Kiyoung Sohn

Dear Dad,

I hope everything is going well at home. I feel bad that it took me so long to write to you
but I know you would understand how busy I have been juggling a full-time job and
school this summer.

When I told you that I was beginning a program at the California State University of
Monterey Bay (CSUMB) this summer, you asked me why I would want to pursue another
degree. I know my response at the time did not give you a clear idea of why I pursue this
degree. I have to admit that when you asked me, a couple of months ago, what the
program is about, my idea of Instructional Technology (IT) was not much better than the
common understanding. To me, IT was various technologies available for teaching and
learning such as web-based learning and computer software. I can tell you now that there
is much more to IT than mere computer-related technologies.

Before beginning of the program, my understanding of the Master of Instructional

Science and Technology (MIST) program at CSUMB was that it is a program geared
toward teachers in different academic settings who would like to learn to utilize different
technologies and computer software. I was quite surprised to find out that MIST students
are composed of both teachers and company or corporate workers. I learned that IT is not
limited to a school setting, but it is applied in a variety of job-related training settings
including business and industry, military, and health care. Of course, as a language
teacher, my focus is on instructional technology in language education. However,

Letter to Dad

7/21/09

Kiyoung Sohn

working on course assignments with people from different backgrounds provided me

with diverse perspectives on how such technology can affect instruction in various
settings. I think this will help me broaden my career opportunity in the long run, because
my future work setting may include corporations as well as academic settings. As you
know, there has been a great demand for language instruction in business and industry in
Korea.

Another misconception that I had was that the scope of IT is merely techniques and skills
in using different tools and sources for teaching. While the technical aspect is a part of IT,
it is not the essence of IT. As I participated in the first semester courses, I soon realized
that more emphasis is placed on Instructional Design (ID). ID is the major part of IT that
I had not known, and is the area I need to learn to become a better professional in my
career. My goal has shifted from being knowledgeable and excellent in using
instructional technology to being an instructional designer, who can go beyond using the
technology and can develop and deliver well-planned instruction in which such
technology is implemented effectively. To accomplish this goal, understanding the
ADDIE model is fundamental.

ADDIE is an Instructional System Design (ISD) model that provides five steps in the
process of ID. The five components are analysis, design, development, implementation,
and evaluation. You might wonder what this model has to do with being a better teacher.
This model provides a systematic approach to create better instruction with the series of a
proven process, which is applicable to any teaching/ learning environment. ADDIE seems

Letter to Dad

7/21/09

Kiyoung Sohn

to me, a cornerstone, or a foundation to build instruction, which can help me produce

effective and efficient instruction. During the analysis phase the instructional designer
determines what needs to be taught. The components that are necessary for designing the
instruction in this phase include learner characteristics as well as problems or needs to be
solved. You must know who the learners are and what they already know. A mistake I
make sometime in my teaching is assuming that learners already know certain topics
before the lesson. This can result in the lesson not moving along as I have planned
because the learners do not have previous knowledge or skills that are necessary to
complete the task. It is important to know where the learners stand in terms of their
background knowledge before the instruction and where they need to be after the
instruction. I think this Analysis phase is necessary but yet often ignored by instructors in
many work settings, especially when the teacher is also an instructional designer. Design
phase is when the teacher asks how. After identifying issues to be taught and who the
target learners are, the designer needs to come up with a blueprint on how the content,
materials and activities should be organized and delivered. Once the designer decides
how the instruction should be structured and what instructional strategies should be used,
the next step is to develop actual content and materials for the instruction. In the
development phase, the designer produces the instruction materials based on the analysis
and designing phases. The implementation phase is when the designer plans the
instruction timeline and gets the learners prepared for the instruction. This includes
getting the delivery tools checked. This can easily be forgotten, but is important for
smooth delivery of the instruction. As I teach using technology such as SMART board
and other computer software tools, I learned that sometimes technical problems hinder

Letter to Dad

7/21/09

Kiyoung Sohn

instruction. The last phase is Evaluation, which usually consists of two components,
formative and summative evaluations. Formative evaluation is for the designer to finetune the implementation of the instruction to find any issues to improve the effectiveness
and efficiency of the instruction. Ideally, in my work setting, the formative evaluation can
be done by getting feedback from other teachers. I find that it would not be easy to get
this done knowing the busyness of other instructors in my workplace but I am certain that
piloting the instruction before the final delivery and gathering the reaction to it would
result in much better instruction. Summative evaluation is conducted to measure the
learner outcome. After the implementation, it is necessary to assess how much the
intended knowledge has been actually transferred to the learners. One way of doing this
is through quizzes. The purpose of the Evaluation phase is to measure the impact of the
instruction so that the designer may revise and improve the instruction.

Dad, I know it is a rather lengthy explanation of the ADDIE model but you were once an
instructor and I hope you will be able to see the importance of the model and the benefits
for instructional designers like myself. I am still trying to get a handle on this model, in
order to apply this concept by getting involved in both individual and group projects.
Hopefully when I am through this MIST program, I will be ready and armed as a skillful
instructional designer to take on any real-world instruction problems. Until then please
take a good care!

Love,
Kiyoung

Letter to Dad

7/21/09