Running Head: METACOGNITIVE ESSAY

Metacognitive Essay of an Instructional Psych and Tech Student

Luke-Henry M. Hahn
University of Oklahoma

METACOGNITIVE ESSAY

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Lifecycle of an Instructional Designer.........................................................................3
What it was in the beginning................................................................................... 3
The Projects............................................................................................................. 6
Project 1............................................................................................................... 6
Project 2............................................................................................................... 9
Project 3............................................................................................................. 12
Overall................................................................................................................... 16
What I wanted to take away vs the end result......................................................17
References................................................................................................................ 19

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Lifecycle of an Instructional Designer

What it was in the beginning
Becoming an instructional designer wasnt in my original plan for life. I wanted to
become an English teacher overseas, but things have changed. During the last semester in my
undergraduate degree, I was talking to my adviser, Dr. Kingsley, and she asked me if I really
wanted to teach right away. Student teaching wasnt the best experience and it turned me off of
teaching a little bit, so I told her that I didnt want to right away, but it was still an option. She
told me to look into the Instructional Design track at the University of Oklahoma as another
option instead of teaching right away. I didnt know anything about instructional design at first,
or at least I thought I didnt. All I knew was that Instructional Designers created training
material, and I didnt think of how. When I entered the program, I didnt believe that I had any
skills in anything. Looking back, I had some technical knowledge, but not a lot. I played around
with certain computer programs before and I also took a website design class. After going being
at the end of the Instructional Design program, I really didnt know anything. I didnt know the
first step of being an instructional designer and I felt like I was in over my head. It wasnt until
half way through the program that I noticed to see the steps that instructional designers use in
everyday life.
There were many different times when I learned something new and could apply it in life,
but specific moments stood out. The first moment would be the end of the Instructional Design 1
class. I didnt think that I could make it past my first semester and I didnt think I had any skills,
but making an A in the class, I felt better about the degree program. I didnt know anything about

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being an instructional designer, but by the end of the semester, I learned the basics. One point of
development didnt happen in school, but instead happened while I was at work when I used to
work at Gamestop. While I was still at Gamestop, a new training program was implemented.
While I was going through it, I thought about how they created it and what elements of
Instructional Design were used. This was after my first year in the program, so I knew some
things by now. I wanted to see how much I could apply to a real world situation. I did notice
some mistakes and even emailed up about it, and I got a response just giving me excuses. It isnt
a major point, but it was when I took my learning and applied it to a real world situation.
Another key point was during my time as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for Dr. Cullen. I created
an assignment for the students and this was the first time when I created something and was able
to implement it, evaluate the results, and modify it. It may not be as major as reworking a
training regimen for a technology company, but it showed me what I need to do in a realistic
situation on a smaller scale, a more manageable scale. One of the last key aspects was during a
project for Dr. Ges Instructional Design Theories and Models. We, 2 other students and I, did a
project in conjunction with 7 Architecture students in order to create a classroom of 2025. It was
an interesting project and I liked working on it when it was just the instructional design students,
but things went south really quick. In the first meeting we all had together, the architecture
students gave us the theory to use instead of us taking a look at the situation and coming up with
something. I had to research it real quick because I have never used it or heard about it before.
When I gave some feedback after looking at it, some of the architecture students just looked at
me like I didnt know anything and they treated all of us as if they were not going to take our
advice or work on things, which they didnt. They forced aspects on us, which wasnt their place
and when we voiced our opinion, they didnt care. When it came time to present the projects to

