Katie Allen's Portfolio Page

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Mini Course: Creating Learning Objectives to Meet Long-Term Goals in Music Education

About Me

I have been teaching grades 4-6 Orchestra and General Music in the North Rockland Central School District for the past 4 years. My goal is to foster community, joy, and self actualization in my students through music. I love starting the beginners off with their first instrument and watching their progress over 3 years. I am a graduate of SUNY Fredonia with degrees in Music Education and Viola Performance and a current student in the CDIT Masters program at UAlbany. I live and work in Rockland County, NY.

My Topic and Purpose

Topic: Creating Learning Objectives to Meet Long-Term Goals in Music Education

Current learning objectives in Music Education have not caught up with changes in the overarching goals and principles. Learning objectives often reflect traditional goals which glorify Western classical music and an academic approach to music. Teachers may be aware of the need to change this mindset, but unaware that this change should start at the beginning of the learning process, with design of learning objectives. The goal of this mini-course is to teach educators to create appropriate learning objectives using research-based principles of learning within the content area of Music. (Darling-Hammond et al., 2008, p. 4)

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

Students will:

• Identify the context and purpose of learning objectives within the instructional design process.
  
• Analyze examples of learning objectives and discuss their implications.
  
• Create learning objectives which are based on principles of learning.
  
• Reflect on their learning from the start of the mini-course to the end.

Needs Assessment

The Instructional Problem

Music is a broad subject and the way it is taught varies greatly across K-12 schools. For that reason, teachers take on the responsibility of making many decisions regarding instructional design for their own classes. Teachers will make these decisions based on their training, experience, and how they were taught. Many music teachers want to create more engaging lessons with better long-term effects in their students, but do not know how to put the instructional design practices into place to make this happen. Developing the practice of creating effective learning objectives will help teachers achieve the desired results.

What Will Be Learned

Educators will learn about the benefits of creating learning objectives which are informed by instructional design principles. They will practice and reflect on their progress creating learning objectives in contexts related to their teaching practice.

Analysis of Learners

The learners can be music educators of any experience level. This course will be appropriate for educators who are interested in improving their students’ learning outcomes with research-based practices from the field of instructional design.

Context for Learning

Instruction will take place via the internet on the KNILT website. The course will include various types of materials such as readings, lecture notes, and videos to communicate content. Questions and prompts will provide opportunities for the student to respond and synthesize what they have learned in writing.

Exploring the Problem and Solution

The instructional problem is that educators have goals for learning outcomes they want to produce, but they do not have the knowledge of instructional design to create learning objectives that will bring them closer to their goals. The proposed solution is to guide educators through practice and develop those skills while deepening their understanding of the instructional design process.

Goals

The over-arching goal of this mini-course is to help educators achieve better learning outcomes through the design of effective learning objectives. Another goal is to develop a working understanding of instructional design and the principles that have been discovered through research in that field. The participants will create learning objectives during the mini-course and discuss their thought process, how the objectives fit into the overall instructional design, and how the objectives will help their students reach the desired learning outcomes.

Task Analysis

• Learners will be able to critique the efficacy of learning objectives within a given structure based on the principles of instructional design.
  • Learners will know the qualities of an effective learning objective.
  • Learners will read examples of learning objectives, reflect on their efficacy, and explain their reasoning.
  • Learners will be able to explain and apply the principle of backwards design.
    
• Learners will be able to create appropriate learning objectives for the provided examples of instructional goals.
  • Learners will be able to work backwards from a given instructional goal to create appropriate learning objectives which are measurable, specific, and relevant.
    
• Learners will be able to create appropriate learning objectives for real-life situations relevant to their work or interests.
  • Learners will work backwards from instructional goals of their selection to create appropriate learning objectives which are measurable, specific, and relevant.
    
• Students will be able to justify their choices in creating learning objectives according to the principles of instructional design.
  • Students will discuss their reasoning and support such with evidence from instructional design literature.

Curriculum Map

1. REDIRECT [[1]]

References and Resources

Darling-Hammond, L. et al. (2008). Powerful Learning: What We Know About Teaching for Understanding. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Shambaugh, R. N., & Magliaro, S. (1997). Mastering the possibilities: A process approach to instructional design. Allyn and Bacon.