Teaching Design

My early teaching experiences started when I served as a TA for different teacher education classes at GVSU College of Education during my master’s degree. Since then, my teaching role has primarily been in the area of instructional design and technology. I have taught in different modalities, including face-to-face (GVSU, FHSU &IU), online (FHSU & IU), and blended (FHSU & IU). These teaching experiences were gratifying, as they extended my knowledge about the field and enhanced my communication skills, especially without the privilege of face-to-face contact in the case of online teaching. Each experience was unique in its own way, as it presented a new set of challenges regarding my own thinking about ID and my own teaching philosophy.

Courses Taught/Co-Taught at Indiana University Bloomington (Course Syllabus/Design available upon demand)

EDUC-R-685: Seminar in IST: Design Thinking and Ethics, Spring 2021 | Online (6 weeks)
EDUC-R R626, Instructional Strategies, and Tactics, Spring 2020 | Online (16 weeks)
EDUC-R R685, Seminar in IST: HRD Research & Practice, Spring 2019; Summer 2017 | Online (16 weeks)
EDUC-R R621, Needs Analysis for Instructional and Performance Improvement, Fall 2018; Fall 2017 | Online (16 weeks)
EDUC-R 551, Learning in Organizations, Spring 208 | Online (16 weeks)
EDUC-R 341, Multimedia Design and Development in Instructional Technology, Spring 2017; Fall 2016 | F2F (16 weeks)
EDUC-W200, Using Computers in Education, Fall 2015; Spring 2016 | F2F (16 weeks)

In each of these classes, I have adopted a design teaching approach that focuses on the students as future professional practitioners who are the guarantors of their jobs, not on the theory or the model they are following. The focus of every class activity was not to memorize content or become proficient at knowing a declarative type of knowledge. On the contrary, the class activities, content, assignments, and assessments were purposefully designed to develop critical thinking, hard work ethics, a “designer” sense, and an ability to make design judgments. In this teaching approach, the students are not a tabula rasa (whiteboard). Instead, each student’s background, life experiences, and values are appreciated, brought to the foreground, challenged if needed, and built upon to expand her/his identity as a professional practitioner. This teaching approach emphasizes class discussions, group work, exploring many design exemplars, and design critique sessions.

Having success with this teaching approach encouraged me to become a reflective practitioner who is not afraid to fail and then move forward. Seeking students’ feedback through formal and informal channels beyond what the school requires is another supportive technique to accomplish this teaching approach. This design teaching approach stems from my own philosophy of teaching, which is immensely inspired by the scholarship of Professor Elizabeth Boling, the design philosophy of Nelson and Stolterman (2012), the design expertise handbook by Lawson and Dorst (2009), the scholarship on design sense from Yanchar and Gabbitas (2011), the scholarship of K.W Platts (2004), and personal insights from my formal design and practice experiences.