Academic Curation- Is it an instructional design method or theory?

Description of Artifact:

During the creation of an instructional design course, my colleague challenged me to answer a very difficult question: Is Academic Curation a Theory or a Methodology?

This was a difficult question to answer without backtracking to Reigeluth’s (1999) explanation of an instructional design theory. I reviewed the key indicators Reigeluth identified as necessary component of an ID theory, (a) goals,  (b) preconditions, (c) values, (d) methods, and (e) major contributions. As I worked through this framework I saw Academic Curation from two design structures (see below)

Artifacts:

Academic  Curation Theory Design Structure 1

Goals and preconditions: Academic Curation provides a theory for situations where access to technological applications and internet use provide the platform for increased social media platforms support the wrestling with enduring understandings, multiple perspectives, and the three types of instructional interaction between the learner and the facilitator.

Values: The following include a majority of values that support Academic Curation:

·      The design process is iterative regardless of where, in the model, the designer starts.

·      Learning takes place through combinations of monological, dialogical, and polyphonic instruction.

·      Expert, cognitive, and social interactions drive the most effective learning climate.

·      Aggregation of content, cognitive dissonance, and learning environment create the whole educational experience.

Methods: The following are methods suggested to support Academic Curation theory

·      self-directed learning experiences

·      group generated contexts for learning

·      content that is scaffolded with interactive tasks

·      connective opportunities throughout the aggregation of content

·      multiple technological platforms to support reflection and refinement of learning (discourse, sharing, reflective, analytic, integrative, generative, organizational)

·      multi-modal representations of texts (interactive, video, audio, peer reviewed, opinion and journaling texts)

Major contributions: Provides intentional use of new technologies while creating purposeful design using interlocking components

Academic  Curation Theory Design Structure 2

Questions to consider:

Goals: What is to be accomplished with this instructional design theory?

·      Enhance purposeful instructional design

·      Incorporate social media platforms to increase analysis of content

·      Highlight pedagogical/andragogical framework of digital tool literacy (mono, dialoical, and polyphonic)

·      Build self-motivated self-directed learners

·      Provide inter and intra-information exchange

Major preconditions: What assumptions are necessary to guarantee success of meeting the stated goals? What are appropriate situations where the theory helps? What are limitations of the theory (where it does not makes sense to use? (do we ask these questions or not)

·      Synchronous and Asynchronous tools- Use of technological platforms to enhance

       aggregation of content.

·      Instructional content- The skills and concepts selected are purposefully chosen to

       enhance deep understanding.

·      Cognitive Dissonance- Presentation and social interaction are designed to heighten

       individual learner’s analysis and evaluation of content.

·      Learning Space- The context, location, and facilitation are constructed to enhance

      participant learning through an increase in risk taking, building of multiple

      perspectives, and use of research to support new learning.

Values: What research, theories, and practice that are valued within the theory?

·      The design process is iterative regardless of where, in the model, the designer starts.

·      Learning takes place through combinations of monological, dialogical, and polyphonic

       instruction.

·      Combinations of expert, cognitive, and social interactions drive the most effective

      learning climate.

·      Aggregation of content, cognitive dissonance, and learning environment create the whole educational experience.

Instructional Methods:

• What role does the instructional designer, teacher, or student play in the learning? Are they intentional design?

• What roles do context, content, assessment, and interactions play in the theory?

• Are the formations of interactions intentional and purposeful to increase learning? How do you know?

• Are there supports in place to scaffold the learning? Where do they occur and how to they support learning?

• Are the instructional methods included in the theory and do they link to the intended outcomes?

• What tools are identified to increase critical thinking and ownership of content?

The following are methods suggested to support Academic Curation theory

• self-directed learning experiences
• content starters motivate learners to identify additional information
• group generated contexts for learning
• discussions, Socratic seminars, and team learning build interactive contexts for information exchange
• content that is scaffolded with interactive tasks
• content is aggregated or introduced in incremental pieces with each section building on prior skills and beliefs
• individual tasks that require comprehension and connecting of content are placed intermittently throughout the aggregated design
• tasks increase in complexity as the learner moves through the content
• connective opportunities throughout the aggregation of content
• reflections are required in each learning event
• learner is accountable for longitudinal refinement of content
• relevance of content is explicit
• summary of component learning is tied to future learning
• multiple technological platforms to support reflection and refinement of learning
• discourse is encouraged and sometimes assigned
• sharing new and prior knowledge
• reflection through daily analysis
• disaggregation of data through use of statistics, charts, and data mining
• integrative opportunities using new knowledge in another’s work
• generative components to create artifacts of learning
• organizational techniques to provide structure of content and progression of learning
• multi-modal representations of texts
• interaction such as multi-player games, collaborative art, or group presentation of musical piece
• video creation, mash-up, or remix
• audio creation, mash-up or remix
• peer reviewed text creation
• persuasive or opinion writing
• journal to identify patterns, build reflective capabilities, or solve problems

Major contributions of Academic Curation Theory: What will be accomplished it this theory is put into practice?

Provides intentional use of new technologies while creating purposeful design using interlocking components

 Reflection:

Within this situation, or case study (my colleague’s question) I found that the Academic Curation Model could be described as a theory based on the set of goals and preconditions identified. However, upon further reflection, it is apparent that the second structure is a more robust example of an ID theory. When reviewing my colleagues question, though I immediately identified a new question-Was I trying to create a theory or model when devising this idea of Academic Curation?

Theories and models are both very conceptual and tend to morph based on experience and new learnings. Why did I construct the idea of Academic Curation? I believe the purpose was practice based. I was trying to create a way for educators to refine their practice to increase student learning and self-direction within this new information age. So, does the initial question matter? If educators have a tool to use to increase effectiveness during learning then does the label change the outcome?

My answer is as follows: from an academic standpoint, yes the label matters. The academy is working hard to identify those standards and practices to guide the future of learning within the United State. I have an obligation, as a member of the academy to conduct research and post my findings in a scholarly manner. Thus, I believe that the Academic Curation Model could be either a model of thinking when designing a course or it could be a theory that supports intentional use of selected goals, values, and methods to meet the identified preconditions.

The next steps will be to further research (action and theoretical) the use of this new creation to see where it best fits within our academic structure.

Competencies and Outcomes Met:

1. Illustrate how an existing instructional design model is or is not an instructional design theory.

2. Appraise a curation model as an instructional theory.

3. Analyze an existing course or case study.

4. Summarize the intersecting dimensions of an academic curation model.