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an audience, only 3 architecture students showed up instead of the 7 we first saw. They wanted to
focus more on the architecture aspect and didnt care too much about the instructional design
side of it. This whole experience showed me what it means to work as a team from multiple areas
and how much communication needs to go on to make projects successful. It was a real world
experience and it showed what to expect when I go out there to get a job after I graduate.
I have multiple strengths and just as many weaknesses as a designer now that I am almost
done with my degree. One of the major strengths that I noticed is that I can explain something a
lot better when I have to tell someone vocally instead of in writing. My papers are not the best,
but I have noticed that when I speak, I get my point across better. Many teachers have told me
that, including Dr. Ge, Dr. Cullen, and various students. Every semester, someone compliments
me on how well I speak. This never was the case, but times have changed. I can say that a
different strength of mine is that I am a leader, which I learned that skill through working at
Gamestop. I would always take lead on projects in class, unless someone had a bigger ego than
mine, then that person would take the lead. Sometimes it wasnt bad, but I was a good team lead.
Another strength that I have been told I have is that I always have ideas, which coincides with a
weakness of mine, and that is the follow up to the idea, the execution. During one of the group
work projects I took part of, I was told that I kept on coming up with great ideas, but going about
making them come about was not easy. It is a weakness I can see myself eventually overcoming
with more practice and the right environments. A separate weakness I have is that I sometimes
rush to conclusions instead of thinking everything out fully. I will always want to skip ahead to
the solution instead of having the models and theoretical background to back up the idea. The
last major weakness that I can say I have, is that my documents are not written very well. As a

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designer, documentation is a must and having information that isnt clear can cause problems.
This is an area that I know I need to work on and I am getting better at it, slowly.
The Projects
Project 1
This project was the first one I ever created. It was my Instructional Design 1 classs
major project. We had to think of something that we believed has an instructional need. I decided
to pick a topic that was something that I had to go through because it was close to me, I knew
about it, and I didnt believe it was out of my league. At this point, since I had just moved, I
didnt have any connections or knew anyone that was needing an instructional designer, so I
picked creating a tutorial on how to use Ozone and show how to enroll. It is good to note early
on that there is instruction on how to use Ozone, but no one can find it unless you know what
you are for. The University of Oklahomas IT department sent me a link to the instruction, but
the person who sent it to me mentioned that they do not actually own it, so they cannot move it
to make it easier to find, even though they want to. That was an interesting predicament, but it
didnt deter my plans for the project. This project consisted of one document that was broken up
into multiple documents throughout the semester. Most of the documents were parts of the main
one, such as the prospectus and the evaluation plan, and then there were mockups of the tutorial.
Since there was a lot on Ozone, the scope was limited down to learning how to enroll and that
was the main learning goal for the project; to make sure the learner knows how to successfully
enroll in their classes. This was mostly for incoming students to the university, but knowing how
many times they have changed Ozone throughout the years, it will apply to everyone once Ozone
updates and changes the layout. Most of the project was created using Word because that was all

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I had at the time. I did my mockups in, I think paint, but it could have been Photoshop. I didnt
know how to use Photoshop at the time so I doubt I used it.
Since this was my first time doing any kind of instructional design work, I stuck to the
book like it was a life raft, which was also my mistake. Looking back on it now, I picked
different elements from both Smith & Ragan (2005) and Morrison, Ross, Kalman, and Kemp
(2012). I would use the needs analysis from one, a problem solving model from another, and
didnt even mention ADDIE at all, which was a mistake because I left out the foundation. I know
why I picked elements from each one, and that was because in my mind I could see them
interconnect at various points. It was almost as if I was trying to take the best of all three worlds
that I went over in that class. If I could go back and completely redo this project, I would by
making things clearer and easier to understand. I know why I got the grade that I did and why I
failed a lot during my first project. I mean, the way that it was set up, I led the learners through
Ozone using an overlay as a tutorial. They would be shown where to go using green arrows and
then they would have to complete the actions after being told what to do. The main reason why I
even designed it the way that I did was because it would be easier for new people to go through it
and if returning members had to go through an Ozone change and relearn things, they could
either go through the training, or skip it and proceed with the site. I did end up using a
Behaviorist theory, which I didnt even cite, correctly give the information, or even elaborate on
it, because I was trying to change behaviors through the training. Sometimes I wonder how I
passed this class now that I look back on it. From what I am writing now to what I wrote then,
there is a huge difference and it definitely shows where I have gone with the education I
received. The Behaviorist approach that I thought I was using is the correction of behaviors in
the way of classical conditioning, made famous by Ivan Pavlov in 1927 and more recently

