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INDIGITRAILS LEARNING PACKAGE

PROJECT SCOPE

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

PROJECT TIMELINE

2 MONTHS

TEAM

MARISA WONG

CINDY HUTCHINSON

JOLENE FOLLGARD

LOGAN SENKO

CLIENT

URBAN SOCIETY FOR ABORIGINAL YOUTH

MY ROLES

RESEARCHER / INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER

INTENDED AUDIENCE

GRADE 7-9 TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

SKILLS

GRAPHIC DESIGN / USABILITY / INDESIGN / NEEDS ASSESSMENT / INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN / MULTIMEDIA DESIGN / LEARNING THEORIES / HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN

THE CHALLENGE

The Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth is a vital organization that provides support, resources, and opportunities to young Indigenous people living in urban areas. Based on the needs of the primary and secondary clients, we seek to create a learning package that aimed to support ongoing discussion and reflection, as part of the IndigiTRAILS app experience, without requiring prior knowledge or significant instructional preparatory time for teachers.

GOAL

To provide USAY with a learning package that aligns with USAY’s values and supplements the content on the “Remembering our Children” trail of the IndigiTRAILS app and foster engagement with and compel deeper understanding among grade 7-9 teachers and students of the history and legacy of residential schools.

CREATING THE LEARNING PACKAGE

IDENTIFYING NEEDS AND OBJECTIVES

To gain an understanding of the needs of the client, a needs assessment was conducted.

Through our needs assessment, our key findings were that: 

MAIN AUDIENCE

The clients who engage USAY with the highest frequency of requests for supplemental learning material are comprised of grades 7-9 teachers and students. 

Project restraints were also identified. Some project restraints included: 

  • Content in the supplemental material must be age-appropriate for junior high students.

  • Material presented in class should align with Alberta Education curriculum guidelines. 

  • Supplemental materials must be cost-effective, easily accessible for individuals, and available for download. 

DESIGNING A SOLUTION

After completing our needs assessment, my team decided that creating a newsletter activity would be best for our clients. Through the Newsletter, students will have the opportunity, through engagement with and reflection on various artifacts, to learn about and understand the impact of assimilation on Indigenous peoples. 

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LEARNING THEORIES THAT AIDED OUR SOLUTION

  • Bruner's Theory: allows for learning to occur through intangible concepts and ideas and scaffolding instruction by teacher-supported learning via encouragement & directional guidance. 

  • Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory: intends for activities to have critical self-reflection, discourse, and a shift in perspective. 

IMPLEMENTATION

Our group suggested an implementation plan that spans 6 months. This included a month of research, preparation, collecting supplies, another month of prototyping and creating a usable learning package, and four months of monitoring and adjusting as per feedback. Evaluation of the learning package and activities can be done through the Kirkpatrick Model via Google Forms.

    • Overview of Newsletter Project

    • Lesson plan

    • PowerPoint presentation, to facilitate activity guidance

    • Instructor guide

    • Student guide

    • A post-activity peer review and follow-up discussion prompt

    • Resource sheets that include relevant concepts, events, and timeline

    • Newsletter template, on which students add their work and assemble it as their final product 

    • Evaluation forms, for instructor evaluation of learning, and instructor feedback to USAY regarding the activity.

  • The activities in the Newsletter facilitate historical research, discussion of assimilation and its impact on Indigenous peoples, and reflection on the experience of Indigenous people who have survived separation from their families and peoples. These activities include:

    • Letter from the Editor

    • Experience at IndigiTRAILS

    • Timeline

    • Poem analysis

    • Photo analysis

    • Archival excerpt analysis

    • Mock Interview

    • Peer review

FINAL PROTOTYPE

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RETROSPECTIVE

Instructional design is more than just creating learning materials, it is about creating a comprehensive learning experience that is appropriate for users. An effective instructional design takes into account the learner's prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and learning styles. It also considers the context in which the learning will take place, such as the learning environment and available resources.

TAKEAWAY 1

Collaboration is key.

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It's important to collaborate closely with all parties involved to ensure that the instructional materials meet the needs of the target audience and achieve the desired learning outcomes.

TAKEAWAY 2

It is an iterative and creative design process. 

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Instructional design is an iterative process, and it's important to be flexible and willing to make changes as needed based on feedback from learners and stakeholders. There were many restrictions and constraints on what we could develop for this project, so being flexible and adaptable was important to create a successful solution. 

MAR WITH DESIGNS
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