I was impressed by the level of detail and insight demonstrated in the case study assignments. Each group provided thorough background and good ideas for how to deliver a challenging topic. As an instructional designer for online learning, I appreciated the insight that each group provided into the challenges for their learner audience.
The exercise was a good example of a simulation used to develop and practice skills. In my design work, and knowing my personality type, I struggle with the amount of detail that ought to be included in a scenario. Is it better to clearly define the problem and the expected solution? If this information is not provided, it can cause anxiety for learners as they struggle with incomplete information and some confusion about the task. If too much information is provided, we lose the effort of the environment scan or needs assessment. As an example of a simulated training project though, it is likely that there would be ambiguity as well. When presenting to stakeholders, it is difficult to know in advance what information they will find important and what information is less relevant. The struggle in the case study mirrors the struggle a designer would experience in a large design initiative. If we provide too much scaffolding for learners, they would not experience this challenge. Learning emerges from the experience of the struggle.
In our group, we also ran into the challenge of knowing when to stop researching and start producing. We had a range of reports at the beginning of the process and continually looked at new policy documents and other reference materials to ensure our understanding of the role of family doctors was accurate. My comfort with our amount of research fluctuated throughout the project. I often felt the urge to find new sources to cross reference our understanding and assumptions. As we move into our online courses, I worry that this question will be a greater challenge. In residency, we had limited time and strict deadlines. In our on-line courses, we could spend much more time researching problems before recommending solutions. With the article search tools and the internet, we have access to a tremendous amount of information. I will struggle with the decision that I have read enough to move ahead with projects.
Hi Dave, it is interesting to hear that your group ran into the same issues as my group. I suppose that shows the value of blogs – information exchange.
My greatest challenge in the case study was also if I had done enough research. With the internet we are able to access vast amounts of information by the click of a mouse. My problem was not unlike that of a gambler who wants to play just one more hand because you are sure that you will win this time. I felt like I had to google just one more time for that all important piece of research.
Pre-internet you went to the library and got a few books and a few articles and you left it at that (as much as you could carry). Now with the internet you have too much to choose from. Like a kid in a candy store you don’t know where to stop.
Hopefully since we have a variety of preference types (re: M-B test) we will be able to utilize our individual strenghts in guiding us through our group assignments. Then the lessons we learn in our groups we should be able to carry forward in our individual assignments.
Dave, you bring up many interesting points regarding training simulations vis-a-vis real life with reference to our case study work. In this particular case, for Group E anyway, I felt our true brief was to design and recommend a delivery mechanism for training. The actual content of the training modules themselves was not really part of what we had to do: we only had to consider the delivery thereof. And of course the proposed delivery had to have the backing of sound educational theory. So, in the time available, we worked in as much as we could. As was no doubt the case in your own group, we had to draw the research portion to a close and concentrate on what we wanted to present and how. I think we brought a reasonable degree of scholarship to the task by consulting at least a few moderated journal articles. At the end of it all, though, the case study was at once demanding and rewarding in many different dimensions.