INTE 6930 - ILT Internship
Final Report
John Seelhoff
University of Colorado Denver
7/31/14
INTE 6930 Final Report
Introduction
When seeking an internship opportunity, my goal was to find one that would employ, challenge,
and further develop the skills I’ve acquired during my education in the Instructional Design
Master’s Program at the University of Colorado-Denver (UCDenver). Additionally, it was
imperative to find an opportunity that would provide hands-on experience in a business and
industry setting, which aligns with my post-graduation employment aspirations. I was fortunate
to find such an opportunity with an Educational Consulting Services Company (ECS), featuring
disruptive educational innovation, and offering democratized access to leading educational
programs in the United States and across the globe.
The ECS’s educational programs can be customized to a wide spectrum of socio-economic
levels, and are personalized to leverage learner engagement levels. The company believes that
data-driven decision making helps advance knowledge about what works for whom under what
circumstances, and it uses this output to blend educational technology with social learning and
teaching applications. Content provided by ECS is adapted to meet learners’ needs and to
improve time on task, performance, and learning/teaching efficiency. A prototype experience for
the target learners is necessary to develop and assess personalized learning algorithms and to
ensure that alternative learning experiences address unmet challenges among a small assembly of
users.
My responsibility with ECS is to design and develop a prototype science learning module for
fourth-grade students for a client in China. If the prototype module is well-received by the
Chinese client, ECS could be selected to develop an entire science curriculum based on the
prototype module’s design. Therefore, properly designing and developing this prototype module
in alignment with ECS’s platform and the client’s needs is crucial as the feedback gleaned from
the prototype module and the students’ experience will be used to refine the curriculum design
and evolve the learning experience.
Requirements and Constraints
The scope of this educational start-up project is spread over nine provinces in China with a
mixture of rural and urban locations and is targeted for 60,000 fourth-grade science students. The
audience for the pilot module will be a smaller constituency of students from the 60,000 student
pool. The Chinese stakeholders requested that the pilot module be created using an inquiry based
teaching/learning instructional model. We have the flexibility to select the pilot module’s topic,
learning objectives, and delivery methodologies. The pilot module’s success will be determined
based upon student achievement of the learning objectives and the degree to which the students
are engaged in the learning process. Success will also be determined on the basis of whether the
teachers feel more comfortable with inquiry based instruction and their use of digital media.
Additionally the long-term learning goals of the project are to improve student test scores and
increase students’ cognitive abilities.
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INTE 6930 Final Report
ECS has a thoughtful and aggressive business strategy and a talented staff. However, as this is
the first project of this magnitude that the organization has undertaken, a related learning curve
has caused frequent delays and progress checks associated with any new company. Because the
stakeholders and audience for this project are in China, I haven’t had the opportunity to interface
with them personally and must receive all of my information through my supervisors/managers
at ECS. While it is beneficial for me to get an experienced interpretation of the Chinese
stakeholders’ desires, at the same time the nature of this communication flow has provided some
very challenging logistics. Whenever questions occur or clarifications are necessary, attempting
to contact busy executives who are managing multiple projects, often while traveling, can be a
time-consuming task. Another hurdle when dealing with a Chinese client and audience has been
recognizing various cultural differences and colloquialisms that could compromise the learning
product.
My Role and Participation
My role in this project is one of an instructional designer tasked with analysis, design, and
development for the pilot module. I report to both Jeff and Brian who are the co-founders of
ECS. Brian, my primary supervisor, is largely responsible for the scaffolding and technology
associated with ECS’s platform for this project, while Jeff has managed most of the business
strategy and financial decisions. My communication with Jeff and Brian has been via text, email,
Google Hangouts, telephone conversations, and face-to-face contact.
The bulk of my research to this point has been focused on learner engagement, inquiry based
instruction, scientific subject matter (with an eye toward its application for fourth-grade Chinese
students), potential technology applications, performance based assessment, and digital
integration for the pilot module. In addition to research, I have used presentation skills, analysis,
project management techniques, and emotional intelligence to professionally carry out my
project responsibilities. My focus moving forward as I design and develop the pilot module will
be to optimize the students’ learning experience by applying my research findings and using
sound instructional design.
