Running head: RAIDERS READ INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM 1

Raiders Read Instructional Program: Design Project Report

Deborah Ceryes, Joan Miller, Leticia Molina

California State University, Monterey Bay

August 7, 2018

IST 626 Advanced Instructional Design

Dr. Jeanne Farrington

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Raiders Read Instructional Program: Design Project Report

Ms. Shelley Wessels, (“the client”), serves as a credentialed teacher for an Advanced

Placement (AP) Government course in the East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD).

Ms. Wessels requested a lesson plan model that can be adapted to any of her subjects, with the

first priority being her AP Government course, which she began teaching one year ago. The

adopted AP Government curriculum does not adequately meet the needs of her students. The

class teaching time is impacted because the students are not reading the assigned materials.

Therefore, the time set aside for discussion and engagement in the content is not effective. The

teacher needs to address this issue because reading is the means of acquiring subject knowledge.

Pursuant to the client’s proposal, the team utilized a flipped classroom model that

integrates multimedia and reading strategies to engage learners while reading required text for an

AP Government course. Ms. Wessels will apply a template and use multimedia tools to create

additional lesson plans aligned with the flipped model and evidence-based reading strategies.

Various tasks allow for knowledge transfer such as debates, simulations, panel discussions, and

linking content to real-world concepts. At the end of the two-day lesson plan, students will have

a repertoire of tools that they will actively apply in order to access the rigorous readings and

perform critical thinking.

Client and Organizational Goals

Mission statements at both the school district and site level include development of

critical thinking skills for each student to support lifelong learning. The district’s Local Control

Accountability Plan (LCAP) includes the following goal connected to a variety of related

metrics, including AP courses: “Provide high quality instruction, learning opportunities, as well

as guidance supports to prepare every student to graduate ready for college and career.” In

addition, the district’s Educational Technology Plan states: “We will create some of the
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instruction…[The] technology should be used as a transformative device…[to] foster and drive

critical thinking, collaboration, communication at high levels, [and] creative thinking....”

The organizational goals align with the client’s personal investment in the success of

each student. She develops individual relationships with her students and supports their success

by involving them in improving the course direction. She demonstrates a commitment to

learning new strategies and acquiring new tools to ensure student success across several social

science courses. These values foster a growth mindset consistent with the ESUHSD mission,

educational technology plan and the LCAP goals.

Learner Analysis

The primary learner audience is the AP Government students who are preparing for a

post-secondary education and will attempt the College Board exam at the end of the school year.

The secondary learner audience for this project is the client, Ms. Wessels. Her prior knowledge

includes trainings in the past year to strengthen student engagement as well as an introduction to

some reading and collaborative strategies. Ms. Wessels desires a practical approach to

immediately help students strengthen their reading skills at the start of the AP Government

course.

Students will learn new academic support strategies to develop critical thinking and

college level study skills. Ms. Wessels will facilitate students in learning and implementing the

new strategies. She will also apply new technology skills as the instructional program is

designed to provide flexibility for future content creation within the flipped classroom model.

Project Description

To align with the client’s proposal, organizational goals and learner needs, the team

delivered the program in a blended learning model using technology-based training, job aids and

synchronous discussions. To build on the client’s background knowledge, three synchronous

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trainings were conducted. The first synchronous training provided a review of the Reading Guide

format and embedding lesson plans with AVID™ and WICOR™ strategies to improve learner

engagement with reading materials. The second training walked the client through the

installation and basic functions of the multimedia tools EdPuzzle and Loom, which are used to

support the flipped classroom model. The third training session introduced the client to the

website prototype, which serves as the asynchronous technology-based training. In addition, a

second review of the Reading Guide was also conducted. The client performed navigation of the

website prototype and the Reading Guide, which provided practice on using the website and

guide to prepare for the first AP Government lesson.

For job aids, the team built three complementary modules focused on reading,

multimedia, and integration of both strategies to drive student interest in the assigned readings.

