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Think Big!!!

 

Full transparency I thought this produsage assignment would be a piece of cake. After all this is what I do. I have written thousands of lesson plans over the past 27 years. What actually happened, I got a really good wake up call about how teaching and instructional design are not the same. Let me explain. Good teachers think small. They write lessons that are tailor made for the students who are sitting in front of them that year (or class period). The idea of knowing your kids and creating an assignment that is tailor made for them is the goal. The ideal. 


When I started the produsage assignment I approached it from this direction. What will the sixth graders that I have in my class this year be able to do? What do I want to accomplish with them?

What I have come to realize that instructional designers think BIG! It's not about what you need for just a few kids who you see everyday. Instructional designers create lessons on a much larger scale. The lessons you create need to be (in some ways) general. Other teachers need to be able to look at it and put their own stink on it. This will be a difficult transition for me. I am used to that personal interaction, that excitement when you reach a kid. As an instructional designer it is quite possible that you will no longer get to see that.  

single tear

My transition out of teaching is almost complete. It is very likely that this is the last year that I will spend time with students on a daily basis. If I am honest, it makes me kind of sad. My hope is that I will find a job that allows me to think BIG and reach many more students. 

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