colleen-murrays-scenario-planning-talk4
Adult learners expect to integrate workplace experience into formal study, and one way for faculty to meet that expectation is to use scenarios as the basis for discussions, projects, papers and even exams.
Scenarios are fictional situations that parallel reality by presenting situations or problems that could actually occur, applying academic topics (ex: consumer behavior) to practical outcomes. Like their workplace counterparts, scenarios typically are incomplete with multiple options for problem-solving, triggering the need for students to use deductive and/or inductive critical thinking. As situations exist in every endeavor and industry, scenario-based tasks can be used in just about every discipline, and at undergraduate or graduate level. They are adaptable to classroom and online learning environments.
While very effective in motivating adults to learn, scenarios do have process and outcome challenges. They can easily lose focus or topical specificity, and bypass stated course or program learning objectives. It’s best for faculty—or course developers—to remember the principles of instructional design, regardless of task model: 1, build on existing (baseline) knowledge; 2, state task-specific learning objectives; 3, avoid topical overlap or gaps between tasks; and 4, have measurable (quantifiable) learning outcomes.
Sun, Aug 30, 2009
Adult Education, Continuing Education, Higher Education, Tips