Scope
This project has and will continue to involve my use of the five phases of the ADDIE Model
(shown on the next page) to design and deliver an inquiry based science learning module,
including a performance-based assessment, for fourth-grade students in China. This module will
be developed for my internship organization, ECS. Subsequently, ECS will submit the module to
their Chinese client as a prototype for a full, fourth-grade, science curriculum.
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INTE 6930 Final Report
Timeline, Task Description/Schedule, and Checkpoints
Date(s)
6/9/14 –
7/25/14
Phase / Task Description
Checkpoint
Analysis
 Discussed nature of the project with ECS stakeholders
 Identified ECS’s goals and measures of success
 Reviewed/assessed sample science modules provided by ECS’s
client in China
 Finalized project goals, phases, timelines, and deliverables with 6/26/14
ECS
 Observed three fourth-grade science classes in Jefferson County
schools and discussed the teachers’ use of inquiry based learning
in their classrooms
 Conducted action research:
o Inquiry based learning
o Fourth-grade science learning standards
o Learning engagement for elementary school students
o Optimal classroom delivery technologies
o Potential topics for the pilot module
7/25/14 –
8/5/14
Design
 Created a topic and design concept proposal including
performance based assessment for the science learning module
 Draft proposal approved by ECS
 Develop and deliver the design proposal Inquiry Based Learning
Seeds and Plants Module for Fourth Grade Learners to ECS
 Client sign off (or request for revision) of Alpha module
8/7/14 –
9/1/14
Development
 Create science module (Alpha version)
 Submit science module to ECS for review and, revision request
or signoff
 Revise module, as needed
 Create final deliverables
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7/29/14
8/8/14
8/13/14
9/15/14
9/30/14
INTE 6930 Final Report
9/1/14
TBD
Implement
 Present final deliverables to ECS
10/6/14
Evaluation
 Review Chinese client’s feedback with ECS
 Determine next steps
Project Goals
My long-term goals for my work with ECS are to:
 Create an instructionally sound and engaging inquiry based science learning prototype
module that, when reviewed by the Chinese client, will result in ECS being selected to
develop the entire fourth-grade science curriculum
 Conduct my work with ECS (both in terms of product and professional interface) in such
a way that they will want me to work with them in the future
My short-term, enabling objectives are:
 Meet all project checkpoints
 Deliver instructionally sound interim deliverables leading up to the final deliverable
 Conduct myself as a trusted advisor (Maister, 2000) to build both a short- and long-term
relationship with ECS
Work Processes (Team roles, collaboration methods, information resources, and flow)
The “team” for this project is primarily Brian and Jeff of ECS and me. Brian is ECS’s President.
I do have some interface with Jeff, ECS’s CEO. Jeff interfaces with the client in China. Brian
will work directly with me to keep me informed of any changes in the project. He will also
review the documents that I submit and will update Jeff on our progress. As the project’s
instructional designer, I am responsible for the timely and quality design and development of
deliverables at all stages of the project. I am also responsible for preparing the agenda for the
weekly touch-base calls between Brian and myself.
These weekly touch-base calls provide the opportunity for Brian and me to collaborate, check the
status of the project, and update one another of any concerns or new information. The calls are
usually via telephone; however we have conducted some touch-base calls via WebEx when we
have visual elements that we want to address. Brian and I also communicate via email when we
have something we want to address immediately and to exchange documents.
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INTE 6930 Final Report
Description of Outcomes and Accomplishments
To date, a great deal has been accomplished in my work with ECS. First I must mention the
satisfaction that I have gained in learning about ECS, their business goals and strategies, and
about the inquiry based learning initiative on which I am working. Toward that end, I have
finished my work for the Analysis Phase of the Addie process and will soon be able to say the
same of the Design Phase. My analysis work has led to a good understanding of inquiry based
learning, fourth-grade science learning standards, learning engagement for elementary school
students, and optimal classroom delivery technologies. During the Analysis Phase, I also
investigated potential topics for the pilot science module. Moving into the Design Phase, I
narrowed the list of potential science topics and selected “Seeds and Plants” as my module’s
topic. Based on that topic, I submitted a topic and design concept proposal to ECS which they
approved.
