Teaching | Iryna Ashby, Instructional Design Consultant

Designer of learning experiences, researcher, interdisciplinary visionary, lifelong learner

Teaching & Learning

What I Believe In

Everybody is capable of learning. Jointly, we just need to work together to individualize and personalize such pathways that meet individual needs, strengths, and interests
Learners should be active participants in selecting and negotiating their paths
There are solutions developed across fields that help answer similar questions. We need to familiarize ourselves with multiple fields to be efficient, but also predictive of future challenges
Learning is ongoing, but we need to know how to approach it when no external structure, like formal education, is provided. Learning how to learn should be part of formal education
Good design supersedes tools and technology

My Teaching Philosophy

As an educator with a background in instructional design and technology, my goals include the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and curation of courses that help adult learners to use critical thinking skills to develop a comprehensive multifaceted understanding of a topic. Principles that I interweave into my teaching are also the ones that are key for me for my personal development, as well as part of my research focus, namely, interdisciplinarity, competency-based education, and lifelong learning.

In my early stages of interest in learning design and technology, I made a mistake common to many - that the latest gadgets and software, animation, and other novelle tools, can be sufficiently educational and motivational on their own. I tended to focus solely on exploring what is new and how I can use it. But the lack of good design cannot be solved by the use of fancy technology. So instead, I turned towards how to make learning as engaging and enticing as I find it and how to do it using science of learning, principles of learning design and multimedia

Critical Thinking and Curiosity for Learning

Critical thinking is associated with a range of positive student outcomes, including problem solving, information processing, understanding of personal biases, irrationality, and subjectivity (Fleming, Garcia, & Morning, 1995). Critical thinking is now valued by employers over technical knowledge (Kuther, 2013). Paul, Elder, & Bartell (2013) suggest that critical thinking is not sufficiently covered in today's education. Yet, should certainly be one of the key foci of our teaching (Arum & Roksa, 2011). First suggested by Dewey (1910) as reflective thinking, include such dispositions like seeking out clear reasons, arguments, and possible alternatives, being well-informed, using credible sources, as well as open-minded and empathic (Brookfield, 1987; Ennis, 2015). Critical thinking is a key component in developing students’ skills for lifelong learning, interdisciplinarity, and competency-based education as it helps them evaluate own needs, question diverse information, look for similarities and differences, and identify the pathway for learning.

Dialectic approach allows exploring alternatives through thesis and antithesis, and then utilizes synthesis to develop a single reality that as Hegel (1830/1991) suggests comes from the opposites. I use dialectic approach in my teaching, which means that students collect and analyze evidence both for and against their core hypotheses, and then develop an opinion that synthesizes and strengthens their statement. I do not want them to follow an axiom - they have to be able to question what is already known as well as their own implicit biases. For example, in the discussion of learning theories and their role in the educational software design - the face-to-face course that I co-taught in Fall 2019 with Dr. Marisa Exter, my PhD adviser - I wanted students to evaluate the cost and benefit of balancing learning theories and learning outcomes, learner motivation and engagement, while designing software that could rival blockbuster games. I also wanted them to see that psychological foundations that could be observed in learning theories work well in contexts that are not necessarily considered learning or educational; and that we may call the same phenomena different names, but that it is helpful to look for common grounds and be able to evaluate them.

Development of Skills and Abilities to Learn Outside the Classroom

The importance of lifelong learning has been highlighted for years in the literature. Globalization, access to technology, and diverse learning opportunities that are more widespread make learning at any time possible. Yet, as Bentley (1998) noted, current educational opportunities create "an artificial distinction between knowing and doing" (p. 4). Our role as educators is to help students learn how to create "learning relationships" (Bentley, 1998, p. 7) - patterns to evolve connections between diverse knowledge, contexts, and systems

However, embedding lifelong learning opportunities into a traditional educational environment and assessing it are quite challenging, especially when trying to focus on metacognitive skills of learning how to learn. In our recent manuscript (Exter & Ashby, n.d.), we discuss the idea of heutagogy, or the study of self-determined learning, where learners can discover the knowledge in this complex and unpredictable world for themselves through dynamic and nonlinear learning and synthesis of diverse concepts (Blaschke, 2012; Hase, 2009; Hase & Kenyon, 2007)