When integrated, the three modules serve as an instructional program for the client to customize

lessons for the AP Government curriculum. The guides utilize learning tasks that are appropriate

for the age group as well as align with the client’s classroom schedule and technology

environment.

The Module One Reading Guide details an integrated lesson plan for the client’s AP

Government content on Federalism. The Reading Guide allows the client to rehearse the

strategies with her students as she and they internalize the process of executing each reading

strategy. The Reading Guide supports students in building background knowledge, reading

comprehension, taking notes, participating in academic discussion and developing critical

thinking skills. Every subsequent lesson should apply different strategies aligned with the

essential/focus question for that lesson as well as further development of reading engagement

skills based on learner needs.

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The Module Two Multimedia Guide provides background on flipped classroom model

and using multimedia to create or curate academic content with videos, quizzes, discussions, and

lesson reviews through the use of Loom and EdPuzzle. Using multimedia within a flipped

classroom model introduces concepts, reinforces knowledge, assesses learning and extends

specific tasks outside of class. In addition, the multimedia tools overlap with the client’s existing

tools, which include (but are not limited to): Google Classroom, School Loop, Snagit, and

variety of peripheral devices. All multimedia content should align with the essential/focus

question for that lesson.

The Module Three Integration Guide provides background on how to plan, select and

connect reading strategies and multimedia content into future lesson plans. A specific planning

algorithm prompts the facilitator to design a lesson plan that embeds appropriate reading

strategies to implement during class. In addition, the template plan analyzes when to connect

relevant multimedia content for access outside of class. All reading strategies and multimedia

content should align with the essential/focus question for that lesson.

The final component of the project includes a website to allow asynchronous delivery of

the program documents and multimedia. The website embeds the following content:

1. Objectives, Benefits and Description of each module

2. Modules One, Two and Three (Reading, Multimedia and Resources) shared from

Google and also linked as MS Word and PDF file formats.

3. Handouts that are embedded within the modules to ease search and access to specific

documents.

4. Videos that demonstrate reading strategies, multimedia tools as well as various

content specific to AP Government or Social Sciences.

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Design Decisions

All original design elements remain in the final materials. After review of the Module

One Reading Guide, content revisions occurred to better align the reading strategies to the

scaffolding needed for focused note taking. As such, the team identified the need to “select and

connect” the right reading strategy and multimedia content at the right time and place. Flipping

a classroom is much more than watching videos outside of class. Creating additional guides

focused on multimedia best practices and a lesson plan template ensures integrated lesson

planning beyond the Module One Reading Guide.

Testing feedback also affirmed the need to communicate how to “design” a lesson plan,

as stated in the original design objectives. In addition to the Module One Reading Guide, two

additional modules were developed to address the design challenges. The team decided to

include reference points that link the modules together as well as a six-step graphic that aligns

with a flipped classroom model using reading strategies. Testing feedback also revealed

problems with hyperlinks which required standardized document storage and version control.

Evaluation

Client and developmental testing occurred on the Module 1 Reading Guide and website

towards the end of course development. The third synchronous client session provided a test of

the website prototype and an updated version of the Reading Guide. This first test identified the

issue with embedded document links and several website layout revisions, which were

implemented prior to the second round of testing. In addition, per client feedback, the

multimedia handouts for using the two recommended multimedia tools (e.g. Loom and

EdPuzzle) resulted in installation of the tools as well as a production of a short video. No further

revisions occurred to these handouts.

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Per the design document, two target audiences exist for the Raiders Read project. Testing

did not occur with the primary learners (the students) since a facilitator must implement the

lesson plan to create a practical testing scenario. In regards to the secondary learner audience,

(the client), three test participants, who are members of the secondary target audience, completed

informal developmental testing. These three tests occurred on both the website and Module One

Reading Guide within a 24-hour period and revisions did not occur in between testing. All test

participants rated themselves as “moderate” in technical proficiency. Participants’ technical

environments allowed testing to occur across various operating systems, browsers, monitor sizes

and productivity suites. In addition, test participants varied in experience with AVID

frameworks and strategies from novice to advanced.

