W5: What Makes e^3 Instruction?

Merrill's paper on What Makes e^3 (effective, efficient, engaging) Instruction? is especially interesting to me, because much like BYU Hawaii, our department is trying to develop an distance learning program for non-university student language learners* but we are very concerned without how to make the instruction effective, efficient, and engaging.

*IU students can take language courses for our languages through CEUS, but we are more interested in reaching the non-student learners, like military personnel, business men, aid-workers, government officials, etc. People who don't want to take semester long academic classes, but want to learn the language NOW for purposeful reasons.

In this article, Merrill explains that BYU Hawaii wanted to "(1) improve the quality of instruction and (2) reach more students by distance learning" (p. 1) and they worked to accomplish this by applying Merrill's first principles of instruction to their curriculum design. Specifically, they focused on utilizing problem-centered learning, incorporating more peer-interactions, and boosting technology-enhanced instruction.

Merrill explains that using problem-centered learning is important for e^3 because it boost learners past the associative memory phase (where one quickly forgets what they've learned if not given the opportunity to apply it in a timely manner) and into what he calls the mental model. The description of the mental model ("A problem-centered approach facilitates the adaption of an existing mental model or enables the learner to form a new mental model that integrates the various component skills into a meaningful whole." p. 1) reminds me of the constructivist learning theory, which hypothesizes that people learn through re-constructing their thoughts, ideas, understanding in their brain.

He explains that problem-centered instruction is a structured approach that involves guided teaching though demonstration, direct teaching, and allowing the students an opportunity to engage with problems in an increasingly difficult manner, while (it's not quite clear, but I'm assuming) slowly decreasing instructor support.

Peer interactivity is important for e^3 because it forces learners to test out their new mental models, not only in application, but also in peer review. This directly correlates to the methods of learning by teaching, where it is hypothesized that students actually absorb and acquire knowledge deeper when they are asked not only to demonstrate their knowledge, but also to teach it to their peers, cementing their understanding. BYU Hawaii seems to rely on Peer collaboration and Peer Critiques as their means of interactivity. Their justification for this means of peer interactivity is that it engages the student  by first applying the skills in their own solution, then working in a group to come up with a consensus solution, and finally, having to critique their peers based on their understanding of the problem and solutions, giving them several differentiated ways to interact with the material.

Using technology-enhanced instruction is key for providing the instruction to distance students, as well as supporting the engagement of the local learners. And Merrill gives a description of how the frame they created supports the instruction. However, I'll be honest that I'm still not quite sure how it all looks. I'd really like to see some screen captures and more concrete examples.

Overall, I thought this article was clear, simple, and direct. It gives me a lot to think about as I develop my own projects, because these are precisely the same ideas we are looking to incorporate our own online learning project development. As someone who learns by seeing and doing, this particular article would be awesome if turned into a learning module that actually incorporates the strategies being described!