TCO 665 - Instructional Design Syllabus

What is the purpose of this course? What are the assignments?
What are the instructional goals and objectives? What is the course schedule?
Who is the course instructor? How will my grade be determined?
How do I contact the instructor? What are the course standards?
What will we be reading?

What is the purpose of this course?

This course was developed in response to a growing awareness of the need for instructional design in education and training. Due to the explosion of information and technology in today's workplace, many companies are investing significantly in training and professional development of their employees. This course was designed to introduce you to the process of systematic instructional design, which includes analyzing learners, contexts, and instructional tasks; generating and sequencing learning goals and objectives; determining assessment methods; developing instructional strategies; and planning formative and summative evaluations. You will design a unit of instruction specifically for your organization by applying this process. Ultimately, a better understanding of the instructional design process will help you design, manage, or evaluate the training and professional development activities in your company.

What are the instructional goals and objectives for this course?

Goal: To design an unit of instruction by applying systematic design tools, techniques, and procedures.

Objectives

  1. Define your educational philosophy by (re)examining your personal assumptions related to teaching and learning.
  2. Perform a needs assessment/analysis.
  3. Conduct a learner and context analysis
  4. Perform a task analysis.
  5. Write learning objectives.
  6. Select instructional strategies and instructional media.
  7. Develop instructional materials.
  8. Generate evaluation instruments
  9. Develop formative and summative evaluation plans

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Who is the course instructor?

My name is Helen Grady, and I am an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Technical Communication, School of Engineering, Mercer University. During my 13 years here, I have been actively involved in the curricular design and assessment of Mercer's engineering core courses, in addition to teaching a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate technical communication classes. I founded Mercer's Center for Excellence in Engineering Education in 2000, which provides training and support for engineering faculty in teaching and technology related issues. After four years as Center Director, I became director of Mercer’s MSTCO program. For 10 years prior to joining Mercer, I managed a large technical publications organization for Northrop Corporation in Research Triangle Park, NC.

In 2000, I completed my doctorate in Instructional Technology and Distance Education (after a 25 year hiatus from graduate school). My interest in instructional design stems from my graduate work and I am currently involved in research on instructional design for elearning.

How do I contact the instructor?

The easiest way to contact me is via email: grady_h@mercer.edu

I monitor my email regularly and will try to respond to you with 24 hours. You may also contact me by telephone during my office hours (M-F, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) or at home before 10 p.m.

Office: 478-301-2211, or toll free at 1-800-MercerU, x 2211
Home: 478-745-4721

What will we be reading?

The textbook for this course is The Systematic Design of Instruction by Walter Dick, Lou Carey, and James O. Carey. This is the fifth edition of their book, published by Addison Wesley Longman (ISBN 0-321-03780-4). You may purchase the book directly from your preferred bookseller. We will supplement the material in the text with a variety of journal articles        

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What is the course schedule?

The Fall semester officially starts on Wed., August 18 and ends on Tues., Dec. 7.

The course is divided into 16 units, which correspond to the 16 weeks in the Fall semester. You can view a detailed outline of the activities to be completed for each unit by clicking on the unit links. Information about each assignment can be accessed by clicking on the assignment links in this table. Transcripts of each Thursday chat will be posted by the next day and can be accessed by clicking the link in the assignment area.

View the course schedule by clicking the schedule button in the left nav bar of this web site.

What are the assignments?

There are five major assignments. The point value and due dates for each assignment are listed below. You will find detailed instructions for completing each assignment by clicking on the assignment links. You can also access the assignments by clicking on the assignments button.

 
Title
  
Assignment 1.0 Define your educational philosophy
10
Assignment 2.0 Report 1
50
2.1
         Instructional need and goal statement
10
2.2
         Instructional analysis
30
2.3
         Learner and context analysis
10
Assignment 3.0 Report 2
60
3.1
         Performance objectives and assessment                instruments
20
3.2
        Instructional strategy
30
3.3
        Media selections and delivery strategy
10
Assignment 4.0 Report 3
100
4.1
         One-to-one formative evaluation
20
4.2
         Small group formative evaluation
40
4.3
         Plan for revising instructional materials
15
          Copy of instructional materials
25
Assignment 5.0 Participate in class activities
100
5.1
         Contribute to discussion forum
25
5.2
         Participate in weekly online chats
25
5.3
         Conduct peer reviews
50
  Total Points:
320

Each written assignment should be posted to the Student Deliverables area of our WebCT homepage at least three to five days prior to the due date listed in the table above. This should allow sufficient time for your fellow classmates to peer review your assignment and post their analysis.

You are responsible for critiquing at least one other student submission for each written assignment and posting your peer review in a timely manner so that your fellow students can make the appropriate revisions to their work prior to submitting it for a grade. You may post additional reviews, which will be considered for extra credit.

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How will my grade be determined?

Your final grade will be based on the number of points you receive on the five assignments.

Grades will be calculated as follows:

A   = 288+ points
B+ = 278-287 points
B   = 256-277 points
C   < 255 points

Please note that B is the minimal acceptable passing grade for a graduate course at Mercer University. You may heck your grade at any time using the Grades button.

What are the course standards?

  • You must submit each assignment no later than the date and time specified on the Web page for that assignment. An assignment submitted after the deadline specified on the assignment Web page will be penalized one letter grade. Assignments more than 48 hours late will not be accepted and will receive a grade of 0 (zero).

  • You may request an extension without penalty on an assignment deadline, but you must request such an extension in writing (by e-mail to me) no later than 24 hours before the original deadline. In no case will I grant an extension of more than 48 hours.

  • You must submit each assignment in the electronic form specified on the corresponding assignment page.

  • You must properly name the file you submit for each assignment in accordance with the naming convention specified on the corresponding assignment page.

  • You must use standard written English (grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation). Errors count in a course, just as in the real world.

  • If your work schedule requires that you miss a chat, please send me an e-mail explaining the absence as far in advance of the chat as possible.

  • If you must unexpectedly miss a chat, please send me an e-mail explaining the absence before the next chat.

This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's discretion.
© Helen Grady, 2004
Last Updated 10-Nov-2004
Mercer University
1400 Coleman Avenue
Macon, GA 31207-0001