Case study Fundamentals of Instructional Design
Wondering what sustainable learning could look like? Discover how a co-design team managed to weave in sustainability into an instructional design graduate course.
Integrating Sustainability in an Instructional Design Course: Cultivating a Sustainable Mindset
During the Winter semester of 2023, Dr. Ji Yae Bong, from the Department of Education, got together with student partners Sana Ahmad and Rasleen Kaur to redesign the curriculum of the ETEC 650 Fundamentals of Instructional Design course. The course, offered to students in the Educational Technology MA and Instructional Technology Graduate Diploma programs, offers an introduction to instructional design and engages students in preparing an instructional program. Thanks to the work of Dr. Bong and the student partners, the redesigned course now emphasizes sustainability and its relevance to education, cultivating a sustainability mindset among aspiring instructional designers.
The team’s goal was to develop a curriculum through which students could learn and apply sustainability concepts and be introduced to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The co-design team decided to take an integrated sustainability approach and weave in sustainability topics and goals throughout the course. This was done through varied materials and instructional design projects. While the team added new resources to help students navigate this topic, they also decided to redesign and add a sustainability lens to existing assignments. As a result, the redesigned course offers active and blended learning opportunities, as the final project requires students to prepare a unit of instruction and develop a learning program that incorporates various elements of sustainability.
Weaving Sustainability into the Instructional Design Project
The co-design team decided to choose the semester-long Instructional Design (ID) project as the focus of the redesign for multiple reasons. First, they thought that introducing sustainability elements through the ID project would provide students with time for deep reflection on several aspects of sustainability. Second, they wanted to weave in sustainability throughout the course, not just as part of one unit. This, they decided, would allow them to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity while covering different learning domains, such as cognitive and affective. Thus, students will be engaging emotionally with the topic of sustainability through self-reflection while increasing their knowledge and awareness about it.
For the ID project, students will create a 30-minute instructional unit. The first two weeks of the redesigned course will offer an introduction to basic sustainability concepts and to SDGs along with other project components. After this, students will have to submit a topic proposal aligned with an SDG of their choice for the project. This is then reviewed and approved by the course TA or instructor. During the development of the unit, students will engage in experiential learning, as they will be tasked with conducting a learning needs assessment, designing a learning program, and planning formative evaluations.
Introducing Sustainability Through Other Assignments
In addition to the main ID project, the team also prepared other assignments and resources to prepare students for a successful and sustainable instructional design career. For instance, a case study with different components of sustainability will be presented to students in one of the early weeks. The Sustainability Awareness Program, as this case study is called, will show students how to develop a sustainability-focused learning program by applying the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) model of instructional design.
Additionally, students are presented with a Following the Field assignment, specifically redesigned to allow them to follow a sustainability-focused podcast or journal of their choice. Since sustainability is not a common theme in the Instructional Design field, the team compiled an annotated list of resources, which included diverse voices and non-Western perspectives. To help students choose the right resource, the team included a brief but thorough description of the podcasts and journals presented. Finally, to assess this assignment, students are asked to produce a reflective essay summarizing their learnings, influences and personal actions toward sustainability.
Assessments and Feedback
Assessment
Various assessment activities were designed or redesigned to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in diverse ways:
- Summative Assessment for Online Peer Discussion: The course instructor and TA monitor weekly discussion forums, which has at least one question on either the concept of sustainability or how it can be used in designing courses. The contributions on the forum will be graded worth 2%.
- Summative Assessment for ID Course Project: The instructor will now evaluate how well the students justify the alignment of their project topic with an SDG. In addition, the quality and relevance of activities targeted towards sustainability included in the instructional design course project will be assessed. Learning Needs Assessment and Design Plans account for 20% and 15%, respectively, of the total course grade.
- Formative Assessment for Sustainability Case Study: This component is non-graded and has a self-evaluation and peer evaluation component.
- Summative Assessment for Following the Field: The reflection paper will be assessed on how well it analyzes and presents overall impressions based on
- the ongoing sustainability-related discussion(s) students have followed.
- The students’ ongoing sustainability-related discussion(s). This assignment accounts for 15% of the total course grade.
Feedback
Feedback will be provided though:
- One-on-one discussion/review sessions with the instructor during both class and non-class time to discuss their sustainability-oriented course projects.
- Peer review sessions during class.
- An open discussion forum on Moodle that the instructor and TA will monitor for queries and ideas.
Examples of redesigned or created teaching resources
The co-design team shared the Following the Field assignment they created through the co-design project. This assignment was designed to enable students to follow sustainability-focused podcast or journal and reflect on their learnings from following that specific resource (attached resource).
Redesign Summary
Instructor
Dr. Ji Yae Bong
Student partners
Sana Ahmad & Rasleen Kaur
ETEC 650: Fundamentals of Instructional Design
- A 600-level course that introduces students to instructional design, which refers to both the systematic process for preparing learning materials as well as to the theories and principles that guide that work.
- Mandatory course for students in the Education Technology MA program.
- Approximately 50 students take this course per term (two classes of 20-25 students each).
- The course assessment structure includes online forum discussions, a final project, and a reflection essay.
Goal
The goal of the redesign was to develop a project that teaches students to prepare a unit of instruction while providing them with the opportunity to integrate an SDG and other elements of sustainability.
Redesigned units
The redesign was woven throughout the course. During the first two weeks, students will be introduced to SDGs along with other project components, which will equip them with the tools to keep them thinking and integrating an SDG of their choice in their ID project.
Sustainability lens or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The course was redesigned to provide students with an introduction to the Sustainable Development Goals, enabling them to choose a topic for their ID project that aligns with any of the seventeen SDGs. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to develop a sustainability mindset and invited to reflect on their personal and professional relationships to sustainability. The redesigned also incorporated pedagogies that promote sustainability such as solving real-world issues, self-assessments, and peer reviews.
Sample learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Design an instructional program that is associated with a Sustainable Development Goal.
- Demonstrate how SDGs can be addressed through education and training.
- Apply their knowledge of instructional design principles and methods to address real-world issues related to sustainable development.
- Reflect on personal perspectives and actions in relation to sustainability and articulate thoughts on contributing to a sustainable future.