DESIGN PROJECT PROSPECTUS 1

University of the West Indies, Open Campus

A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Course

EDID 6512 Design Project

Semester 2, 2022

Name: Keshann Stewart

ID#: 315104409

Design Project Prospectus

Due Date: May 13, 2022

Course Facilitator: Dr. Camille Dickson- Deane

Project Advisor: Dr. Janelle Edwards

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Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Identification and Justification of Need...........................................................................................4

Description of Target Audience.......................................................................................................7

Description of Method of Investigation...........................................................................................7

Literature Review............................................................................................................................8

Solutions........................................................................................................................................12

References......................................................................................................................................15
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Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted greater interest in the online modality of

teaching and learning. As educators experienced Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT), there has

been an influx of requests to have online learning platforms as the norm in their classrooms. The

challenge though is that there has been an unexpected and urgent request for previously face-to-

face university courses to be taught online. Online teaching and learning imply a specific

pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) related to organizing and designing for a better learning

experience, through the creation of distinctive learning environments with the help of digital

technologies. Therefore, adequate training and support are needed for all stakeholders who desire

this transition.

The University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC) is Jamaica’s largest privately-

owned national institution. UCC provides students with world-class educational programs,

offered by qualified faculty members (UCC, n.d). Like many universities, UCC offered classes

in a blended environment before the advent of the coronavirus. Students had the option to take

courses in a virtual setting (synchronous and asynchronous), and faculty members had the

opportunity to teach in person and virtually. But UCC was not immune to the disruption in the

field of education as an effect of the pandemic as there was a need to have courses offered solely

online. Yet, courses offered only in the online modality would prove to have great pedagogical

implications.

The typical requirement at UCC, prior to the pandemic, was for faculty members to

attend an online training session, introducing them to the basic knowledge and skills necessary

for the preparation of course materials and learning activities for the online platform. This was

done in order to treat the online component of courses or programmes, with the university’s

approved use of the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS).

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This directive was driven by the need for faculty to show competence in how to navigate

the platform which includes managing course participants and creating modules and various

learning activities. Yet, this training session has proven to be insufficient in adequately preparing

them to use the LMS effectively and efficiently.

The need for further faculty training is to enhance their abilities to face the demands of

the labour market and employ quality education in their area of specialization. As such, faculty

member development and preparation have gained the attention of educational institutions

worldwide (Khalil et al., 2020). Implementing the training program for faculty members will

help to improve their performance which is paramount for them to be effective and efficient in

their roles in this ever-changing educational landscape. However, with modern technology and

the knowledge revolution, as examined in a recent Harvard Business Review article (Kosslyn,

2019), there are several problems facing university education such as methodological, technical,

and behavioral challenges.

This project aims to create and implement a self-paced online comprehensive training

program specifically focused on the faculty members at UCC using the approved Learning

Management System, Moodle. The training program will be designed, developed, and

implemented to help faculty members be more competent in their role as online facilitators of

learning.

Identification and Justification of Need

The challenge that the university is now experiencing is the less than desirable uptake by

instructors in designing and delivering programmes using the Moodle LMS. Before COVID-19,

the entire faculty taught face-to-face. Due to the disruption of the pandemic, UCC was

challenged in having all courses in the online modality.

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Within the last two years, these teachers have received videos created by UCC support

staff, guiding them on how to use the Moodle platform for online learning. However,

implementing a training program for all faculty members is needed to provide them the basic

tools necessary to support:

● Competence - faculty members are the assets of any educational institution. As a

result, the competency levels of the faculty will have a direct influence on the

performance of students (Bhatti, M.A & Aldossary, 2021).

● Innovation - the most important responsibility of individual faculty members is to

enhance the students' learning experience. Studies show that pedagogical

innovations improve students' success in many higher educational institutions

(Bradshaw, 2002). However, instructors often lack the training or support needed

to replicate those innovations in their particular context.

● Improved skills and knowledge - faculty training program improves skills and

knowledge to match the various challenges in the education sector.

● Preparation of faculty for increased responsibility - faculty training programs help

prepare faculty members who are moving into demanding roles with added

responsibilities at the university.

● Efforts to express value and appreciation of staff - implementing training

programs at UCC will help the faculty members feel valued. By continuing to

invest in the faculty and teaching them new skills and abilities, they will become

better workers, exhibiting proficiency through efficient and effective teaching.

● Implementation of performance appraisals recommendations - when UCC faculty

members' performance appraisals suggest the need to improve teaching virtually,

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training programs can be organized for the faculty members to help satisfy the

requirement. Thus, training can address identified problems.

