Pedagogy and Course Design

I thought today was Wednesday so that officially makes today's post late. Thank goodness I'm not getting graded for this course. So without further delay...my assignment.

Pedagogical Objectives for the New HR Analyst Online Orientation Modules:

New Human Resource Analysts will...

1. Connect with their colleagues by sharing experiences, obtaining feedback and providing feedback.
2. Practice problem solving in a safe environment
3. Complete simulated work processes to demonstrate the ability to correctly apply policies and follow procedures

Ways in which the Beginner's Questionnaire might help me achieve these objectives
My score was 14 so I'm close to the middle.

Encouraging interest in the material
I selected large group discussions as a way to encourage interest in the material. However, because the "material" is guided by the job description for our employees, this might not be as much of a challenge. Although, most people enjoy some aspects of their job more than others. I hope to craft meaningful activities that require the analysts to communicate with their colleagues on our online forum. Hearing others' perspectives and experiences might encourage interest.

Relaying content
Although I am not a fan of lecturing, I do plan to develop several very short, maybe 5 minute videos that review highlights of the content and key considerations. I will provide the majority of the remaining content since it's standard and based on policies and procedures.

Creating knowledge
Simulated work processes and problem solving should assist the analysts in creating their own knowledge.

Role of assessments
When it comes to job training, knowledge means absolutely nothing if you can't perform on the job. I'm not positive how I plan to assess the attainment of the competencies that we've identified. I will probably use a rubric. This next group of new analysts will probably only include 4 people so assessing their skills won't be incredibly time consuming. I'll need to design the simulated work processes carefully so I don't create too much work for myself when I have to assess them.

Ways in which the POT Getting Started Chart will help me achieve these objectives:
My self-assessment followed the branches on the right half of the chart. I'll be using a combination of lecture and discussion and organize the modules like a syllabus with everything linked from the main schedule. Our intranet will be the home base and all of the assignments will be completed in the online discussion forum and during several face to face (via videoconferencing) sessions.

How the Seven Principles might help me achieve my pedagogical objectives:
The Seven Principles is a reminder that I'll need to monitor the discussion forum and alert the subject matter experts when they need to provide prompt and meaningful feedback and I'll also need to encourage our more seasoned analysts to join in and share their ideas.

I'll need to craft assignments that require the analysts to use active learning techniques: "talk about what they are learning, write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences and apply it to" their jobs.

Regarding time on task, I've already decided that I'm going to spread each module over the course of at least 2 weeks. This orientation is likely to be quite different from any other in which they may have participated previously and they could possibly dread the increased time commitment. I decided to design it as more of a course than a one day stream of presentations so that the analysts actually have time to participate in meaningful, relevant learning activities, develop skills, practice following procedures and connect with their colleagues. Ill be sure to explain this thoroughly in the beginning, to both our analysts and our staff who will assist in facilitating these modules.

That's all I have for week 3...onto Week 4.