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Kevin Higgins

07/30/2017
EDTECH 592
Reflection/Research Paper

Mission Success and Improved Workforce Effectiveness

K-12 educators spend a considerable amount of effort designing instruction that is

individualized for each student. The goal of the K-12 program is to prepare each student for the

real world. The Coast Guard, on the other hand, has a different goal when it comes to education.

While the intention is to develop and grow our servicemen and women professionally, our first

responsibility is always to the success of the mission. This mindset of service before self can

leave some members behind concerning education. Through my time in the educational

technology program, I have been introduced to learning theories, technology integration

strategies, and different teaching methods. It is through this knowledge and skills acquisition that

I believe the Coast Guard can both ensure mission success while individualizing instruction. The

better trained and educated the entire workforce is, translates to a more effective and efficient

Coast Guard.

Lesson One: Reflections on Learning

Before this Masters program, I would have been self-described as a strong believer in

personal learning styles. However, during the first couple of weeks in Theoretical Foundations of

Educational Technology, that thought process was completely debunked with information that

learning styles is mostly a myth. This realization was a shock and made me rethink most of the

ways I thought about how people learn. As EDTECH 504 progressed, I slowly transitioned into

the belief that the most effective way for people to learn is through authentic activities.

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My professional work has been and will continue to be focused on the education of people to

effectively carry out Coast Guard jobs and missions. With the full understanding that my

students will take the knowledge they learn in the classroom and be required to transfer it

directly to real life scenarios gives me an appreciation for the power of situated learning. The

theory of situated cognition is defined by Collins (1988) as the notion of learning knowledge

and skills in contexts that reflect the way the knowledge will be useful in real life (p. 2) (in

Herrington, Reeves, & Oliver, 2009, p. 13). Situated learning helps to support knowledge

retention, but also behavioral transference. One of the struggles that the Coast Guard and any

training system faces is whether the training that occurs in the classroom transfers to the job site.

As an instructional designer, I fully intend to allow authentic and situated learning to influence

my instructional designs to improve the transfer of knowledge to the performance context and

therefore improve mission success. Through my assignments in the MET program, I was able to

allow authentic learning to influence my designs, for example, my online Moodle course ensured

assignments linked directly to job duties. By continuing to allow these principles to influence my

work, I will help to improve the success of Coast Guard missions.

Due to both limited professional experience and formal knowledge in the education field,

I found the principles of cognitive resources and its connection to student performance

particularly informative. Clark and Mayer (2016) described three types of cognitive overloading

situations that impact a students ability to learn. They include extraneous overload, where

students waste effort on information unrelated to the lesson objectives; essential overload, where

the lesson is too large to process in one period; and generative underutilization where students

lack motivation or are not actively engaged in the learning (pp. 37-38). In the past, I have fallen

into the trap of erroneously overloading students. As a subject matter expert in most of my

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previous instructional design projects and course instructions, I always felt the need to pass as

much information as possible. However, understanding that students only can store so much

information, I will strive to present my instructions concisely and encourage others to do the

same. In the MET program, I was able to create presentations in EDTECH 513 that met the

principles of multimedia, and I used these principles to create an effective and concise briefing to

all the Coast Guards Training Center training officers. By maximizing the cognitive abilities of

each learner that passes through the Coast Guards Training System, we will improve their

ability to retain information and improve their effectiveness while operating at their home unit.

Lesson Two: The Art & Science of Teaching

As a non-traditional educator with a background in military training leaning more

towards the instructional design aspects of education rather than instructing, I found many topics

explored throughout the Masters of Educational Technology program illuminating. As I entered

this program, I was slightly discouraged by a false understanding of what educational technology

truly was. I believed that since the Coast Guard, as with most government agencies, restricts

access to many innovative educational products that a majority of the information I would learn

would be invaluable. However, I learned that the integration of educational technology is not

necessarily solely about the most innovative and earth-shattering application, but rather it is

about utilizing the technology that is most appropriate for the situation to produce the effective

learning environment. This allowed me to reopen my eyes to technologies that I had disregarded

as antiquated. For example, Microsoft's basic suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and see that it is

not necessarily the product that has to be innovative, but an innovative instructional designer or

instructor can create engaging lessons with the resources available to them.

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The Coast Guards training system works to closely align learning objectives with

performance tests, and in my experience as an instructional designer, I focused on attempting to

create testing scenarios that would mimic the performance context. While I felt that real-life

testing was important, my understanding of learning was strengthened through exploring

educational theories such as situated cognition and constructivism. While my understanding of

student evaluations was rooted in authenticity, I reflect back on designing lessons that were

behaviorism influenced. My future practice designing instruction will be deeply influenced now

by the theory of situated cognition. Gessler (2009), described situated cognition as [k]nowledge

develop[ing] and exist[ing] as a relation between an individual and his/her situation. The

individual reaches back to experiences that again bear the reason for their existence, the

situation, within themselves (p. 1613). This theory had a great impact on my understanding of

how people learn. Moving forward in the education and training system, my goal will be to

develop or modify instruction to best situate learners in environments and scenarios that mirror

the performance context. Unlike K-12 educators, I have the distinct advantage of knowing the

authentic situations that my students will be placed in which will aid my design focus. In this

program, I was able to begin this endeavor of situating learning through the creation of a project-

based learning course, which allowed officers to learn about their positions while actively

solving Coast Guard problems.

