Graduation

Yesterday I graduated with an MS degree (Master of Science) in Instructional Psychology and Technology (IP&T). Many people have no clue what IP&T means. Instructional Psychology and Technology is a branch of study concerned with understanding the ideas, principles, and theories related to the improvement of instruction. I think that the mission statement of the department makes it quite clear:

• Pursue knowledge and skills in instructional design, research, measurement, evaluation and theory
• Apply knowledge and technology to solve instructional problems
• Strive to live, learn, and teach by the spirit.

I took several classes in instructional design, in statistics, in measurement, in evaluation, and learned about learning theories. Most of my classes were fascinating and there were many more I wish I could have taken (and would have if I had continued on the Ph.D route). It is crazy to think that I started here at BYU just two years ago and now I am all done. In the process, I have met many incredible people, had lots of growth experiences, and learned many things. I really feel so blessed by Heavenly Father to have been given this wonderful opportunity.

The graduation was at 8am, although I was supposed to be there at 7am. We filed into the room and after an opening hymn and prayer, two students receiving their Baccalaureate degrees spoke (BORING!!!) and then after a musical number by the School of Education choir, my Department Chair (Dr Andy Gibbons) spoke. We then received our degrees and then filed out of the room. There were refreshments outside and everyone mingled and chatted. Rob and I stayed a while and then went to take some photos. We then got home at about 11am.

It is a weird feeling not to be a student anymore because I have been one for so long. But, it will be good to focus on my boys and not have to worry about my thesis or anything school related, although I am just finishing off a paper to submit to an academic journal next week. That will be my fourth publication this year. (There were two last year as well.)

Receiving my degree

Some of my professors: Dr Sudweeks, Dr Graham, Dr West, Dr Gibbons 

Outside one of the entrances to BYU

"You have to live spherically"

This evening Candice and I watched the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. It is a mildly entertaining, completely unrealistic romantic comedy. Knowing a thing or two about Italy and life there, some of the things they suggest about life there are ridiculous (such as the easiness of buying a villa there). Anyway, it is still a fun movie...and reminds me of Italy and how it would be good to keep up my Italian skills.

One quote I like from the movie is when Katherine tells Frances something she heard from a famous director: "You have to live spherically, in many directions and never lose your childish enthusiasm and then things will come your way."

I think this is so true and I want to live my life this way. I want to live with enthusiasm and celebrate the opportunities that come my way... and grab life with both hands.

This week has been hard. My classes are really demanding, work demands a lot at the moment, I have a thesis to think about (although I'm dropping out of the doctoral program, I'm going to get another masters - I can do that at a distance and won't take too much more from me because I have most of the credits) and a prospectus/proposal to write, a wedding to plan, and I miss Rob SO MUCH. I have just felt so stressed because I feel like I have more to do than I have time for. Anyway, despite this, I know that being at BYU is such a great opportunity and I have so many great things happening in my life... I can only be happy and embrace everything Heavenly Father has given me with enthusiasm. My biggest blessing right now is my Rob. He is so loving and so supportive of me and everything I want to do in my life. Yesterday I got home after having a particularly hard day, there was a big bunch of brightly coloured beautiful flowers waiting for me with a wonderful note attached from Rob. I felt so loved! Then, in the evening, Rob booked a flight out to Utah for the first weekend in April (2 weeks time) so we can watch General Conference and attend my mission reunion together. I'm so looking forward to it!!!!

My design class

So this semester I'm taking the advanced design class with Dr Gibbons (chair of the IP&T dept). It is based on the idea of an instructional design studio - so, really practical where we are solving real problems. As a class (there are 10 of us in the class), we form a design team and we have been giving the task of designing for the Church History Museum. They currently have an outreach program where museum docents go into the local schools and teach fourth graders about Utah pioneers. They want to extend this to LDS people across North America and make it web-based. So, that is our task.

One thing a few of us did at the beginning of the semester was go to the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. We took some photos while we were down there.

Anyway, I am the client liaison, meaning I am the one who contacts the client (a lady who works in the Church History Department), and I am the class scribe. The reason I volunteered for this latter responsibility was because I would get a livescribe pen. It is an AMAZING device. It was actually designed by a graduate of the IP&T department at BYU. So, our department were given some free pens and now I have one of them.

At the moment we are researching how we want the framework of our design to be - it is a really fun project, especially knowing it will eventually be used by members of the church all over the place.

What I am studying...

People often ask me what I'm studying. I have struggled to articulate this clearly in the past, but now that I've been attending classes for the part 2 months, I feel that I am in a better position to describe exactly what I'm studying.

I am in the Instructional Psychology and Technology Department in the David O. McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University. I am studying Instructional Technology. This is a branch of knowledge focusing on the principles and theories related to the enhancement of instruction. It is concerned with the design and development of instruction that will lead to deeper learning. So, in essence we are taught the knowledge and technologies necessary for investigating instructional issues in order to improve learning.

In order to understand instructional technology better, it is essential to know what the word technology means. Technology is the application of scientific knowledge in the solving of a problem or need. That is, it applies knowledge in a practical way with the aim of improving productivity. There are hard and soft technologies: hard technologies generally refer to tools or hardware (such as computers, textbooks, whiteboards, calculators, overhead projectors, and so on), which have some tangible form; while soft technologies refer to methods and procedures (such as teaching methods, instructional templates, and so on), which do not have a physical form. If a teacher decides to use problem-based learning, for example, instead of a transmission model (a teacher simply relaying information to the student), he or she is using a soft technology to facilitate the students’ learning. Instructional technology uses both kinds of technologies to solve its problems, related to improving learning through instruction.

The Learning Sciences, on the other hand, is a field purely interested in what occurs within a learner as they learn. That is, how learning takes place. Their aim is to understand learning and build new theories regarding how learning occurs. Instead, instructional technologists are not just interested in the theories relating to how people learn, but rather they want to determine ways to improve learning. So, learning theories are important within instructional technology because they inform the design and development of instruction, but this is not their focus. Rather, they seek to use the knowledge and theories of how people learn and various technologies in order to help individuals learn better. This occurs through the design and development of instruction as well as the evaluation of whether or not the instruction is effective and how it can be improved. This is why in one of my classes I am studying design and in another class I am learning about evaluation.

Instructional technology does not have a specified beginning. While some state that instructional technology began in the eighteenth century when educators began using maps and scientific apparatus (hard technologies), others maintain that instructional technology began in the early nineteenth century when educators used projected images in order to supplement their lessons. However, it really was during the Second World War that the use of audio and visual instruction was advanced due to the need for training in both a systematic and efficient way.

Currently, instructional technology is a growing field which uses technology (both hard and soft) in order to solve educational challenges. Since it is a dynamic and emerging field, it still seeks its own definition. Many refer to it as educational technology and determine that educational technology is synonymous with instructional technology. However, traditionally, educational technology refers to K-12 situations, while instructional technology refers to a broader set of situations beyond just school and other educational settings. Others have defined educational technology as a domain in education involved in solving problems relating to all aspects of human learning, where solutions are not be restricted to instruction, but could, for instance, provide a classroom management solution. So, to those who accept this definition of educational technology, instructional technology is just a subset of educational technology because it provides solutions to problems in learning related to instruction. But, more often than not, both terms refer to activities and concepts centered on instruction and there is less of an emphasis on problems involved in all aspects of education.

It is interesting that some people felt that the scope of instructional technology was too narrow and they broke away from instructional technology and began exploring how to enhance performance, rather than learning, and explored solutions other than just instruction. Their domain is called Human Performance Technology. Due to the focus on performance, human performance technologists primarily deal with corporate environments.

I have always been fascinated with education and I feel that gaining more knowledge in instructional technology, I will be a better educator because I will have both the knowledge and the skills to design, develop and evaluate instruction in order to facilitate learning.

Excellent video