Week One. My reflections. My definitions.

I have been in the classroom for the past six years. I have been teaching for five. The most exciting part of being an educator has to be when you see the transformation of the learner from uneducated and unable to educated, knowledgeable and able. It all starts with good curriculae. The curriculum design aspect of my work has been greatly enjoyed and extremely satisfying. The journey I have taken in understanding the subject matter and translating it into meaningful curriculum has been time consuming, interesting and fun for me. I have learned as much as I could along the way from classes, workshops and now University studies. This has helped me to become a better designer. And, I have learned from my mistakes. Humility is an important aspect of being an educator, in my opinion.

For me, instructional design means how we plan to deliver the subject matter and achieve the outcomes we either set out or have set out for us in a course outline. ID means careful planning according to the learners needs using what is available to us in terms of resources. The learning theory I align most with is humanistic in nature. I believe that the learner each comes to the learning environment with their seperate motivations and from a different place. They all gather to achieve the same learning outcomes but they all come from a different context. As an educator I cannot expect that they will all relate to the same delivery style or method of evaluation. I see myself as a guide in the learning process and as such, I should be sensitive to the needs of my learners. I need to understand their indivupidual needs and do my best to accomodate them to promote as much success as possible.


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Instructional design takes on new meaning for me when I see it in these terms. It becomes elevated in it's importance when we see the development of the ID as crucial to the learner and not just simply delivering a pile of information in an orderly fashion. Identifying the needs of the learner according to the  subject matter, the context in which it is being delivered and what the learners motivations are need to be taken into consideration and utilized in the ID. 

As someone who loves to gather information and fit it together to make sense of it, I have especially enjoyed the ID aspect of my work as an educator. I want to learn more so that, one day, after I leave the classroom, I can focus on ID as a career and help others designing exceptional courses and workshops. I feel excited to take on a new challenge in this course. I plan to be less "blah blah" and more educated by the end of the course LOL

C.