From the early part of the 21st century, lovers have been placing “love locks” on bridges, railings, or other structures. They write the lovers’ names on the lock and throw away the key to symbolize the unbreakable love between them. This is not a discussion on whether this constitutes vandalism or not, but rather a metaphor for instructional design (ID) practice and tools.
In 2007, when I first started teaching certification courses for Exposure Device Operators (EDOs), I was handed a stack of overhead slides and the keys to the classroom for an already successful course. Over the next eight years, I took that material and, with the assistance of ID training I sought out and implemented, added various other tools that made that training course one of the most successful in Canada.
To visualize the tools, imagine a bridge or railing connecting two things: the learner before they begin learning about exposure devices and the learner after they successfully complete the training course and become certified. Each “lock” on that railing or bridge is a strong ID tool that I placed there using one of my superpowers (Meyers, 2020). It has the name of a learner on it who inspired the use or development of the tool and it is visible to the learners who come along later and see it there. The locks were things like:
- use of a demonstration device (life-sized, but not radioactive) (superpower: shop teacher)
- “field trips” (superpower: tour guide)
- study groups (superpower: math nerd)
- real-life examples of math required in the industry (superpower: storyteller)
- learner-provided examples of problems to solve (superpower: cheerleader)
- judgement calls – go back to early algebra or not? (superpower: mindreader)
- case study discussion of industry incidents – collection of photos from field work I’ve done (superpower: photographer)
- videos of proper and improper use (superpower: videographer)
“Out of my comfort zone” (Meyers, 2020, 18:40) is a polite understatement for this type of work!
References:
Meyers, Melanie. 2020, April 17. Many Hats: Why Flexibility and an Open Mind Matters. [Video] https://ca.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/playback
Fun post Corie!
It reminded me of a quote I came across last month.
“A tyrant tells you what you did wrong. A cheerleader tells you what you did right. A coach helps and encourages you to find the answers for yourself.”
I feel safer knowing that someone like you is keeping our energy resources safe for all.
Thank you
Ben
Hey Corie,
Thanks for your post. I think we live in ‘relatively’ similar worlds, so a question I have for you is:
– How do you act (or react) when your design vision does not meet the vision of the commanding business unit, regulator, or client group in question?
Paula
Corie great post.
I love your analogy and I think it is quite true very often the key is thrown away. I think that this is something that I often forget when handing a class over to a new instructor or educational coordinator. I would hand over instructions (perhaps not the most detailed or with enough ” love” ) and the class would fall flat for a number of reasons. I hope that after this course I will be able to communicate these things in better ways. I had to google exposure devices. I think it is very interesting how our cohort is so diverse. Thank you for sharing!
What a wonderful metaphor on so many levels, Corie! Learning is a journey, and your bridge facilitates this for your learners. The locks along the way represent a beautiful collaborative construction process. You do indeed possess fabulous super-powers, and I might add that of a story-teller, based on this lovely post. I’m a firm believer in narrative incorporated into design and shared throughout the learning process and wondered if it’s an aspect you have contemplated?
Thanks,
Alisha