Challenges and Responses
To this point, my biggest project challenge has been interpreting the requests and opinions of our
Chinese clients without having direct communication with them. When information travels
through different intermediaries it can sometimes become altered or reported from a slightly
different perspective due to individual interpretation. It is also difficult to pose follow-up
questions or get clarification in a timely manner on issues that need to be more well-defined.
Gauging stakeholder reaction to suggestions or potential ideas for the project is also challenging
without the being privy to their first-hand feedback and the nuances that can often only be
garnered through direct dialogue. With this in mind, I have worked hard to raise my project
questions and concerns in timely manner. In these situations, I strive to use communication that
is clear, concise, and to the point. Usually, this caliber of conversation results in feedback that is
more valuable, on target, and productive for all parties involved.
Recommendation for Future Action
As this internship is for a real-world project that will continue beyond the end of the internship, I
have some clear and significant future actions that I must take. After ECS approved my topic and
design concept proposal, I drafted the design proposal Inquiry Based Learning Seeds and Plants
Module for Fourth Grade Learners and I will deliver it to ECS on August 9 for their review.
Once I revise that proposal based on ECS’s feedback, I will be ready to move into Addie’s
Development Phase to create the client deliverables. I must say that I am excited to get to that
stage as I have real energy around creating an engaging learning opportunity for these Chinese
students. To think that I have the opportunity to reach across the globe and provide a meaningful
learning experience for these students is certainly energizing and rewarding.
When I complete this project with ECS, I intend to look back over my experience and actions to
identify best practices and lessons learned that I can use in new projects moving forward in my
instructional design career.
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INTE 6930 Final Report
Reflection and Evaluation; Lessons Learned
I have been very fortunate to work and learn at the side of Brian and Jeff, two successful and
experienced professionals in the field of learning. They have helped me learn how competent
leadership demands a combination of many different styles, from having the vision to guide
projects and tasks, to coaching reports to aid performance, and at times being democratic to illicit
a wide range of perspectives on important issues. Daniel Goleman draws a parallel between
versatility in leadership and golf clubs in a players bag “Each club has a different application.
The more clubs that a player has, the more flexibility they can bring and the greater their chance
for success” (Mersino, 2007, p. 218).
The opportunity to research inquiry based learning in this capstone Instructional Learning
Technologies (ILT) course has been a fitting denouement to my masters’ work. I remember
learning about Piaget in my first class at UCDenver and embracing his theory of development
and its contributions to the development of the learning cycle. Now this fundamental knowledge
has seemingly come full circle and is a central component to inquiry based learning. Piaget posits
learning begins when individuals experience disequilibrium, “To bring their understanding back
to into equilibrium they must adapt or change their cognitive structure through interaction with
the environment” (Olson, 2000). The mindset of inquiring based learning begins with what an
individual already knows and allows the process of inquiry to add to their initial knowledge base.
This is exactly why at ECS we’re excited about having young students use inquiry based
learning.
In hindsight, the biggest challenge of this project has been one of timing. In a perfect world, I
would have begun this project in conjunction with a normal-length term and completed it in time
to report on a finished product. Unfortunately, the nature of the business world, client timetables,
competing projects, academic calendars, and various unconnected deadlines makes for an inexact
science. I’m pleased to report that my learning and progress throughout this project has been
significant, and I have no reason to expect or project anything different for the coming days. It is
my intention to continue to inquire and refine my own skills, and in doing so, further my ability
and knowledge toward helping others to learn with opportunities like this one with ECS.
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INTE 6930 Final Report
References
Maister, D. H., Green, C. (2000). The Trusted Advisor. New York, NY: Free Press.
Mersino, A. (2007). Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers. New York, NY: AMACOM.
Olson, S. (2000). Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching
and Learning. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Rosenberg, M., Williams, C. (2014). Instructional Design Process using Addie Model. Journey
Into Instructional Design. Retrieved from:
http://nschutte.com/projects/instructional-design-process-using-addie-model/
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