Test results indicated challenges in three key areas:

1) Word and PDF documents: Embedded links within these document types did not

work consistently for all participants. To remedy the document storage workflow and minimize

version control management, all content linked to the website and digital documents (MS Word,

PDFs and Google docs) is stored on a shared Google drive. Documents will be saved with

appropriate sharing permissions so any user with the link can view the source content. Any

revisions will be created in a master Google document and downloaded to MS Word and PDF

versions to link to the website.

2) Experience with AVIDTM/WICOR: The diversity in AVIDTM skill level provided

beneficial insight about the need to further integrate the design components. Participants with

some exposure to AVID strategies provided positive feedback about the documents and website.

A participant with less AVID experience prompted additional feedback of “With more guidance

through the [document],..it could be really good” which affirmed the team’s decision to utilize

client meetings as training opportunities to support rapid learning of the instructional program.
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The synchronous training time introduced key strategies, multimedia tools and an orientation to

the lesson plan format. The synchronous aspect of the design confirms this project is not a self-

learning module for AVIDTM /WICORTM beginners. Orientation, introduction and practice

opportunities are helpful to support rapid, scaffolded transformation of educational practice into

a flipped classroom model embedded with WICORTM strategies.

3) Objectives: One participant’s feedback about the design objectives prompted further

discussion about organization of the modules, website and alignment to the design objectives.

For a new AVID learner, using the Module One Reading Guide along with the website created

confusion on where to begin and how to design a lesson plan. As such, the team developed a

lesson plan template to support lesson planning beyond the Module One Reading Guide.

Revisions to the website and other modules will include specific guidance on when to reference

resources in other modules or on the website.

The Raiders Read program’s effectiveness will be evident in the class environment

through student led discussion and collaboration. Scaffolded assessment of students’ skills in

specific reading strategies provide data for the client to “reflect, revise and repeat”, a key

component of the flipped model framework. Ms. Wessels stated “[the program has] lots to do,

but that’s a good thing.”

Teamwork

We self-selected our team from our overall cohort based on a mutual interest in the

described project, and individual talents we knew each person would bring to the project. Three

roles were designated and adhered to throughout the project: Project Manager, Instructional

Designer and Instructional Developer. The self-selection of the group and assigned roles made

for an excellent team.

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Due to the complexity of the design components, each team member produced a specific

portion of the program, but also contributed to creating and curating content, as needed.

Reading, Multimedia and Website subject matter expertise supported a foundation to deliver a

comprehensive program efficiently. Client meetings occurred weekly each Friday. A regular

schedule helped keep the project on pace with design deliverables. The client meetings also

presented the opportunity to conduct synchronous training, while designing and developing the

project.

Challenges

Competing priorities (individual assignments within this class, other classes, family

responsibilities, jobs, life…) impacted the time needed to fully develop a project of this scope.

Continuous inquiry occurred to ensure adequate alignment with the design scope. Individual

course assignments distracted from the ability to fully focus on creating all the components in a

timely manner. Finally, juggling between primary and secondary learners required multiple

discussions about who is served by this project.

Content management impacted several areas of the project, including confusion with

shared drive organization, extra meeting time to review all deliverables and embedded linking

within documents. Content encompasses media locally produced and created by team members

as well as curated content from a vast resource on the internet. Determining a formal storage

structure is paramount for efficient project management as well as supporting the project’s

multimedia components (e.g. website, videos, embedded links).

Advice for Future Students

Regularly scheduled meetings as a team and with the client are critical to keep the project

moving forward on schedule. Use agendas to maintain efficient meetings and discussions. A
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consistent list of weekly deliverables guides the team to focus on agreed upon revisions and due

dates.

To manage team dynamics and sustain productivity, beware of the “rabbit holes” and

“boiling the ocean” by taking on too much. Stay focused on the design objectives to maintain

efficient project development. Know when to give up and try something else. Avoid situations

where the solution becomes an unsustainable maze, especially when the team is mentally “fried.”