To support such learning, it is important to offer options for learners to take based on their interests, opportunities to incorporate prior experiences, as well as give them control of their own learning. However, growth of lifelong learning skills requires time that spans over a single workshop or even a semester. While I have not been a lead or sole instructor of a college course, I was able to introduce some aspects, like offering choices when it comes to the selection of a prompt for discussion or a case study for learners to consider. Yet, heutagogy has had a strong impact on my work as an instructional designer, particularly for self-paced courses as part of professional learning communities (discussed in the Design/Development section). There, I offered more open-ended discussions and projects that could help learners select the pathway that would have the most significant impact on their learning and professional development, while still meeting the objectives of the learning experience.

Interdisciplinary Approach to Learning

With my background in translation and interpretation, interdisciplinarity is something that I learned to value, as I had to independently research topics across diverse fields (from medicine, to agriculture, to machine engineering) to be able to accurately interpret the written or oral information. This led me to find connections and synthesize information to better understand the world around me and problem-solve. As part of my graduate career, I often felt surprised as to why similar phenomena are explained differently or using different terminology. It often felt like we are trying to reinvent the wheel or use tools that are not necessarily the most effective in addressing the problem. However, the more niche education we try to offer, the more distance we create between fields. The move towards co-creation of knowledge through innovative development, living labs, and maker spaces help bridge the gap, particularly for technical programs (e.g., Klaassen, 2018). My ultimate goal is to help my students build bridges across these gaps that would allow them to be stronger critical thinkers and problem-solvers, as well as have the skills to learn throughout their life. This can be done by exposing them to multiple fields and topics, design of activities that require them to synthesize knowledge from diverse disciplines and integrate them into their work. One of the examples is the course on educational software that I co-redesigned and co-taught with my Dr. Marisa Exter, where multiple fields were considered, including instructional design, UX design, software engineering, and some basic considerations of intellectual property and business innovation.

Competencies & Competency-Based Education

Charles Baudelaire in his Les Fleurs du Mal (first published in 1857) said “Au fond de l'Inconnu pour trouver du nouveau!” which can roughly be translated from French as “To the depth of the unknown to find the new!” I view heutagogy and interdisciplinarity as a means to allow just that - find and explore the new in a way that has not been done before. I also believe that competency-based education with a focus on individualized and personalized learning pathways allow just that, namely the formation of individuals, professionals, and citizens that learn in a more comprehensive way. My colleagues and I explored this topic in research (e.g., Ashby, Exter, Matie, & Evans, 2016; Ashby, Exter, & Varner, in press; Caskurlu & Ashby, 2018). Additionally, I co-designed and conducted a workshop on how to design competency-based programs on a university level.

Teaching & Learning

Highlights

Distributed cognition (Hutchins, 1995) framework allows to mediate learning and interaction with the real world by the use of technology. The term “technology” has a broad meaning and includes any type of cognitive tools that support or scaffold cognitive powers of learners during thinking, problem solving and learning. Distributed cognition also supports metacognition associated with planning, monitoring, evaluation, and modification of performance based on the results of such an evaluation (Kirsh, 2005).

Such cognitive tools within the framework of distributed cognition help learners offload some of their cognitive processes to allow focusing on critical thinking and problem solving. They include:

Learner-content interaction through support tools that could help with problem solving. Such tools would depend on the purpose of an e-learning module and can vary from basic tools, like a calculator, flowchart, or can be even a support and guidance system to walk a person through steps (Dabbagh, 2005; Hagler et al., 2011)
Opportunities for social interaction, e.g., student-instructor, student-student, e.g., knowledge networks, virtual classrooms, or access to learning networks (Dabbagh, 2005)
Opportunities for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration to ensure the opportunities for sharing knowledge and tools and thus distribute cognition further, including opportunities to tutor each other (Dillenbourg, 1996; Resta, & Laferriere, 2007).
Support learner metacognition through
- Structuring information (e.g., advanced organizers),
- Organizing information (e.g., to-do lists, note taking, etc.) (Kirsh, 2005).

