Independent Study

Instructional design offers substantial potential to improve learning in every domain. Students learn systematic methods for ID, explore the role of design, theory, & technology in addressing instructional problems, & build significant analytical & project management skills. For any discipline where creative approaches to knowledge construction and information transfer are critical.

This course provides an introduction to technologies commonly employed for instructional development. Courseware Tools is the first half of a two-course sequence. Topics in the first semester include digital media, print and web design / development, web scripting, and related instructional issues such as usability principles and interface design. In the second semester, use of these tools to develop projects is addressed in Courseware Design. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.

Learn how to evaluate existing and design new instructional materials for any learning environment based on understanding how people learn and process information. We will cover multimedia learning principles such as Mayer's, the underlying theories and research, and design principles like gestalt, figure/ground, and hierarchy. The course features a "rapid prototyping" process for revising and creating mterials throughout the class project

Focus is given to Problems of Practice (POPs) through systematic quantitative inquiry, specifically focusing on survey processes, questions and strategies used to conduct meaningful inquiry in educational settings. The course begins with the process for survey development followed by basic statistical processes and procedures for organizing and analyzing data from surveys. A co-requisite for the class is EDLF 8386: Survey Lab of Practice.

This Lab of Practice complements EDLF 8385: Survey Inquiry. The Lab provides a structured opportunity to engage in survey work on a very small scale allowing for practicing the main ideas focused on in EDLF 8385: Survey Inquiry.

In this student-driven, field-based course, students perform work at a school, district, or other educational setting to investigate and address a specific question, challenge, need, or interest of the partner organization. Students make informed analyses of the educational issues and present findings.

Ed.D. Research conducted under the guidance of dissertation/capstone committee. 12 hours required for graduation. Permission of Instructor required.

Under close guidance of a faculty member, students work on an area of particular interest that cannot be met by a regularly scheduled course. A plan of study should be signed by the faculty sponsor and filed in the student's permanent file in the Office of Student Affairs. Prerequisite: Instructor permission.