Microinstruction describes an instructional approach where critical concepts and competencies are presented to the learners in small pieces. These are immediately assessed for understanding and the learner is given an opportunity to apply this new knowledge. This approach is gaining popularity in professional development for organizations to ensure that their members understand and can apply critical information. In addition, microinstruction is becoming more prevalent within secondary institutions due to the effectiveness of its approach and its ability to be used alongside other instructional styles.
Microinstruction, in research and practice, has shown to be successful for both the learner and instructor. In this approach, there is a great reduction in reteaching and learners can progress to more challenging material in an efficient manner. In addition, it has shown to be more inclusive and responsive to the needs of learners. Microinstructional learning modules are characterized by highly condensed presentations, concise assessment approaches, immediate opportunity for feedback, and are designed to be easily accessed. This last factor, which will be further explained in the presentation, means that the content can be easily viewed or used on a wide array of technological tools. The design of the instruction itself, which will also be explained, ensures that a wide variety of learners can process and understand the material. This is particularly important for learners who may need accommodations in the learning process. These factors make the instruction inclusive to learners who may face technological limitations and those who need modifications in the structure of content itself. Together, this brings a more successful learning and teaching experience for both instructor and learner.
The goal of this presentation is to offer solutions and best practices and resources for educators who use, and design open educational resources. First, it will give a practical explanation of microinstruction and when it is applicable for use. Secondly, it will present the requirements for successful utilization, along with the reasons for those successes and how they promote inclusivity. Finally, participants will be given concrete best practices for the design, use, and organization of open-education resources for their students and organizations.
After participating in this session, attendees will be able to:
- Participants will be able to define micoinstruction and explain when it is appropriate
- Participants will be able to identify 2 characteristics of microinstruction
- Participants will be able to give one way to use microinstruction in the design and use of open educational resources
