76-797: Instructional Text Design
This course focuses on the planning, writing, and evaluating of instruction of various kinds, especially instructional texts. It is particularly appropriate for professional and technical writers, but also a good option for anyone interested in fields that involve substantial instruction, such as teaching or employee training. In the first part of the course, weżll examine the recent history of instructional design and the major current theories. Then weżll take a step back and study the concepts of learning upon which these theories are based, with particular attention to their implications for how instruction is structured. Youżll find that different learners (e.g., children, older adults) and goals (e.g., learning concepts and principles, learning to apply principles to solve novel problems, learning a procedure, learning to change oneżs behavior, etc.) require different types of instruction. In the second part of the course, weżll look in detail at models of how people learn from texts and what features (e.g., advanced organizers, examples, metaphors, illustrations, multimedia) enhance learning under what circumstances. We will study and analyze particular types of texts. Some possible examples include an introduction to the concept of gravity; a tutorial for computer software; a self-paced unit in French; adult educational materials in health care; a workshop on sexual harassment in the workplace; or a unit to train someone how to moderate a discussion. We will also look at various methods (concept mapping, think-aloud, comprehension tests, etc.) that are used to plan and evaluate instructional text. You will do a project, either individually or in a small group (2-3), in which you design, write and evaluate instruction.
| A | TR | 10:30 am - 11:50 am | WEH 5328 | Neuwirth |