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described by Ormrod (2011). If the student got something wrong during the training, they would
receive a warning screen and then the learner would change what they were doing to try and get
it right the next time. I completely didnt know what I was getting myself into and this project
shows it.
I couldnt tell how my success was until I got back my first grade. I was very nervous
about the whole experience since it was my first time doing anything at the graduate level. I was
completely worried about what I would make until I received my grade and things felt better.
Overall I did a great job on the project to where my teacher even said that instead of Instructional
Design 2, I should take Instructional Design Theories and Models due to me showing that I
understood the basics of Instructional Design. This made me feel a lot better about the program
that I was a part of and I didnt feel like I couldnt make it anymore.
For the project itself, I changed a good amount of the written document. I added more
detail and organization of text was changed. The detail was sparse and could have used a lot
more for a reader to understand what was going on. The organization could have been better
since there was no flow to the document. To this day I can see that I could have done so much
more with detail and organization of sections and the text itself. I did forget to add information as
well during segments so that was fixed from the initial document to the revision. In the
instructional phase, I learned that I needed a new Subject Matter Expert (SME) because the one I
had contacted before just stopped talking to me in general. The one thing that I didnt change
was the evaluation report since I had received a good enough grade on it. I didnt want to spend
the time to revise for 1 or 2 points when I could have been focusing on other documents.
As for what this project tell about me, I learned the basics of being an instructional
designer and it gave me the foundation that I used throughout my entire time at OU. Now I have

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learn a lot since my first semester and I can see where I made a lot of mistakes, but thats a part
of learning. If I could go back to it and redesign it, I would with the knowledge that I have today
and add so much more, change up the theories, use different models, and redo almost everting.
Project 2
This project is one that should have ended before it did, but it let me branch out and do
something different. This one was for Dr. Ge and it was creating an online community where
people can learn together using the R2D2 model by Bonk and Zhang (2006). I will admit, I took
the longest time on this one, only because I had to take an incomplete for the course at first. It
was the first time I had to do this, but in a way I am glad that I did. I came up to a road block and
the project itself changed from what I initially thought I would be doing. This was a summer
class over the course of 4 weeks and my initial plan was to make an online community over
learning English as a secondary language. Definitely a switch from English to video games, but
it was a needed change due to what was going on, and the fact that there were already a lot of
communities out there that focus on English Language Learners (ELL). Switch to video games
also helped nail down a lot of different elements about the project. The theoretical rationale with
the R2D2 model, by Bonk and Zhang(2006), made more sense with the change.
The components for this project were a little bit different. Along with a paper, I had to
create an online community using a website. Along with the website I created; audio files, video
files, and alternatives to message boards that are a little bit more interactive. The reason behind
all of these different elements deals with the topic and why I made the community. The purpose
of the whole project was to make a place for people who are wanting to learn how to play video
games in some form, whether it be learning to play games for the first time, or playing games as
an alternative means of therapy. The main audience was people who were wanting to play games

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for the first time, but it changed to people who would want to play games or learn about games
for some reason. By the end of this project, the learners will have gained knowledge about video
game and will have picked one that they can play. It became a place where people were supposed
to come together, learn about video games, and play video games. Multiple different programs
were used to make this as well, some unconventional ones. Aside from using audacity,
Photoshop, and various video editing software, I also used twitch streaming to showcase video
games and to explore more of the gaming community.
The major model that was used for this was the R2D2 model by Bonk and Zhang (2006).
This models main component to develop online instructional material are Reading, Reflecting,
Displaying, and Doing. Each area dealt with different types of material to create, which is why I
created videos for displaying, audio files for Reading, interactive message boards for reflecting,
and activities for Doing. Because this was an online community, it was only natural to use
Communities of Practice by Lave and Wenger (1991). They could learn how to play games and
then come together to help each other out. Discovery learning was also another one because at
one point in the project, the learners had to go out and find a game that interested and learned
how to play it themselves. They would take the knowledge that they learned while in the
community and then use it to learn how to play a new game. The basic foundation of this project
is Constructivism, which is an epistemology of learning that can be traced back to Jean Piaget
(1947), because the learners do need to construct their own knowledge when playing video
games. No one can tell you which video game you will like, you have to play video games and
construct your own knowledge about them, your own tastes in games, and your own reasons to
play games.

