EED 509 Implementing a High-Impact Environment

Instructional design impacts P-12 student learning because it can affect the entire educational process that our students cycle through. In the past, students were given information based on their age and grade level, told what to study, and given a test in which they were responsible for reiterating the information given to them. Growing up in the teacher-centered era, I experienced this educational process most of my life and can attest to its lack of effectiveness. I earned A’s and B’s throughout elementary, middle, and high school but I have not retained much of the information or skills after almost thirteen years of education. By shifting the educational paradigm to a student-centered focus, teachers can create a more meaningful education environment and experience for the students because both factors will be tailored to the students’ needs. To truly tailor what happens in our classrooms, teachers must evolve from teachers of information to educational designers that are explicitly intentional in their actions. This is best done by going through a design process, such as Figure 1:  Process for the Development of Higher Level Thinking Skills (Limbach & Waugh, 2014, p. 97). The Process for the Development of Higher Level Thinking Skills, as proposed by Limbach and Waugh, is an instructional design model which educational designers can use to better prepare educational experiences for their students. By methodically going through the five steps, educational designers are better able to perform higher-level thinking skills as well as gain more from their educational experience. Unfortunately, going through this process for everything that is implemented or taught in an average classroom would prove incredibly time-consuming and challenging for the teacher. From my experience in a third-grade classroom, many of our instructional programs that were adopted by all schools in our district show many signs of this process. Our current reading and math programs will determine learning objectives and standards, allow for frequent opportunities for practice before assessments and assess learning outcomes and objectives for many of the lessons provided. However, many times the programs do not call for the facilitation of high-impact learning activities. They also lack a continuation of skills to review, refine, and improve learned concepts and skills. I have observed many high-quality teachers that tweak these mandated programs to include more high-impact learning activities for their students as well as combining or re-ordering the provided lessons so as to review, refine, and improve the concepts and skills necessary for their students to succeed. 

 Limbach, B., & Waugh, W. (2014). Implementing a High-Impact, Critical Thinking Process in a Learner-Centered Environment. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice,14, 95-99. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from https://jsu.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3493693-dt-content-rid-15703295_1/courses/2018SPJSUEDEED50900121405/Implementing%20a%20High-Impact%20Environment.pdf.


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