Nashrah Ahmed
Instructional Designer
Artifacts
EDIT 704 - Summer 2015
Collaborative Project with Aaron Black
Relevant IBSTPI Competencies: #1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16
This was my first project in the IDT Masters program, in which I applied behaviorist learning theory to develop this instructor guide for beginner swimming lessons for children. Although we had the option to choose any learning theory, we went with the behaviorist model as it worked best with the type of instruction (swimming) and the level (beginners). My partner, Aaron, had expertise in teaching swimming and we were able to use his experience while applying principals of behaviorist learning theory to develop this instructor guide. It included elements of Skinner's behaviorist theory as well as Bandura's behavior modeling and social learning theory. We developed a learning model, instructional sequence, detailed lessons (instructional material), and a course assessment.
EDIT 705 - Summer 2015
Collaborative Project with Bree McGregor
Relevant IBSTPI Competencies: #1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14-18, 21
This instructional design document outlines our approach to developing a WordPress workshop for English Department Faculty at Arizona Western College. My partner, Bree, was a faculty member of the college and therefore served as an SME. She also had access to other English Department faculty who also served as SMEs. I also used my experience developing and delivering professional development for educators. We applied the process of instructional design starting from creating a problem statement, consulting SMEs, doing a learner analysis, conducting a contextual analysis, and outlining a task analysis. My biggest takeaway was the importance of doing a thorough learner, context, and task analysis before creating instructional objectives and materials.
EDIT 706 - Fall 2015
Individual Project
Relevant IBSTPI Competencies: # 1, 6-9,11-16, 20, 22
Instructional designers must be able to present a viable and compelling business case in order to implement a learning intervention in an organization. In EDIT 706, I developed a business case for a virtual learning community. This was very relevant to the organization I work for because we were in the process of coming up with ideas for effective collaborative communities for K-12 educators. I had to look at the learning intervention from the perspective of business interests and impact. It involved generating alternative options, analyzing assumptions and risks, calculating financial measures, and making projections about impact. I used relevant indicators and metrics from my organization to come up with a compelling business case.
EDIT 730 - Fall 2015
Individual Project
Relevant IBSTPI Competencies: #1, 2, 3, 6, 8-16,
For this project, I did a deep dive into constructivist learning environments (CLEs) and had to apply the learning theory to solve an instructional problem. Because we had to design a prototype, this required more thought and analysis the instructor's guide developed in EDIT 704. As a coach for new teachers, a real-world problem I was tackling on a daily basis was classroom management. New teachers consistently struggled to effectively manage students despite the training they received. Classroom management is an example of an "ill-structured problem," according to Jonassen's typology of problems, which made it perfect for a CLE. In my design, I aligned the learning outcomes, activities, and evaluation to specific characteristics of CLEs. I developed an interactive classroom management application (simulation), which would allow new teachers to respond to student behavior in real time. Below are more details about the design:
EDIT 732- Fall 2016
Collaborative Project
Our group of six designers first came up with the concept of a learning application that would address a performance improvement issue. We then conducted a thorough contextual analysis, which involved collecting data through site-visits, observations, and interviews. The data was sorted and analyzed using a Work Activity Affinity Diagram (WAAD). We also sketched some initial work flow diagrams. The next step involved generating a more robust set of requirements and models. This included user models (work roles, user classes, social model) and usage models (flow model, hierarchical task inventory, etc.). More details can be found here:
EDIT 752- Spring 2017
Collaborative Project
This semester, our group is focused on user experience research. We will be using various research methodologies to gather and analyze data on the usability of the Landscaping Magic! prototype. This document summarizes the research methods we selected and our plan for two rounds of data collection. The methods include UX inspection, task-based usability testing, interviews, and remote research methods.
EDIT 732 and 752- Fall 2016/Spring 2017
Collaborative Project
In the fall of 2016, our group of six designers developed a performance improvement prototype called Landscaping Magic! This is an application designed for landscaping and contracting companies. The PowerPoint outlines our process, starting from the scope of development, sketches, wireframes, and finally the first medium-fidelity prototype. In the spring of 2017, we further improved our design. This ongoing development can be seen here: