Week 7 Reading and Activity Reflection

Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology:
Human Performance Improvement, as the author of Chapter 14 puts it, does have a “wonderful” (pg. 135) ring to its name. While reading, several quotations really struck me as relevant to the educational realm (from kindergarten to college) even though they were not intended to be so.

While discussing the concept and mission of HPI, Stolovitch states that it is the “valued accomplishment through people” (pg. 135) that is important. What really struck me was the “valued accomplishments” that are necessary to complete the mission of an HPI task. There has to be something of value for anything to be considered well done and worthwhile, and that definitely relates to the lessons and activities which all teachers should try to incorporate into the classroom. If there is no value, there is no point. Teachers can see this, parents can see this, and even as a twelve-year-old, students can see this.

Another important connection between HPI and my job as a middle school teacher is the idea that we are (or should be) always looking for “the outcomes of behavior” as these are the “ways in which the behaving individual’s environment is somehow different as a result of his or her behavior” (pg. 135). How awesome is it, as a person, young or old, to see that what you do makes a difference. If I can get all my students to see the difference they make in the everyday setting of the classroom, hopefully I am creating, and accomplishing the goal of creating, a life-long learner who cares about the themselves and the way in which they are apart of the world around them, thus making the community (school, local, world) a better place for all of us.

Stolovitch, while discussing the need for HPI professionals, stresses the pressures that result from the ever presence, and growth, of organizational complexity in business. This pressure is also in the classroom, as just with business, education is becoming more and more complex. Educational professionals also have to function in a world where instantaneous communication (with colleagues, parents, students) via technology advancements has created an ever-growing need for organization. Teachers “no longer produce single products” (pg. 136) just like businesses, and are required to “do it all.” With this, Stolovitch states that “people have to be supported by an environment that facilitates agility, encourages independent activity, and provides easy-to-use links to others for assistance, expertise, and reassurance” (pg. 136). I would also go as far to say that our students need this supportive environment as well, as they are expected by their teachers, parents, and local and state governments to do more and more with their education in the same amount of time.

While thinking about effective training of a business professional, Stolovitch points out that many models within the HPI realm were created to help shift thinking and practice, of which one such model helped point out “the fact that many human performance problems could be solved via means other than training” including “new incentive systems, improved and more timely methods for providing feedback to employees, better worker selection procedures, and a host of other performance improvement techniques” (pg. 141). If this model accurately points out the need for, and the successful implementation of, these techniques in the business working world, why haven’t they been used in the educational field? What teacher, who often finds themselves feeling disconnected from the world outside of their classroom door, wouldn’t want and benefit from appropriate incentive systems and timely and constructive feedback? What makes education so different from the rest of the world?

Finally, in the early days of HPI, it was evident to many that “lifelong, continuous learning was a workplace necessity for both worker and organizational survival” (pg. 139). As a teacher, I expect this of myself (and am expected by the state for license renewal) and I expect to instill this need into my students. As a goal of the HPI community, life-long learning is a necessity that is relevant to any environment, and, so, makes it relevant not only in the business world, but in the world of education as well.



Podcasting in the Classroom:
Podcasting, in short, is another way to get the message across.

I can see it as a way for educational professionals to share goals, ideas, and struggles, as well as a way for teachers to connect, relate, and support their colleagues. As in my posted podcast, the 7th grade teacher sharing his ideas on podcasting as a way to answer the multitude of questions students always bring with them to the classroom gave me many ideas as to how I can reach my students in yet another way (and one of which I might not have ever even thought of).

Students can use podcasting as another means of communication with each other, their teachers, and the world around them. If the resources are available (and that is usually the barrier), teachers can use podcasting to reach students in their own worlds – one in which technology has always been an option, usually a preferred one. Podcasting, in this way, would become a highly engaging and motivational experience for many, if not most, of the students involved.