No prior research has been conducted to determine the perception of UCC faculty

members’ in relation to the use of Moodle and its impact on their pedagogical practices. The lack

of research on Moodle usage is an indicator that technology implementation for online teaching

and learning is severely lacking at the University. However, a brief survey was conducted via a

questionnaire (see Appendix A) with 20 facilitators who have experienced the one-day

introductory training provided by the university. The results of this online training indicate a

deficiency in the already established training, highlighting that it was insufficient to support their

role as online educators.

The proposed training course is the first of its kind to be implemented within the

university and the administration is hoping to make it mandatory for all faculty members. The

training course will have a very practical approach, and faculty will gain the working knowledge

of the main features of Moodle, which in return will help them acquire many ideas and capacities

to simplify their students’ learning process and make online teaching more enjoyable and

meaningful.

The objectives of this design project will include the following outline:

● Creation of online self-paced modules where the faculty will be able to develop

their instructional design and delivery skills regarding the development and

delivery of their respective programmes via the online modality.

● Modules that provide collaborative activities to support the instructional design

process and by extension, the design and delivery of their respective programmes
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While collaboration is not the major problem identified in regard to the effective use of

the LMS, the designer recognizes the benefits of creating a community of learners, mirroring the

pertinent online pedagogical practices to be implemented by faculty members. The design

intends to build competence and efficiency through the development of tools to complement and

establish such practice.

Description of Target Audience

The target audience for this project is a small number of facilitators from the Information

Technology and Mathematics department as well as the Business Administration department.

Two (2) or 40% of the faculty have teaching experiences ranging between 10 to 20 years; one (1)

or 20% has over 20 years of experience, while the remaining participants have less than ten years

of teaching experience.

Within the last two years, twenty percent (20%) of the faculty have been trained in the

use of the LMS via the method explained in the introductory section of the prospectus – short,

one-day training which included just the basics of manipulating Moodle. Many of the faculty

have both technical and pedagogy skills which serves as a model quality for teaching within any

LMS.

Description of Method of Investigation

The methods of data collection will be used to collect information on the prior training as

well as the knowledge and skills of the faculty. The following methods for data collection are:

 Questionnaire- the initial data collection method will involve the target audience

responding to an eight (8) question survey aimed at revealing the issues the prior training

has on the skills and knowledge of the faculty using the Moodle platform. The

information gathered will be tabulated to draw the initial conclusion that will be used as
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the foundation for the recommendations and solutions and focused on the faculty's

knowledge and skill set.

 Faculty Observation- Classroom observations and informal view-exchanges about the

Moodle platform knowledge and experiences.

Literature Review

There is a need to explore the implementation of effective e-learning through Moodle and

how the various facilities of Moodle are used by faculty to provide an interactive and stimulating

online learning experience. Therefore, this section will examine the six (6) theoretical

foundations of e-learning, the ADDIE Model, Performance Support Systems, Merrill’s First

Principle of Instruction, Cognitive Constructivism, Engagement Theory, and the Operant

Conditioning. These models influence the implementation of e-learning, providing greater

insight into the needed structure of a training programme to prepare educators for the process of

teaching and learning online.

ADDIE Instructional Design Model

Kurt (2015) stated that an “instructional design model provides guidelines to organize

appropriate pedagogical scenarios to achieve instructional goals” (p. 2). This model is one of the

most successful and effective models for an instructional designer because it is heavily

associated with quality design, a clear objective, carefully structured content, integration of

media, promoting student engagement through the use of activities, and is strongly tied to

learning outcomes and assessments. The effectiveness of the ADDIE model is it is a very useful
DESIGN PROJECT PROSPECTUS 9

management tool, allowing for the design and development of a large number of courses with

standard and high quality. (Aldoobie, 2015).

According to Smith and Ragan (2004), this design model is used by instructional

designers for technology-based teaching and development. With the constant changes in the

instructional environment and the emerging technologies and instructional development tools,

the ADDIE model is more adaptable to today’s instructional environment. This model is still

widely used within the online environment and is integrated into training and development

throughout the world, although some revisions have been made over the years.

Performance Support Systems

The primary objective of a Performance Support System is to deliver knowledge to the

user when needed to perform a process or complete a task (Rosset & Schafer, 2007).

Performance Support Systems or to be more specific, electronic performance support systems

(EPSS), infuses learning and task performance into a single action through the provision of

information and guidance about the task in response to specific needs and situations, which

allows for learning to take place while working (Rosset & Schafer, 2007).

The combination of learning opportunities in class or online with the implementation of a

Performance Support System can improve on-the-job performance with quick and accessible

resources being readily available (Narum, 2018). According to Rosset and Schafer, (2007), “the

performance support is like a helper in both life and work. It acts like a repository that contains

information, processes, and perspectives that can inform and guide one into planning and taking

action”. (p. 25).

