Method of Loci/Memory Palace

Method of Loci/Memory Palace and Implementation of the Instructional Design

Our assignment was to picture a familiar room and take a mental image of it. Then, we were asked to try to associate something that we were learning with the mental images as we walked through the familiar room. I had tried this once before when I was in a professional development session and to my amazement, it really helps you memorize items such as numbers, faces, and concepts. The concepts that we were asked to associate with the view of Situated Instructional Design was somewhat hard to picture perhaps because I really didn’t comprehend  the four components that were trying to memorize.

How could I use the method of loci to improve the acquisition of knowledge in my designs? So, you could use this approach when you introduce the goals and objectives for each activity in the instructional design. For example, if your goal was to teach responsible use of electronic systems, then you could ask students to create mental images of appropriate use and then inappropriate use of the electronic resources as you read the district policies and procedures to them. The students could associate them with items as they are walking through their room. Afterward, you could ask them to recall as many items as they could from each category.

Implementation of the Instructional Design

Reflect on the implementation and evaluation: What changes will you make before implementation? Why? First, upon reading the job aid, my client had some great suggestions for improving the design document before implementation. First, we created a google spreadsheet that earmarked important checkpoints in which Jessica could use to monitor each participant’s progress. Since, some of the training module is self-paced; I thought that this was a great idea. It will be important for Jessica to ensure that the new teachers don’t fall behind in the beginning because it will be very difficult to be successful in the face-to-face session that follows this module.

What did you ignore in the client's feedback? Why?  In addition, Jessica had some other suggestions, but because they wouldn’t significantly affect the success of the participants, I didn’t add them. The major reason was simply a time factor. I spent quite a bit of time on this module. The scope became bigger than I first anticipated, but the adjustment in scope was needed in order to accomplish the outlined goals and objectives as this module will be utilized in the district with all new teachers.

What did you ignore in your peer's feedback? Why? In my peer’s feedback, I included all of the suggestions. I think that you are really never finished making revisions. Every time someone reviews the instructional design, there seems to always be a new idea that can be added or improved upon. However, at some point, you must call it the final draft and then implement the instruction. After the implementation, it can be modified based on the feedback provided in the evaluation.