Constructivist Learning Design for Effective Online Instruction
Abstract: This paper will present Black and McClintock’s (1996) learning design elements such as open learning, learning by doing, flexible and adaptive instructional design, and problem solving and conceptual design as used in a Case Method Analysis, a very popular and effective method of teaching a course preparing students in meeting the demands of the real world. The goal is to present constructivist based design content that allows students experience the teaching process using interactive and collaborative tools to enable online learners experience learning activities that parallel if not exceed learning outcomes achieved in an onsite face-to-face setting. Authentic, learner-centered, experience-based and practical learning activities were applied to existing face-to-face content to create an environment that offer students an opportunity to “create their own meaning making and knowledge construction, both the hallmarks of the constructivist approach”(Gold, 2001).