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My success in the project dealt with the fact that I like video games. I will admit, I am
glad that I switched from ELL to video games. Also most of the mediums that I used for this
project, I have used in the past and was familiar with to a certain degree. This is around the time
when people started to tell me, especially my teachers that I can explain better when I have to
talk about it instead of write about it. The feedback that I receive from my teacher was also very
useful and showed how well I was doing, but I did take a long time to actually do this project and
took an incomplete for a little bit, but It adjusted my thinking on what needed to get done. The
extra time helped me succeed with this project.
As stated earlier, I changed a lot for this project, the biggest being the topic itself. If I had
stuck with my previous topic, I dont think I would have been as successful as I was in the end.
Also, after receiving my first feedback, I knew that I needed to use and explain the rationale
more than what I had already done. It is one of my weaknesses when writing papers, I dont
explain well enough, and this project was one of those projects where I needed to work on it
more. In the revision I ended up using the model and theories more and more, but I dont think I
fully explained them enough. As for the aspects that I didnt change, I think the activities and the
material that was presented to the students didnt need to have anything done with them. I knew
from the beginning that for someone to learn about playing video games, they needed to actually
play video games. To get the learners immersed in video games, it is best to teach the, about it
and then to get them to actually playing a game. Also I wouldnt change the evaluation methods
because it was something that could be evaluated when people were actually playing the games.
In the end, I liked doing this project because this was the first one where I was able to do
a project that I was passionate enough about the material. It demonstrated the fact that not all
instructional design projects have to be about a business or something dull, its also about having

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fun from time to time. This was also the first and only time that I learned about how to make an
online learning community and that is something that I will take with me. Since this project, I
have learned more and I wish I could have applied to the projects to make more activities.
Project 3
This last project for this paper is one I did for Dr. Cullen which turned into an activity for
the class I was her Graduate Teaching Assistant for. It went through a lot of different revisions
because the material that was being used was updated every semester. It was also the best project
I can think of where I got feedback from immediately since I could ask the students after class
what they liked about the project and what they believe could have gone better. After each time
that the project was delivered and taught in class, I changed different aspects of it. Because it was
a project that I delivered myself, I worked on revising it, delivered it again, and revised it again.
It was a great real world project that I was able to see from start to finish. Also letting the
students explore the accessories in a discovery/inquiry based learning scenario was great because
they had some prior knowledge about electronics, but had to apply it with the iPad accessories.
This project showed me how a project can change over time and was a great controlled real
world experience.
The main purpose of the project was to teach the students of EIPT 3043 different ways to
use technology in the classroom and that education isnt limited to traditional ways. They have to
explore the new technology and find effective and engaging ways to use it, just like they would
in the real world. When given the accessories that they may or may not have seen before, most
likely have not seen, they will discover ways to use the accessories in a classroom setting. A lot
of teachers dont get the opportunity to handle accessories that are different from what they
traditional classroom has. This gave them the opportunity to branch out and do new things. The

