up that one. Ahhh the minds of 4-year-olds!”
So, could this game of “super octopus” have been a little foreshadowing of a career path? Working in the field of instruction design and development builds a broad set of skills and knowledge branching into many areas…similar to the like the tentacles of an octopus.
Today students will find Dr. Pusch teaching courses in Huntington Hall. Dr. Pusch’s courses engage students in problem-solving using real-world examples. Students receive first-hand practical experience in the classroom with the support of peers and the instructor, Dr. Pusch. Outside of the classroom students watch lectures and participate in online discussions with classmates and Dr. Pusch. Dr. Pusch encourages students to teach and learn from each other through thoughtfully planned guided group activities and peer review sessions.
When asked about his choice of instruction Dr. Pusch says that, “I love using the flipped class model because provides a more engaging classroom experience for everyone, including me. Also, students learn more from doing! In class group work means they have apply the concepts from the course.”
During this semester’s Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation II course (IDE 632), Dr. Pusch engaged the students in group activities to develop instructional design models under the context of “Technology-based Enhanced Learning”. Dr. Pusch’s use of the flipped classroom model allowed students to spend class time doing instead of listening to lecture. As a student in this class the group work on projects during class, with input from Dr. Pusch, provided me with a higher level of learning than I feel I get in a traditional lecture format. I enjoyed having the support of the instructor and knowledgeable peers to discuss assignments with during class time.
You may be wondering what group work and ID models can be created in a short session during class. The photos below are examples of the in-class accomplishments of students as a result of the “Technology-based Enhanced Learning” classroom exercise. The following photos and provided context are provided courtesy of Dr. Pusch’s IDE 632 course website. The models produced are diverse in context but similar in content as instructional design is applicable and relevant in many fields.
(1) Blended Learning: This group chose to develop their model using IDE 632 as an example. This model took the approach of thinking through Inputs, Processes, Outputs. It also used the framework of RLOs and RIOs to think about modular development of the content.
(2) m-learning: This group chose to think about developing an app to be used in athletics to help players analyze game (the group can let me know if this description is adequate) game-play situations and prepare for upcoming games. This would include game films, practice films, and evaluative activities where players are presented with a situation and they could (so on a mobile phone or iPad) sketch out what players should do.
(3) MOOC: This group choose to think about the development process of a MOOC in a higher ed context. The MOOC would be one that could be taken for credit.
(4) E- or Web-based Learning: This group chose the context of developing an online botany course. While not detailed in the graphic, their ID process included looking at the use of existing materials (Why develop something if it already exists!), and then determining what would then need to be produced by the team during course development.
The student work from this learning module in Dr. Pusch’s IDE 632 class is just one of the many thoughtfully designed instructional modules throughout the courses and curriculum in the IDD&E program. Interested in more? Check out the “Invasion of the ID Models” from the Fall Semester Instructional Design and Development I taught by Dr. Tiffany Koszalka.
For more information about the Certificate, Masters and Ph.D. programs offered by the Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation Department at Syracuse University visit http://idde.syr.edu.
This article was written by Susan Bock ’17
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