Below, several examples of cognitive tools as scaffolding that I have developed or modified for a range of courses.

To view the products, click on the image to open a pop-up and then Go to Link under the image

Worked-Out Examples

I have expanded the original exemplar for an undergraduate portfolio for a competency-based program Transdisciplinary Studies in Technology (PTEC 407) where I was a TA in 2016. The goal for the modifications was multifold: (a) provide example across three levels of proficiency that are required to meet the competencies, including synthesis of knowledge and skills; (b) ensure that each exemplar meets the requirements for competency; and (c) highlight each section and explain how it meets the competency requirements.

Guided reflection example for undergraduate students

Evaluation Checklist

To support students' efforts to provide peer feedback in the Introduction to e-Learning course (EDCI 569), I developed the checklist that students could use both for the course, as well as in their professional practice.

Authentic Case Study and Simulation

In 2016, I designed a case study for Human Performance Technology (EDCI 528) course that students had to analyze early in the class progress to develop their own HPI solutions before they move towards the analysis of their own case studies. Originally, I designed two types - a full case study, where students would get all the answers, and a partial case study, where students would only get a portion of a case study and then use a discussion thread to come up with questions to stakeholders. As a TA across all section, I aggregated those questions and provide answers to them based on the full case study. My research showed that students felt they learned from and engaged more in a partial case study. In 2019, we collaborated with our higher education partner to create an interactive module that provides an authentic multi-stakeholder and dialog-based simulation. The instructional developer created the simulation BranchTrack (www.branchtrack.com), a rapid authoring tool for building engaging scenario-based e-learning opportunities using photo characters and backgrounds in combination with speech bubbles to simulate interactivity. This design was based on the storyboard I created based on the original case study that was expanded with the feedback from the course lead Dr. Marisa Exter and the Wiley instructional designer to further expand the story.

Explore the collection of design documents, including the full case-study, two types of storyboards, and a client email that is part of the training

Visualizations

In my presentations and informational materials, I frequently use elements of graphic design and data visualization to explain complex issues or show the process. For example, I created the following visualizations for EDCI 627 Educational Software Design

Workbooks

I developed this workbook to structure the first two design sprints for Educational Software Design course (EDCI 627) that I co-designed and co-instructed in Fall 2019. The course is based on a flipped classroom design, where students would do readings and answer discussion prompts during the week that would focus on building individual knowledge and skills, while the in-class time is devoted to studio time. The workbook provided students with information about the design tools they are to use, as well as steps to implement the in-class activity.

Example of a workbook for an in-class design sprint

Prompted Asynchronous Discussion

When Dr. Marisa Exter and I redesigned Educational Software Development course (EDCI 627) in Summer 2019, we planned on a series of topics across multiple disciplines related to educational software design across 16 weeks. For each topic,identified of readings and development of discussion prompts. I led several topics for the course, including learning theories, assessment and evaluation, multimedia learning, needs analysis among others. Discussion prompts started with the discussion of readings and finishing with reflections, namely: Read, Connect, Apply, Reflect, and Respond to Peers. Below is an example of such a discussion that I created:

Presentation Slides

The intent behind the Educational Software Design Course (EDCI 627) is to create common understanding of diverse disciplines that play a role in an educational software design. I created the following interactive lecture to help students understand learning and motivational theories, as well as how they are applied in software design. I have also included quotes from students' discussions completed prior to the class as a way to connect their discussions with the topic and provide additional positive support for their engagement.

Presentation slies for a lecture on learning and motivational theories

Feedback to Students

With the goal to help students master the content, I tend to provide detailed and constructive feedback that would help students further develop their product. However, I also have to remember to provide positive reinforcement along with the critical review of their work to highlight the portions that were well thought through or developed. I have included a page from a draft submitted by a student team as part of Educational Software Design Course (EDCI 627).