An instructional design model I connected with is the ASSURE model. Each step I think is so important to learning and all should definitely be considered when structuring a lesson. I agree that the first step is to analyze your learners because before any lesson can be thoughtfully planned, I believe it is imperative to focus on who your audience is and then design the learning objectives based off your learners. The first two steps should highly be considered before considering which method you want to deliver your lesson with. As always, it incorporates feedback & evaluation at the end stages, which is critical to improve and revise teaching. I think the ASSURE model could apply in any learning context. Especially this model could apply to giving training workshops (not just teaching lessons). Knowing your audience is crucial to developing a training presentation and then stating what the learners will be able to do as a result of the workshop. As a trainer, I then would need to select which delivery methods should be used, including the technology/materials needed to support the training. During the workshop, participation with the audience can be engaging and enhance the experience. Lastly, evaluation and feedback is key to growing as a trainer in order to make your workshop even better the next time around. I also think that the backwards design model is important by thinking of the big picture/ideas first and then narrowing it down to planning the instruction. By identifying the desired learning outcomes first, you can then determine how to evaluate students’ progress and plan the instructional methods.

I remember in my undergrad, I took an interviewing course. It was probably the hardest, but most worthwhile course of my college experience. We were learning the different types of interviewing styles (both perspectives- being an interviewer & interviwee). We learned the strategies, how to write/answer questions and how to find people to interview. I think what made it so impactful is that after learning the information, we had to go out of the classroom and actually conduct the interviews with all different types of people. Actually applying the information in a real-life scenario was so beneficial to put those skills to test. We were able to learn what worked, what didn’t work, how to conduct ourselves in the process and how to write the interview in a paper. All the material that we were taught in the classroom, we had to apply it and then give our feedback to the professor. If something didn’t go well in one interview, we could understand why that happened and then fix the mistake the next interview. I was motivated to actually want to retain the information, engaged in the classroom trying to understand how to go in the world and conduct an interview and had interest in the topic. I think what made that class so impactful was the real-life application we were “forced” to do. But, I think because we all knew that we were required to conduct different types of interviews throughout the semester, that engaged myself & my peers to take interest in the topic. Our professor incorporated feedback, working together, and lots and lots of practice. It was such a “hands-on” course and the material applied to everyone in the class because we were all going to be going on job interviews after graduating. The material applied to our lives and I think that was key in engaging the students (along with practice & feedback).