Special Research I
Session 3: Study Case in ID Field (1) (Lecturer: Katsuaki Suzuki)
Carry out “This Session's Task” after reading and understanding the following contents.
[Introduction]
The level of research and practice in Instructional Design (ID) conducted in Japan is far behind Europe and the U.S. where ID is well established. What can we do in order to narrow the gap? For the last twenty years, since returning from the U.S. in 1987, I have been “promoting” the application of ID models and theories. My aim has not been to come up with a new ID theory, but to put the existing ID models into practice. “It will be better if Prof. Suzuki produces his own theory suitable for Japanese society, rather than just showing someone else's ideas”. This is the advice I often receive. However, I believe that I should, at first, introduce what already exists, and it will be the best way to catch up with the rest of the world. In the last twenty years, the situation in Japan has not changed much. On the other hand, the number of ID theories has been increasing. I should say that the need for introducing other people's theories has increased more than predicted. Furthermore, ID theory can be widely applied regardless of its origin. Why do we need “Japanese” theory? Theory that originated in Europe or U.S. is good enough to practice in Japan. This is my belief.
In my first job at the Faculty of Liberal Arts in Tohoku Gakuin University, I introduced basic ID, while using the NHK school broadcasting programs (1995), and in my lectures on educational methods in the junior/senior high school teacher training courses (2002). In my position at the Faculty of Software and Information Sciences in Iwate Prefectural University, I applied ID theory to design courses for Software Engineer (SE) training, as well as producing an practicum courses for training to become an educational technologist. I also assisted students in their research on “development of ID tools,” for their bachelor's/master's theses, and worked to “show cases of system development applied on ID theory” and to “develop and supply tools that would make the application of ID theory easier”. I also taught pre-service high school teacher certificate courses in “Information Technology”, the new mandatory subject in academic high schools, and looked for ways to apply ID in teaching these newly introduced courses.
I have been trying to “promote the application of ID theory” in various scenes, and my basic attitude has not changed since I moved to Kumamoto. I think what is required is basically the same, even though the target area of application has changed from K-12 to higher education and workplace learning, and I now teach mainly mature postgraduate students. Compared to my previous work, system development may be less significant, however, I hope, by working together with you, we can conduct research that will help people understand the effectiveness of ID and find ways to apply it with creating something to help the world.
As shown in Block 1, research starts from “finding a topic.” I believe that this task is for students, not for a professor, even though I will show some examples. On the other hand, it is true that, in some research labs in engineering or technology programs, research topics are handed down, so your topic will already be there waiting for you when you choose the research lab to join. In my opinion, this is a “robbery” of the most interesting part of research from students. It may be difficult to find a topic that you like, but it is also the most important and joyful moment of study. My intention is to advise students how they can mould the topic of their choice into a manageable piece of an ID-related study. During this procedure, I can influence students so they will understand my way without being force-fed. I can also help students improve the level of their research, so that the end result (i.e., master's thesis) will be accepted. Sometimes I need to scale down their ambitions regarding the project to a manageable size so that the research will be completed within the time frame. My teaching role is to become a set of bicycle stabilizer wheels for my students. In other words, my role is not a sage on the stage, but a guide on the side.
One thing you need to be aware of is that my student's master's thesis will be written at a level of submitting it to an academic journal. Welcome onboard!
Reference
・Suzuki, K. (1995). Premier of Instructional Design from Educational Broadcasts: Messages for Young Teachers, Educational Broadcasting Library, 23, Japan Association for Educational Broadcasting [In Japanese]
・Suzuki, K. (2002). Instructional Design Manual: Supporting Self-Learning, Kita Oji Shobo. [In Japanese] (Translated version has been used in “Instructional Design I” of this program.
