Evaluation and Redesign of Instructional Materials - WordPress ...

Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

1










Evaluation and
Redesign of Instructional
Materials

for

“Design & Implement a Knowledge
Management Plan”

21

April 2013

Jeff Ragland


submitted for:

EDCI 588 Motivation & Instructional Design

Professor Sangil Yoon





Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

2

Table of Contents

Title of the Program

................................
................................
................................
....

3

Design and Implement a Knowledge Management Plan

................................
................................
..........

3

Overview of the Program

................................
................................
............................

3

Purpose

................................
................................
................................
................................
................................
.........

3

Intended Audience

................................
................................
................................
................................
...................

4

Current Motivational Strategies

................................
................................
..................

4

Recommendations for Improving Motivation

................................
..............................

4

Theoretical Justification

................................
................................
..............................

7

Completed Redesign of KM Plan E
-
Learning

................................
................................

7

References

................................
................................
................................
..................

8




Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

3

Title of the Program

Design and Implement a Knowledge Management Plan

Terminal Objective

After completing all e
-
learning modules, the learner will be able to:

•

Define knowledge management

•

Demonstrate file naming rules

•

Demonstrate file server organization

•

Define metadata

•

Implement meta tagging into digital documents

•

Demonstrate email best practices

•

Recognize file distribution best practices

•

Practice digital oversight of subordinates

Competency is demonstrated by the learner’s correct responses to assessment
questions. After achieving this competency, the learne
r will apply the KM rules and best
practices to all newly created digital data and exercise oversight of others using company
networks.

Overview of the Program

Purpose

The company I work for, Laser Shot, has grown from a small business into a
medium sized
business

over the course of 12 years
. We manufacture several product lines
and develop our own software products. Even though the company has grown, no
deliberate Knowledge Management (KM) plan has ever been implemented, making many
routine procedures very

difficult. I propose
d

a KM
e
-
learning
plan for the company
that
was gratefully accepted.

The need for this
plan

was

assessed through six months of direct
observation and interaction with other employees and clients. The lack of a KM plan is
readily observ
able and acknowledged by employees as a serious shortcoming. I started
initially developing this idea during EDCI 569

(Introduction to E
-
Learning)

but never had
the opportunity to implement it
, until very recently

(
with
in the la
st week)
.

Key
objectives

included in th
is

e
-
learning project:



Definition of Knowledge Management



Understanding
File Naming

Standards



Using File Servers



Understanding
Metadata & Meta Tagging



Email & File Distribution

Best Practices

Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

4

All of the materials evaluated and subsequently
redesigned are still in the analysis
phase of instructional design.

The final product will be

implement
ed

in an e
-
learning
format
.

Intended Audience

The ultimate target audience for this project is all em
ployees of Laser Shot (about
100

people), and the tw
o satellite offices (another 5 people). Initial training audience is
the individual department managers. There are differing levels of learner motivation.
Additionally, the learners have vastly disparate education levels, from high school
graduates up to P
hD. All employees have access to, and use, digital files and systems; so
basic computer skills are an assumed entry skill. Through direct observation, employees
requiring additional computer training will be referred to the company’s IT personnel.
After in
itial implementation, KM training and implementation will be handed off to IT
for continuation.

Current Motivational Strategies

This e
-
learning was initially crafted prior to taking EDCI 588 (Motivation)
. As such,
there was no deliberate motivational strat
egy involved in the design, only a gut
-
feeling
for what seemed right.
A “pre
-
mortem” analysis of the design indicates the only clearly
recognizable motivation strategy was the extrinsic motivation that this KM plan was
required (mandatory) learning for all

employees as a condition of continued employment.
There is a high likelihood that most learners would have treated this as a performance
objective and something to be checked off their requirements list. Very few, other than
the Information Technology te
am, would approach this learning as a mastery goal.

Recommendations for Improving Motivation

After conducting a critical review of the e
-
learning program using the Motivation ID
& Evaluation form created previously, several areas for improvement to motivat
ion were
identified. As a reference document, the completed form is included here.

Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

5


T
he

terminal objective
was identified as a
performance goal and the overall program
identified as
mandatory
. To improve motivation, this program will be converted to
volun
tary training, with a further recommendation to offer a reward of time off for
successfully
completing the modules
. In order to clearly set expectations, the website
Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

6

where the e
-
learning modules reside (the launch pad) has been adjusted to include
expectat
ions and the rewards for completion as part of the instructions.

Even though basic computer skills are an entry skill, to prevent frustration and
promote engagement, learners will complete a self
-
assessment of their computer skills
prior to beginning any m
odules. The results will be forwarded to the IT Department for
evaluation. Any self
-
assessed deficiencies will be addressed on an individual basis (it is
assumed there will be few, if any, learners requiring basic computer skills training).

A suitable inst
ructor will be assigned to review the employee results and make
recommendations. The instructor will be screened to ensure they possess strong IT skills,
such as certifications for operating systems, networking, and applications in use.
Instructor will com
plete a self
-
assessment of his own abilities to teach, with any noted
deficiencies being addressed by an instructional designer (me, initially) and subsequent
training implemented (or instructor will be relieved of instructional task, depending on
assessed

skills).

The negative consequence of potential employment termination for lack of KM e
-
learning program completion, is very threatening and would have likely caused
employees to preemptively look for employment elsewhere. As a direct result, the
instructi
ons on the launch pad have been modified to indicate this is a voluntary training
task and to specify time
-
off reward for completion of e
-
learning modules.