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Merrill’s First Principle of Instruction

The First Principles of Instruction Theory, as articulated by M. David Merrill, are the

principles that are crucial in the structure of creating an online course that is engaging and

effective in a learning program. The first principles are basic methods that can be readily

understood and applied by faculty to enhance their instruction in a wide variety of learning

contexts. Concisely, these principles state that learning is promoted when:

1. Learners are engaged in solving real-life problems

2. Learners’ existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge

3. New knowledge is demonstrated to the learner

4. New knowledge is applied by the learner

5. New knowledge is integrated into the learner's world.

Educators will also be allowed to apply the knowledge gained through solving

instructional design problems that apply to their respective learning programs (Jalilehvand,

2016). Research conducted by Merrill (2002) supports the position that student learning

increases when The First Principle of Instruction is used as a part of instructional strategy. In the

context of creating learning programs, it is desired that faculty learn as much as they can so that

they can apply newly developed competence to the design and delivery of their assigned

programs.

Cognitive Constructivism

The constructivism theory promotes a rich learning environment that fosters independent

exploration by learners thereby leading to a deeper understanding of content (Koyanagi, n.d. as

cited by Carwil, 2007). Cognitive constructivism builds on the activation of prior knowledge,

creating surprise, applying and evaluating knowledge, and reflection (Stanny, 2019). One of the
DESIGN PROJECT PROSPECTUS 11

underlying thoughts on constructivism is that learning is retained better when connected with

existing knowledge or structures, “which emphasizes the active involvement of the learner in

idea-constructing, knowledge-building based on intrinsic motivation, past experiences, and

knowledge” (Khalil et al., 2021, p.20). This will provide faculty the opportunity for assimilation

through discovery, experiences, collaborative learning team, project-based, task-based, and

problem-based learning.

Constructivism is related to the theory of enlightenment. This theory states that through

discovery, experiences, collaborative learning teams, project-based, task-based, and problem-

based learning, learning must become one with the interest of exploring facts, digging for

reasons, and searching for the significance of life oneself. According to Stanny (2019), “One

may find in constructivism with its insistence on self-reflection and critical thinking a certain

help in reducing the domination of technology, and hence, in reducing the mechanism of the

Moodle system.”(p.32). Constructivist learning demands learners to develop one's understanding

and the teacher to be a facilitator and designer of the teaching and learning process to make it

compatible with students' cognitive experiences and to promote an environment for exploration

and learning.

Engagement Theory

This theory which was developed by Kearsley and Schneiderman posits that when

learners find the learning process meaningful, this will translate into more effective learning,

retention as well as their ability to transfer the information to other situations. Engagement

theory also supports team efforts by emphasizing communication, management, planning, and

social skills (Andrews et al., 2014). The engagement theory has emerged from the author’s

experiences in teaching through the distance education environment.

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Engaging in learning means students' activities should involve the active cognitive

process such as creating, problem-solving, critical thinking, reasoning, decision making, and

evaluating. This principle theory of student engagement is understood to be of utmost

importance to benchmark and provide key indicators for the quality of the student experience

in the classroom.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning theory, introduced by F. Skinner, identifies three types of

responding to stimulus: neutral operant conditions, reinforces, and punishers. In this way, the

operant conditioning theory forces learning under an arranged environment. There is no way for

learners to think by themselves. That means that the operant conditioning theory regulates

students’ behaviors and reduces their thinking force. Such theory, unfortunately, is not

compatible with the essence of education as persons learn as they develop. Furthermore,

conditioning theory breaks the content into chunks, generalizing and locking them in certain

logic.

The Moodle system displays the power of the conditioning theory regardless of the

individual view and intention of facilitators and designers. Even the rights to express, respond to,

or protect personal privacy are set by the designer regardless of the difference between teachers

and students.

Solutions

The proposed solution in response to the performance gaps identified will design an

online Moodle training course for the design and delivery of blended and online course delivery.

Embedded within this solution will be avenues for collaboration through the use of forums which
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will allow instructors to share ideas and build their knowledge. The proposed solution will be

divided into the following modules which participants will be required to attempt sequentially:

● Identifying and Organizing Course Content

● Defining Instructional Media, Evaluation, and Delivery strategies

● Creating Interactive Content

● Evaluating Learning Activities

Assessment activities for each module will include case studies, discussions, and

practical assignments. The summative assessment will have participants creating a unit for

blended learning and delivering that unit to trainees within their respective programmes.

Training for the participants will be delivered by Moodle as this is the Learning Management

System that the organization has invested in.

