ID and GRE:
Breaking Down the Bones
A design project
by Susan Matson
for ITM600,
LaSalle University
The issue: ELS Language
Centers decided to teach GRE
prep to its ESL learners..
But what were the implications of
the decision in terms of goal
analysis and needs analysis?
? Was the goal attainable
from an organizational point
of view?
Was the goal also
attainable for the
students?
As part of the overall needs analysis, we conducted a brief GRE
pilot at two
centers: “Some students can cope and others
panic—there’s huge anxiety.” The skeleton was dancing, but there
were aches and pains.
I considered creating learning modules on
--metacognition
--self-esteem building
--anxiety management
--vocabulary enhancement
But wait!
Was I taking on too much for my first
instructional design effort?
A close look at what it takes to create
performance objectives gave me the
answer…
A closer look suggested that
Anxiety, stress and
low self-esteem
could come from
real deficiencies,
weaknesses that we
needed to shore up
by building
academic skills
I then interviewed three GRE-bound students to
get a more defined diagnosis…
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Writing skills were
basically sound
Math was mostly in
place
Reading comp was
worrisome because of
vocabulary
Analogies, antonyms
also impacted by very
challenging vocabulary
Vocabulary enhancement became the focus
But how could the 800 core vocabulary
words of the GRE be taught in one ELS
class with 40 hours of GRE prep per
month?
About 15-30 new words per week is
typical for an adult learning ESL…
We needed unique efficiency.
I decided on core word parts—
the backbone of English
The instructional goal
statement became:
GRE prep class students (Learner) will
be able to use word parts and context
(Tools) to effectively deduce meanings
of new words (Behavior), during both
paper-and-pencil classroom practice
tests and timed, computer-adaptive
tests (Performance Context).
There were 7 core steps,
including
Recall
meanings
for common
word parts
and
variations
in isolation
1
Identify
meaning of
unknown words
in
analogy context
5
Identify meaning
of unknown
words in
antonym context
6
Identify meaning
of unknown
words in
math context
7
Subskill analysis provided a lot
more detail:
Identify
meanings in
analogy test
context
5
Recognize
meanings of
items in analogy
exercise
5.2
List examples
of analogies
5.1
I had to learn to think
in heirarchies:
Vertically as well as
horizontally
Next were
Close thinking about learners and
contexts (they had to perform both in
class and on timed tests)
 Highly specific performance objectives
 And forward thinking assessment items
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For example:
Subskill: List word parts
Performance Objective: When asked to name word parts orally
or in writing(CN), list (B)at least three examples each of a common
prefix, root, and suffix in isolation.(CR) The learner will name at
least nine word parts total.(CR)
Assessment Item: Quiz 1, Word Parts. The student is asked to
complete charts to show knowledge of taught word parts, their
meanings; and example words. Example: The student is given a
prefix, such as TRI. The student must fill in the meaning (THREE)
and give an example word (for example, TRICYCLE).
I began to realize that
Every action and plan
by the teacher needed
to be purposeful, and
intentional—with a clear
outcome in mind at all
times.
A teacher could have a
surgeon’s precision! Or
close to it..
What remained was a comprehensive plan
of care via the Instructional Strategy:
Clustering objectives so as to
make teaching units.
Using those units to decide
timing.
I had to learn to separate
teacher time from practice
and in-class activity time and
become more conscious of
the clock—otherwise, 40
hours of learning!
Final results:
Still more activity
than I planned,
slightly over 2 hours
of teaching time, but
a potentially very
effective vocabulary
enhancement tool
Almost complete:
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Instructional materials (an extended
handout on word parts)
Instructor guide
Student guide
Polished AI (quizzes)
Formative assessment (center visit)
Summary assessment
Conclusions
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A rigorous process with
overstepping at first,
retrenching, gains,
redesigning,and
learning every step of
the way
A beginning ability to
see how the bones are
connected, finding the
backbone of an issue,
and seeing the body
come together at last.