To track
completion and eligibility for any reward, completion certificates will be generated after
a module assessment, and a cumulative program certificate generated after all modules
have been completed.

Certificates will become a part of the employee’s HR record.

The program has been adjusted to include a post
-
training, face
-
to
-
face conversation
betw
een the instructional designer (me, initially, ultimately falling to the IT Department)
with an subjective assessment being completed and follow
-
on training (if any) being
recommended to the learner. To prevent intrinsic pressure, this face
-
to
-
face assessm
ent
will be kept confidential.

To allow advanced learners to pretest out of the training, learners will be allowed to
take all assessments without requirement to first take the e
-
learning modules.
Competency
, demonstrated by
providing completion
certificates to the instructor, will be
rewarded with the same time
-
off eligibility.

Practice for this task was determined as non
-
applicable (n/a) since competency will
ultimately be determined through direct observation of the digital practices of the lea
rner
(e.g. do they use correct file naming procedures, do they use meta tagging, do they
correctly store files on the file servers). A basic understanding of the KM plan, readily
accomplished without practice, can be
realized

with
a published KM policy.

An
other motivatio
nal weakness identified was the likelihood of training distractors.
To control these distractions, schedules will be developed, allowing the employee to have
uninterrupted time to complete the e
-
learning modules. These schedules will be set
by the
employee’s manager to ensure buy
-
in.

Finally, rewards, in the form of time off, have been implemented for successful
demonstration of task completion. For each completion certificate, employees are
rewarded with one hour of time off. For successfull
y completing the entire program,
Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

7

employees will receive a total of one day off (time off will be scheduled with employee’s
manager to ensure no lapse in mission accomplishment occurs). The negative
consequence of potential employment termination has been r
emoved.

Collectively, these improvements should improve motivation

and result in a greater
collaborative capability in the company. This training will likely be expanded to include
KM for the physical world (e.g. file folders, file cabinets, storage locati
ons) to
complement the KM plan for the digital world (i.e. the focus of this program).

Theoretical Justification

Changing the e
-
learning from mandatory, extrinsically motivated learning to
voluntary learning should help drive intrinsic motivation. Couplin
g this shift to intrinsic
motivation with the reward of time
-
off for completing the program is a direct application
of lessons learned in EDCI 588, such as social co
gnitive theory and goal theory.

More closely observing learners to ensure they possess requ
ired entry skills will help
reinforce perceived learner self
-
efficacy and should encourage some intrinsic motivation.
They should be able to manage their expectations based on their basic computer skills
self
-
assessment results.

Getting suitable
instructors

that are comfortable w
ith their role as the instructor

will
help with interest and affection motivation; as will varying the types of media being used
in completion of the program.

Removing the fear of potentially losing their job for non
-
compl
etion positively
impacts needs based motivation. The termination potential for failing created an
unnecessary stressor on the learner and would have likely caused learners to disengage
from the learning.

Completed Redesign of KM Plan E
-
Learning

The complet
ely redesigned program can be found at:
http://kmplan.wordpress.com
.



Evaluation & Redesign of
Instructional Design Materials

8

References

Branson, R. K., Rayner, G. T., Cox, J. L., Furman, J. P., King, F. J., Hannum, W. H.
(1975). Interservice procedures for instructi
onal systems development. (5 vols.)
(TRADOC Pam 350
-
30 NAVEDTRA 106A). Ft. Monroe, VA: U.S. Army
Training and Doctrine Command, August 1975. (NTIS No. ADA 019 486 through
ADA 019 490).


Brito,

N.

E. (2012).
Focusing on student attitude and motivation to
improve assessment
results
. Retrieved from
http://interventioncentral.mysdhc.org/interventions/01
-
AppropCurric.pdf


CliffsNotes.com.
Motivation Strategies
. 18 April 201
3. Retrieved from
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId
-
8944,articleId
-
8911.html
.


Chauncey,

S. (n.d.).
ARCS Motivation Model
-

Motivation at a g
lance: An ISchool
collaborative
. Retrieved

April

6, 2013, from
https://sites.google.com/site/motivationataglanceischool/arcs
-
motivation
-
model


Downriverside (2012, April 4).
Motivation | downriver
. Retrieved

April

6, 2013, from
http://downriverside.wordpress.com/category/motivation/


Keller, J. M. (1983). Motivational design
of instruction. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.),
Instructional
-
design theories and models: An overview of their current status.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.


Keller, J. M. (1984). The use of the ARCS model of motivation in teacher training. In K.
S
haw & A. J. Trott (Eds.), Aspects of Educational Technology Volume XVII:
staff Development and Career Updating. London: Kogan Page.


Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of motivational design.
Journal of Instructional Development, 1
0(3), 2
–

10.


Keller,

J. (2011, October 14).
Motivation design
. Retrieved

April

6, 2013, from
http://www.arcsmodel.com/Mot%20dsgn%20A%20model.htm


Maslow, A.H.

(1943). A theory of human motivation.
Psychological Review, 50
(4), 370
–
96. Retrieved from
http://psychclassics.yorku.
ca/Maslow/motivation.htm


Meier,

J.

D. (2011, November 12).
Motivation Guidelines
-

Getting Results | The Book
.
Retrieved

April

6, 2013, from
http://gettingresults.com/wiki/Motivation_Gui
delines


Schunk,

D.

H., Meece,

J.

L., & Pintrich,

P.

R. (2014).
Motivation in education: Theory,
research, and applications

(4th

ed.). Boston: Pearson.