Design
In order to accommodate all the competing needs assessed in this
case, we believe that Julie's design must incorporate the learning
of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) via the web as part of a larger
design. We propose that Julie design a pilot program called
"Problem-solving in Farm Management."
In this program, the 12 FAYAP students involved in the project will
meet once a week for a four week period in the Enrichment Room at
their school during school hours. Each session will begin with a simple
problem a farm manager might face which the students must solve using
various resources such as the web, tape segments of radio shows, and
print material.
Upon completing the workshop, the students will be able to:
- apply basic concepts of economics to farm management
- perform simple bookkeeping and
- identify the basic methods of IPM.
In the process of these activities,
the students will expand their knowledge and use of technical language
used in farm management. During the last session of the program, a farm
manager from the community will be invited to speak to the class and
discuss any questions that may have come up in previous sessions. The
students will receive a certificate upon completing the course that they
can refer to on resumes or college applications.
As an example, Session One of the workshop would have the following objective:
During the first session, students will solve a problem involving Integrated Pest Management issues.
A successful solution will include:
- identification of the infestation problem.
- identification of the economic variables.
- identification of various solutions and their advantages and disadvantages.
- selection of an appropriate control technique.
- use the world wide web, excerpts of a local radio farming program and print materials to develop their solutions.
- report their solutions orally to the class.
Students will begin the session with the following problem:
You are a grower of a certain plant "X" suffering from infestation of a
particular pest "Y." You can learn about Pest "Y's" damage and life history
through excerpts from a local radio show and online sources. You must
determine the economic injury inflicted by the pest by coming up with
the current market value of plant "X" (which can be found online) and plugging
it into a formula you will be given. Real IPM methods involve entering this
number into a computer program that completes more complex computations.
You will use a simplified formula for this problem. Identify various ways to
combat this pest. List the price of the methods, as well as the advantages and
disadvantages of each. You will share your pest control choice and the reasons
for your choice with the class.
Since the students are not very familiar with
computers and the web, during the first two sessions they will be guided in
their use of online and off-line reference materials. They will be told that
they can find information about pests from excerpts from a pre-recorded local
radio show and via the web. Online materials will be bookmarked so that they
can retrieve the information without in-depth searching. In this way, the students
will learn the kind of reference materials that are available to them to solve
these common farm management issues. Less guidance will be provided in
subsequent sessions as student competence increases.
Julie will present the workshop at the local school where the FAYAP students
attend because of the difficulties these students would have in finding time to
attend a workshop and the problems they have in getting access to computers.
She will propose only four weekly workshops, 50 minutes in length. Julie will
ask the local school administrators to allow the TRLC to sponsor a pilot program
for the FAYAP students, which, if successful, will be extended to a larger school
population.
The TRLC will offer to loan the school three computers to be used in
its Enrichment Room during the pilot program's four weekly sessions. The school administrators will accommodate this arrangement, knowing that they are
providing services to a group with special needs and, in addition, they are
supplementing the number of computers available in their school. They will
agree that allowing the FAYAP students to be excused from one class period
each week for four weeks will not significantly interfere with the students'
other classes.
Before beginning this design, Julie will attempt to identify
similar programs developed by other communities. Julie realizes it might not
be necessary to re-invent the wheel, and she can learn from the work that
others might have done.
Player Perspectives
The workshop will clearly have the TRLC label on it, and will be well-publicized.
Stewart will be pleased when he finds that he can procure additional funding to
help set up a computer lab at the local school. He will be excited by the web site
that is being created under the TRLCUs auspices. He will also like the idea that this
is a pilot program which, if successful, will reach a wider audience in the community.
Jorge will be satisfied that his kids will be learning new technical skills. Since his
initial interest in this project was providing his students with a mentoring program,
he will like the fact that the final workshop session will include a visit by a
representative of the farming community. He will appreciate that the students will
receive a certificate upon completing the course that they can refer to on resumes
or college applications.
Billie will be satisfied with this design proposal because she will be able to use
the World Wide Web for instruction, using IPM as the subject-matter. She will
be pleased that the good publicity generated by this town-gown interaction will
enhance the possibility of future funding for other ventures and bring her prestige.
Joe will be glad that excerpts of his radio show will be part of the design. Both
he and Sam will be happy that this program is described as a pilot program which
might be expanded in the future to reach a larger student population. The FAYAP
students will be learning skills that they feel are important for their futures in
agriculture.
Professional Perspectives
1) Instructional Design:
A major problem with this situation is lack of focus. As an instructional
designer, the first question we ask is who exactly is the client? While Julie
struggles with this issue, It seems that she never really decides. Billie is the
most obvious choice, especially since she is the one who initiated the project
at the university level. However, her focus is diffuse and her leadership role is
never defined. Jorge is also a natural choice since his kids are the target audience,
and he has approached the university with similar proposals in the past. From the
start though, he does not take the active role in the design that one would expect
from a client. Realistically, Julie was hired by Stewart, and must answer to him.
Therefore, his suggestions and requests probably carry more weight than they might
outside their working relationship.
Also, there is the problem of clearly defined needs. While Julie constantly argues
for a complete needs assessment, none of the other players buy into the value of
the process. This is perhaps a result of lack of experience with instructional design,
and could be solved during a meeting, when the process, as well as the rationale
behind it, could be outlined and discussed.
2) Education:
As educators, we are aware of the importance of time in the average school day.
Time for the project is restricted since the FAYAP students have varying schedules
that do not include a lot of free time. So it makes sense to include this program as
part of an activity in which they all participate simultaneously - in this case, school.
While this solution reconciles the time commitment problem for the students, it
creates one for school officials. We are aware that teachers and administrators will
be reluctant to let the kids miss regular class time for a special project. However,
there are only 12 students who will not miss any one class more than once. The
students themselves have complained that their regular classes are not meeting
their needs. We believe that this program will be beneficial for the FAYAP students,
and eventually for the entire student body, and thus will provide an attractive,
educationally viable alternative to the class time that will be missed.
We also realize that four sessions will not provide enough time to completely cover
the topic of farm management. However, we are treating this project as a pilot
program that, following formative evaluation and revisions, can be expanded as desired.
3) The University:
As members of a university community, we are familiar with the purpose and goals
of the higher academic setting. While part of the universityUs mission is community
outreach and support, it also exists to further its own needs and interests. This is
played out perfectly through the major players. Billie and Stewart are focusing on
what they can get out of the project and how it will further their careers. Jorge is
concerned with how his community program can benefit from the project. What needs
to fall into place in the design is a way to allow the university players to produce
something that can be added to their portfolios while serving the needs of the students
in FAYAP (and potentially other students in the community as well).
