I blame it on COVID-brain, but I found myself really struggling to lock down a course topic for this project. I ran through several ideas that I have a personal interest in, but none of them felt like the right topic for this instructional module. I thought back through all of my classes that I’ve taken for this program so far, and I stopped on my chosen topic, “Self-Care and Self-Regulation for Metacognitive Development in High School Students.” As I began curating the research material for this project, I found myself getting more and more excited about the course I will design this semester, but I still found myself feeling uncertain about how this topic would be perceived by others.
To my surprise, the peer review process has completely eliminated any uncertainties that I had. I have received some of the most positive feedback on my design document, which has encouraged and motivated me even more. I am currently waiting on one of my secondary reviewers to provide me with feedback, but my primary reviewer and one of my secondary reviewers, have both offered me a great balance to build from. This process is a great way to “get out of your own head space” and see the project through another set of eyes. The value of clarity, description, and a keen eye for detail are critical to the development process, because this document serves as the “contract” that the designer has with the client moving forward. This document becomes the road map for the success of the project, and so allowing for the peer review process allows as many perspectives to help bridge those gaps where clarity or consistency may be lacking.
My biggest takeaways from this process is that I must learn to trust my instincts in this field, more than I currently do. There were many aspects to my project that were discussed by my peers, as either formatting styles that I included which they really liked, or my approach to the development of the course brought my peer reviewers a new perspective on how that step in the design can be delivered. I feel that the preliminary research that I did during the design, helped me introduce important and relevant groundwork which added depth to the design as well, which appeared to be very well received. Also, from a constructive standpoint, both of my peer reviewers provided a great eye for detail on grammatical errors and formatting that I will revise in order to polish the document further. I found this process to be extremely helpful, and it’s honestly helped motivate me to create an even stronger project this semester!
On the other side of this process, I also served as peer reviewer for 3 of my classmates. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to take that intimate glimpse into each of their projects, which they trusted me with. I feel that this early development period of a course, when the foundation is being established for goals, objectives, and activities is a critical time, and I consider it a privilege to help my classmates develop the strongest version of the course that they can create. I received some genuine appreciation for my comments and insight offered in return, which makes me feel that I was able to provide value that aligned with their vision of the course. I look forward to the next step in the course development process, and feel that the peer review is a critical step in the success of any project that has the potential to impact numerous people with varying perspectives, such as e-learning. We don’t want our designs to be the thing that holds people back from learning.
My Journey Through Instructional Design 