Amber D. Wolfe

Competency 1: Synthesize Knowledge

 

Bloom’s Taxonomy implies that at the synthesis level of knowledge a student should be able to combine the parts of a process in new and useful ways.  In my own mind, synthesizing knowledge means that I am able to identify the needs that have been presented and can then create my own solutions.  It also means that I can prove the relevance of information, and can produce resources to address any pertinent issues while understanding the concepts that have built the reasoning behind the information as it is perceived.  In short, it is new knowledge being created from, or added to, old knowledge to best fit the needs of the instructor and learner.

 

Demonstrates ability to read and understand educational literature related to Educational Technology

 

Artifact- To support this competency skill, I am attaching the file for my individual research paper titled “Distance Learning as it Affects Rural Students and Higher Education” for the EDCI 513 course.  Additional supportive artifacts are the lesson plan and slides from the group teaching project in EDCI 572.

 

Competency- When researching the topic of distance education for rural areas, I read and summarized 14 scholarly articles, 6 textbooks, and 9 journal articles.  The intensive work required me to identify key themes, locate cross-references for support of ideas, and hypothesize potential solutions to several identified problems.  This skill will continue to be used as I progress into my practicum project, and will allow me to grow my research skills.

 

Demonstrates ability to describe fundamental theories of human learning

 

Artifact- I am instead going to provide the visual representation I created for EDCI 531 on the level of active engagement in situated cognition as a learning theory.  In keeping with my agricultural education theme that usually drives most of my personal choices and examples I created a visual representation of the Supervised Agricultural Experience program that is found within the National FFA Organization and agricultural classrooms.  An additional supportive artifact would be our group project for EDCI 513 on Situated Learning Theory.

 

Competency- Both of the artifacts described allowed my group to summarize information for others to be able to easily, and succinctly, read and comprehend.  By organizing the main points of motivation for our classmates, they were able to use that information efficiently without having to take the time to research that particular learning method along with the numerous other methodologies.  The SAE visual representation allowed me to explore my skills in design and creation.  I found that I like this area of instructional design, and am already looking forward to my online portfolio for this course.

 

Applies knowledge of human learning, diversity, and effective pedagogy to solution of problems

 

Artifact- Human diversity, underserved populations, and inequality in education are all very important issues for me, and I was happy to be a part of a group of students who shared those thoughts with me in EDCI 572.  For the artifact to support this skill, I am including the final report provided by our group on the workshop that we organized and implemented to teach basic Microsoft Word skills, specifically resume building, to residents of an inner-city shelter.  The file is attached for the “Instructional Design Workshop Report: A Formal Analysis of the Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Resume Building Workshop”.  These slides are to accompany the report.

 

Competency- The ID workshop, and written report for the workshop, increased our groups’ skills in planning, design, implementation and evaluation.  I will be able to use those skills in the creation of my practicum project.  There is very little evidence for learner analysis for my practicum, so I will need to use various methods of instruction and design to address all of my potential audiences with differing ages, learning styles, reading levels, and interest levels.