Blogging about week 3 in L&T:

Instructional Systems Design Models inform, enhance and encourage student’s personal, pedagogical inquiry by utilizing a step-by-step approach to:
- Evaluate student needs
- Design and develop learning materials
- Evaluate effectiveness of learning intervention


Technologies that are aligned with the models of instruction:

Behavioral Model (direct instruction)
- audio technologies: tapes, CD’s and talking books
- visual technologies: videotapes and boards (white, chalk and bulliten)
- digital technologies: smartboards, internet resources

Information-Processing Model (inquiry)
- audio technologies: radios, music and multimedia CD’s
- visual technologies: videotapes, overhead/slide projectors, models
- digital technologies: streaming audio and video, webcasts, internet
resources, computer software

Social-Interactive Model (cooperative)
- audio technologies: talking books, tapes and recordings
- visual technologies: models, cartoons/drawings, cameras
- digital technologies: internet resources, interactive websites

Personal Model
- audio technologies: tapes and recordings
- visual technologies: video cameras, projection devices
- digital technologies: computer software programs, internet resources

The Behavioral Model (BM)compared to the Information-Processing (IPM) and Social-Interactive Models (SIM):

BM: direct instruction, teacher-centered, stresses learning tasks divided into a series of sequential tasks and behaviors, effective for providing information or developing step-by-step skills

IPM: indirect instruction, inquiry learning, stresses cognitive functioning, effective for concept formation

SIM: indirect instruction, cooperative learning, stresses personal and societal relationship among people, effective for relating to others

Web 2.0 tools such as Webquests, Web bits and WIB (web inquiry projects) are a great way to diversify a teachers pedagogy and enhance teaching with students because these tools allow the technology savy students to use more motivating tools to participate in their own learning process. The more ownership that students are given the in the learning process the more likely the students will achieve true learning.

The 5E lesson plan design from the L&T webquest project adheres to the Theory of Constructivism and is aligned with the inquiry process. The inquiry process entails:
- Involvement that leads to understanding
- Processing skills that permit resolutions to issues while constructing knowledge
- Not the seeking of a right answer (often more than one) but rather the seeking of an appropriate resolution to the issue

With the 5E lesson plan design the students can be given multiple choices to present the information discovered during the learning process. The students are absolutely involved in the whole process making their own choices to achieve the desired outcome.