While the scope of the project will be narrower and more customized for a particular

context, similarities have been found in using the approach used by the online learning

consortium. In addition to offering training in online course development and design principles,

among other areas, there will be an active community where just about everyone from educators,

experts, students, and other stakeholders can share information and enhance their professional

growth. The intention is to harness this underlying practice in the design.

Upon the successful completion of this program, educators will earn a badge for each of

the six completed courses as well as the Moodle Educator Certificate, a prestigious validation

from UCC. This certificate will enhance the reputation of the faculty and put them on the right

track to advance their career with credentials that prove their capacity for online learning and

digital skills.
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Similar solutions include:

1. Blended Learning Essentials facilitated by Future Learn

(https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/blended-learning-getting-started). A free

course for the vocational education and training sector to promote effective practice

and pedagogy in blended learning. This solution was selected as it is particularly

designed for persons working in technical, vocational, education, and training which

is the kind of organization that this project will be applied in.

2. Moodle Educator Certification Program- https://moodle.com/mec/.The MEC is a

certification program for educators, or learning and development professionals, who

have experience in teaching or training with Moodle LMS OR Moodle Workplace.

The MEC emphasizes the importance of developing pedagogic and professional

competencies to enhance and innovate online education and training.

3. Teaching with Moodle- https://www.teacheracademy.eu/course/moodle/. It is aligned

with the European Framework for Digital Competencies for Educators

(DigCompEdu), which articulates 22 competencies in six areas of skills needed to

enhance and innovate education and training.

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References

Aldoobie, N. (2015). ADDIE model. American International Journal of Contemporary

Research, 5(6), 68-72.

Andrews, S., Daway, F., Gregory, S., Josephs, S. (2014). Engagement theory of learning.

Slide Share. https://www.slideshare.net/faithwhitedaway/engagement-theory-of-

learning

Bhatti, M.A & Aldossary, M. A. (2021). Faculty Development through Training Effectiveness:

Role of Training Contents, Social Support, and Instrumentality. Eurasian Journal of

Educational Research (EJER), 96, 170–181.

Bradshaw, L.K. (2002). Technology for teaching and learning: Strategies for staff development

and online support. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10(1), 131-150.

Jalilehvand, M. (2016). Study the Impact of Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction on

Students’ Creativity. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.. 7(2),313-317.

Khalil, R., Mansour, A.E., Fadda, W.A. et al. The sudden transition to synchronized online

learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study exploring

medical students’ perspectives. BMC Med Educ 20, 285 (2020).

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02208-z

Kosslyn, S. (2019). Are you developing skills that won't be automated? Harvard Business

Review.

Kurt, S. (2015). Instructional Design Models and Theories, in Educational Technology,

https://educationaltechnology.net/instructional-design-models-and-theories/

Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instructional design. Educ. Technol.,

Res. Dev. 50: 43–59.

DESIGN PROJECT PROSPECTUS 16

Narum, C. (2018). 10 Types Of Performance Support Tools From Quick Reference Guides To

Mobile Apps. https:??elearningindustry.com/performance-support-tools-quick-reference-

guides-mobile-apps-10-types

Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (2004). Instructional Design. New York, NY: Wiley &

Sons. Google Books.

Stanny, C. (2019). Use Elements of Cognitive Constructivism to Design Effective Learning

Activities, 32. https://ctl.byu.edu/tip/use-elements-cognitive-constructivism-design-

effective-learning-activities

University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC). (n.d.) About us. UCC.

https://ucc.edu.jm/about-us
DESIGN PROJECT PROSPECTUS 17

APPENDIX A

QUESTIONNAIRE

This analysis is meant to find out the challenges the UCC faculty have with the Moodle Learning
Management System. This analysis is exclusively for design/training purposes. Please provide
the needed information and respond to the questions by clicking your choice.

Note that this evaluation is subjective and there is no “right” or “wrong” answer. Your
cooperation is highly appreciated.

SECTION A: BIO-DATA

Age: 21-26 27-32 33-38 39+

Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

Respondent Status: Staff ( ) Faculty ( )

Academic Level: Undergraduate ( ) PGD ( ) Master ( ) Ph.D. ( ) Others…….……..

SECTION B:

1. Do you believe the training provided by the UCC Online department was effective?
o Yes
o No
o Other

2. Provide a brief explanation of the reason (s) for the response provided above.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

3. Were you able to effectively facilitate your online course after completing the training
session?

o Yes
o No
o Not Sure
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o Other

4. Provide a reason for your response.

5. What do you believe were the benefits derived from the training experience?

6. What are some of the challenges you experience with using the Moodle LMS?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. What could be done to improve the quality of training to better meets the needs of our
stakeholders?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

8. Do you believe that offering a more intensive faculty development training course will
impact the lives of both the faculty and students? Provide a reason for your response.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________