Driving Together: Sharing the Wheel and Navigating the New Instructional Design Partnership

Concurrent Session 1

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Join us for an interactive session exploring collaborative instructional design processes between faculty and instructional designers. Discover how we shared the wheel to co-develop an engaging, accessible Southeast Asian Studies course. Let's discuss the future of instructional design partnerships and ways faculty can influence the success of a course.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Megan Holt, Northern Illinois University

Megan offers programs and consultations to faculty, teaching staff and teaching assistants on effective online teaching and learning, integration of digital learning tools and techniques, and application of quality standards. She assists in planning, coordination, and implementation of online teaching professional development activities and large-scale digital course materials accessibility programs and initiatives. Megan is also enrolled in NIU's Instructional Technology PhD program.

Co-presenter: Tracy Miller, Northern Illinois University

Tracy Miller is the Director of Instructional Design and Development at Northern Illinois University. She is responsible for the leadership of a team of highly talented instructional designer and online teaching professionals.

Co-presenter: Cynthia Paralejas, Northern Illinois University

Extended Abstract

Instructional designers are often attributed as the driving force behind quality online course creation. In a typical partnership, designers will independently organize the course content before handing it off to faculty for the actual instruction. While the designers’ pedagogical expertise is indispensable, a downside to this model is that faculty may feel excluded from the creation process and ultimately disconnected from their course or even their students.

Join us in this session as we discuss how a mid-size public institution flipped the instructional design process on its end. This session presents a case study of a Southeast Asian Studies course partnership, where instructors took an active role in the course design process. CITL staff modeled exemplary course design principles and initiated the course design process, but then faculty completed the final course structure. Learn how we capitalized on a growing movement to empower faculty to produce courses that are more engaging, interactive, and effective. We will discuss our successes and lessons learned, and possible implications for future course design partnerships. In the true spirit of sharing the wheel, we invite participants to ask questions and share their own collaborative experiences.

1.) The background: Was it the pandemic or something else? Learn what inspired this shift in partnership parameters. Discover how we supported our faculty as they took on a more proactive role in designing their course. We will discuss traditional ways in which instructional designers have supported their faculty, including initial consultation documents, course design procedures, and turnaround time expectations.

2.) The case study: CITL staff modified the existing support structures to aid Southeast Asian Studies instructors who were taking on course design responsibilities. We’ll discuss the build technique, unique course components, the division of partnership responsibilities, and the emerging partnership model.

3.)  Future implications: Inviting faculty to participate in the course build process helps instructors prepare to meet regular and substantive interaction policies. Faculty also take a proactive approach in addressing student engagement and interaction as well as DEI components of instruction.

Conclusion: Contribute your thoughts and ideas as we discuss sharing the wheel and navigating the next phase of our instructional design road trip.