Idea for Minicourse
In my role as Instructional Technology Specialist, I encounter many faculty and staff who need guidance on using various Office 365 apps. My minicourse would be in the format of 3 short on-demand videos with activities for the learner to complete. It would cover a few basic topics that many of our staff need help with:
- Accessing Office 365 apps on your computer, as well as online from any device
- Overview of Teams and using it for meetings
- Saving files in OneDrive to access anywhere
Since this minicourse is geared towards an audience of adults who are already employees at our university, two theories that could influence my course design are Andragogy and Cognitivism. Since andragogy is the theory of how adults learn, and cognitivism includes cognitive load theory which is addressed by the short, bite-sized format, these two theories could be helpful in my course design.
Learning Theories to Influence Minicourse Design
Andragogy: Strengths
Many of Malcolm Knowles’ ideas and principles about adult learning are directly relevant to my minicourse. In his 5 Assumptions about adult learners, #4 stands out – Orientation to Learning – which says that adult learners want to be able to apply new knowledge or skills right away, and use them to solve a problem. Knowles’ 5 Principles of Adult Learning echo this, when he says that adult learners want problem-centered learning and are interested in subjects that are relevant to their lives (in this case, to use tools they can apply at work). In his Application to Computer Training ideas from 1984, Knowles also says that this type of training should be task-oriented and be adaptable for a variety of learners. I see this variety daily, as some of our faculty and staff need basic assistance to just find the apps on their computer, while others are using more advanced features.
Andragogy: Limitations
In my particular minicourse, there isn’t much room for self-directed study or applying life experience. This minicourse is very specific, focused on learning how to do a few tasks that are designed to help employees work and interact more efficiently in their current jobs. It goes over basic skills, rather than creating new ideas or knowledge.
Applying Andragogy to Minicourse Design
The activities I would use in this course would address Knowles’ Principles of Andragogy as follows: Principle #2 states that adults learn best by firsthand experience – practicing and completing tasks. Principle #3 states that adults want to learn skills that are immediately applicable to their life. To address these, my course would have the learners complete one or two tasks as I go through each video. For example, when I discuss OneDrive, I will ask students to create a basic Word document, save it to OneDrive, and then go to the Office365 portal and access it online on a different device, to demonstrate how your files can be available from anywhere. The students could then share the file with me, to teach them how to manage access to files. Both of these skills could be applied immediately in their day-to-day work. These tasks, when given as an assignment to complete for credit, are also examples of authentic assessments, as they require completion of a real-world activity.
Cognitivism: Strengths
The format of a minicourse adheres to many of the aspects of cognitive theory. Cognitive load is reduced because the information is presented in smaller chunks. It also respects the limitations of short term and working memory because it’s in the format of three short videos, each based on one skill. Having the learner engage in tasks that utilize the knowledge they viewed (repeating the demonstrated steps to save files to OneDrive, etc.) can help encode the information into their long-term memory. Cognitive theory also addresses learning as elaboration – adding to our existing schemata (their current knowledge about Office365). The target audience is adults with at least moderate computer experience, who are already using some Office365 apps, so they have a pre-existing schemata on which to add these additional software skills.
Cognitivism: Limitations
As with andragogy, cognitivism’s self-regulation aspects are not as applicable in my particular minicourse. My minicourse wouldn’t have interactivity with other learners, and the structure of the course is static, rather than variable per experience or learner choice.
Applying Cognitivism to Minicourse Design
By having several quick, short modules in the minicourse, cognitive load is respected, as the learner is not overwhelmed. Another example is having a pdf of Quick Tips that the learners can download for reference (available at the beginning of the course), so it’s available to use to follow along, or even while completing the assigned tasks. This would take the load off of their working memory, and by following the reference guide, they could focus their attention just to completing the task. I could also incorporate a quiz that would give them immediate feedback on their right/wrong answers, to give feedback as to why something they answered incorrectly was not the best choice, and a tip to direct them where to look back to find the correct answer.
Return to Learning Theory (LDTC 600)
References
Colman, H. (2019, October 11). 6 Adult Learning Theories and How to Put Them into Practice. Your Digital Learning Expert. https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/adult-learning-theories
Pappas, C. (2013, May 9). The Adult Learning Theory – Andragogy – of Malcolm Knowles. ELearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles
The “Super Six” Principles of Andragogy: Take Your Program from Good to Great Institute for the Professional Development of Adult Educators. (n.d.). https://www.floridaipdae.org/dfiles/resources/webinars/033022/Webinar_Handbook_033022.pdf
Bates, A. W. (Tony). (2022). 2.4 Cognitivism. Pressbooks.bccampus.ca. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev3m/chapter/3-3-cognitivism/
Michela, E. (2022). Cognitivism. Education Research. https://open.byu.edu/education_research/cognitivismj
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