Other theories and educational practices that deeply impacted my understanding of

learning were social constructivism and communities of practice. Reflecting on my own

experiences with Coast Guard training, one of the key elements that I found to be missing after

training was a community of practice. Wenger (2007) described, communities of practice [as]

groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it

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better as they interact regularly (as cited by Smith, 2009, para. 5). Interaction with others,

particularly those people that have significant amounts of knowledge to share is greatly

important to continued professional growth. It is because of the idea of communities of practice

and social constructivism that I am most excited to integrate the social network learning aspects

of educational technology into the Coast Guard. Harnessing the social networking platforms,

such as Twitter or Facebook, to build Coast Guard communities of practice, will be able to

bridge the educational gaps that formal training alone cannot fill. I anticipate many obstacles to

the integration of social media due to a misconception of the educational benefit of the

technology. However, through integrating the technology on a small scale and assessing its

success, I intend to show the effectiveness of social networking. The ultimate goal of integrating

social learning and communities of practice is to break down the traditional walls of formal

education, learn from peers and experts, and create a more effective Coast Guard through

improved personal performance.

Lesson Three: The Design and Evaluation of Instruction

I believe when you look at design and evaluation of instruction you have to think of it

using the ADDIE model, in that, you cannot simply design instruction without knowing what

you are designing for; therefore, the design process must begin with an analysis. When thinking

about the analysis of an instructional design project, I reflect back to a module from EDTECH

505, Evaluation for Educational Technologists, which described analysis as a three-legged stool.

One leg is your current state, one is your goal state, and the final leg is the solution to get from

you from your current state to your goal state. This lesson, in particular, expanded my

understanding and knowledge of design and evaluation. Before this master's program, I would

look at where I want to be regarding trying to solve a performance problem and then go right to

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designing a training solution. Larson and Lockee (2014) further expanded on this by stating that

instructional design projects are typically initiated to solve a need, and you have to analyze

information to determine if instruction is actually the best solution (p. 21). Jumping straight to

designing can cause a lot of extra work when it is determined that your need and solution are not

aligned.

Another profound lesson that I took from this masters program came again from

EDTECH 505. In my previous experiences as an instructional designer, I created instructional

design products that failed, and I felt that if instructors could execute the designs as intended that

my designs would work. The issues I had with my instructional designs occurred because I

neglected to collaborate with key stakeholders. This specific issue was described by Boulmetis

and Dutwin (2011) as sometimes one of more groups are left out. Sometimes project staff

members are left out because the evaluation is viewed as an activity for someone elseso there

is no need to bother staff with more duties (p. 49). Boulmetis and Dutwin (2011) further

described that the clients, in my case students, are often not consulted about instructional design

projects. I learned that it is vital to design with these stakeholders in mind because if an

instructor cannot implement your design due to numerous constraints and then the product is

destined to fail. Additionally, if students are unable to utilize an implemented educational

technology, then they are unlikely to meet the courses objectives.

From the standpoint of the Coast Guard Training System and instructional design, I am

most excited about the advancements in online distance learning technologies. With a personal

mission to always be a good steward of government resources, I believe distance learning needs

to be an integral part of our training system. Creating instruction in a fully online medium will

help to minimize travel costs, while simultaneously maximizing students time at their operational

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unit. I am also excited to evaluate the effective use of technology especially through

Kirkpatricks four levels of evaluation once I can begin technology integration. Kirkpatricks

model for evaluation as described by Rajeev, Madan, and Jayarjan (2009) assesses four

questions, what was the learners reaction to the course, how well were objectives met, did job

performance change due to training, and what is the cost benefit. Since many of the

technological resources I learned about are not fully integrated into the Coast Guard Training

System thus far, I am excited to evaluate the following: what are students reactions to the

technologies; how the technologies affect the accomplishment of performance objectives; how

do the technologies support behavior transfer; and does technology integration provide a

significant return on investment. Ultimately, I look forward to utilizing these newly acquired

design and evaluation skills and knowledge to create a more effective Coast Guard.

Lesson Four: Networking and Collaboration

This program taught me a lot about the power of social networking and collaboration.

EDTECH 543, Social Network Learning, introduced me to the power of social networking and

how it can positively impact professional development. As I began the course, I would have

described myself as a lurker in the context of social networking. Edelmann (2013) described

social lurking as someone who observes what is going on but doesnt participate or remains

silent, and is thus associated with observation, silence, inactivity/passivity, invisibility, or

bystander behavior (p. 645). The course pushed me out of my comfort zone and required active

participation in different social platforms, such a Google Plus, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Once I

began to become a more active participant in the conversation I began to see the tremendous

value for my professional growth. Through the utilization of Twitter live chats I was able to

connect with like-minded professionals and discuss topics related to education and educational

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technology. This practice not only connected me to people that I could reach out to in the future

for professional support, but it also gave me an opportunity to critically think about topics that

interested me. Utilizing technology to support networking allows for an increase in the size and

scope of your personal learning network, and it helps to continually grow your own knowledge

base.

Throughout my undergraduate studies, I would have preferred to accomplish all

assignments without any collaboration or social engagement. However, through this masters

program, I found that while I may have completed my assignments as an undergraduate student,

if I had included social engagement and collaboration those assignments would have been

completed with increased effectiveness and efficiency. As noted by Zheng and Smaldino (2009),

social interaction can reduce the sense of isolation of individual participant[s] attending distance

courses, make participants adjust themselves to new environment more flexibly and add the

variety of experiences individual learners have (p. 114). The last statement by Zheng and

Smaldino is the most important aspect I feel of social interaction and collaboration. By working

with others, you open yourself to the experiences that each of your peers possesses. Additionally,

collaboration increases the number of connections you possess and therefore increases your

knowledge. This idea of learning through connections is described by Siemens (2005) in his

definition of connectivism, Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of

ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized

information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our

current state of knowing (para. 23). Based on connectivism, the more connections you have

corresponds to an increase in ability to access knowledge. Therefore, through networking and

collaboration, you can improve your capacity to learn.

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As a large organization, the Coast Guard has a wealth of experience in both instructional

design and educational technology. For my own growth, it will be vital for me to connect to

these resources in order to develop in my profession. Beyond my professional growth,

encouraging students to develop personal learning networks and join communities of practice

will support the improvement of the workforce. Formal instruction only has a finite amount of

time to influence the knowledge of a student; however, if you can support the student to find

answers once training is complete through networking and collaboration than the Coast Guards

workforce will continue to improve its effectiveness at mission execution.

Lesson Five: The Research-Practice Connection

Its obvious that the world is now changing more rapidly than at any other time in

human history. An education based on the world today will not suffice for living and working in

the world of tomorrow (Chen, 2010, p. 242). Chen described the need for education to continue

to grow and advance in order to remain on track with the rest of the world. The only way that

this is possible is for education professionals to commit to reflective practice rooted in research.

Since technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, it is imperative to understand what

technologies exist or are being developed and how they can enhance instruction.

Cordingley (2015) noted that teachers in the late 1970s investigating pedagogy through

different ways of realising curriculum goals gave birth to highly effective curriculum and

professional development by teachers through action research (p. 237). The premise of Chens

book about the Education Nation is that there are pockets of the country where teachers are

conducting innovative practices that are greatly improving the learning environments for their

students. As educational technologist and educators, it is our duty to research these techniques

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like the teachers described by Cordingley and integrate them into our own practice to continue to

create highly effective curriculums.

As I have progressed in my Coast Guard career, I have come to learn that the government

is slow to change. Training, however, needs to change more rapidly than it currently is in order

to best support our people. One of the best ways I have found to influence change in the Coast

Guard is to support your recommendations for improvement with facts and research. It will be a

challenge to create Coast Guard wide changes to our instructional system; however, through

sound research practices, I will have the best opportunity to make these changes and support the

growth of the organization.

Closing Thoughts

Januszewski and Molenda (2008) defined educational technology as the study and

ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and

managing appropriate technological processes and resources (p. 1). In the Coast Guard, it will

be my goal and duty to utilize this definition to support the improvement of the Coast Guards

Training System. This program has provided me with the content knowledge, authentic practice

and theoretical understanding to support the integration of technology into learning

environments. I learned about different educational theories, such as situated cognitivism and

authentic learning which support improved learning. I additionally found that all education

solutions need to begin with an analysis to ensure you understand the entire problem before

trying to solve it. Lastly, the most profound lesson I learned was that technology integration is

only effective if the most appropriate tool is selected given the circumstances and is utilized to

support teaching rather than as its own pedagogy. In conclusion, appropriate technology

integration can support the professional grown of all Coast Guardsmen. By ensuring each

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member of the workforce is provided the means to develop, we will improve their effectiveness

and as a result improve the performance of all our missions.

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References

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project managers (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Chen, M. (2010). Education nation: Six leading edges of innovation in our schools. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2016). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines

for consumers and designers of multimedia learning (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley

& Sons, Inc.

Cordingley, P. (2015). The contribution of research to teachers professional learning and

development. Oxford Review of Education, 41(2), 234-252.

Edelmann, N. (2013). Reviewing the definition of lurkers and some implications for online

research. Cyberphychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(9), 645-649.

Gessler, M. (2009). Situated learning and cognitive apprenticeship. In R. Maclean &

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