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components for this project varied depending on the iteration of it. In the beginning I had up to 5
different paper documents, which switched to digital by the end, then the accessories and the app
that went along with them, and finally the survey. In the main document 1 described what the
assignment was about, what the students were expected to do, and how they were going to be
assessed. The smaller documents were going to be paired with specific accessories that have a
small description for the students on how to start, but not fully describe what to do since they
were supposed to explore and learn on their own. These documents changed when accessories
were added to the project. Newer documents had to be created and older ones changed to be
condensed. The last component was a survey that the students took at the end of each station as a
form of assessment to see how much they have used the accessory, what they could think of on
how to use the new iPad accessory in their classroom, and other information. For the documents
that the students didnt see, I created a reflection paper that described the process, thoughts,
theories, and anything else that was used for the project, researched the accessories and apps to
know what I was getting into, and tried to find a way to teach this material to the students the
best way possible without breaking anything. I originally created these documents for Dr. Cullen
at part of my practicum class. I just thought it was a simple project that I could easily hop on
word and google forms to create, but after completing the project once, it became more than just
an assignment for my practicum class.
Thinking back on the theories that I used for this project, they are similar to constructivist
ways again. Discovery learning by Bruner was a major proponent to my project because they
needed to take prior knowledge and apply it to this project. They end up discovering how to use
the accessories and the apps on their own produce a paper explaining how they would use it in
their class. There is also a touch of Social Development Theory in this since it was a group work

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project. If someone didnt how to use technology well enough, there was someone in their group
that did. I, the teacher, didnt have to be the one to show them how to use the technology, they
were learning on their own in a group from their peers. In the beginning there was some lead up
to the project, but the last time I was able to teach, I made sure something things were done
before this assignment, namely the code.org assignment, which taught them how to code which
they would use in this project with one of the accessories. The third theory that can be seen in
this project leans towards the behaviorist approach, and its Social Learning Theory by Bandura
(1977), which has connections with cognitive theories. The students would observe each other
exploring the accessories and learn from them. If the student doesnt know how to use the
technology, they can observe others, imitate them, and practice it when they go to the station.
The model that was used in this project would be the Morrison, Ross, Kalman, and Kemp (2012)
model for the fact of how there are 9 elements and that you can start where you want. For this I
started with finding out what I needed to do instructional wise and what I needed to do for these
students to explore the accessories instead of being fully taught what they are. Finding the
correct content sequencing and then developing the instruction for the project was always going
through evaluations to make sure that they were exploring the material and not just being taught
it. When I got to teach the material I developed, I couldnt help but note down when things didnt
go as planned and I wanted to fix what I did wrong right after class ended so I could try it out on
the next class.
I do owe a good amount of my success on this project to Dr. Cullen because she was able
to get all of the accessories for the students to explore, which was the basis for this project. She
also gave me feedback on the project itself and I was able to adjust what I created and modify the
class. At first I was really nervous about what I was doing because at this point, I knew that I was

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responsible for everything that the students would learn. Everything else was something that Dr.
Cullen had said that I needed to teach, but with this, it was all me. I thought it didnt go bad, but I
didnt think it went well either, which meant revision time. I did change how the material was
delivered in class. I dont know why I had it in my head that there needed to be paper based
versions since this was a technology based class, so I moved all of the documents to a pdf
version that I was able to give the students on their iPads. Also directions were shortened to give
less examples on what to do and also to align more with the objective, which being the learner
needs to explore the accessory.
Overall I liked this project and it let me create something and then teach what I created. It
was the first time where I was the designer, developer, and the person who would implement it. It
gave me real world feedback instantly and I didnt have to wait for anyone. This didnt happen
for any other project that I created. This also demonstrates my love for technology that Dr.
Cullen let me have fun with. Using new technology and finding ways to use them was great and I
know that a lot of the students felt the same way. This also reinforced the fact that you shouldnt
be afraid to try something that is different, outside of the traditional classroom setting.
Overall
I have learned a lot during my time here in the Instructional Design program. Starting off
with the ADDIE model and moving onto Smith and Ragan (2005), MRKK (2012), and Dick and
Carey (2005). Theories ranging from Case Based Reasoning (Riesbeck and Shank from
Reigeluth, 1989), R2D2 (Bonk and Zhang (2006), and even Communities of Practice (1991). I
can even add modality and congruency principles from Dr. Bradshaws class that showcased how
text and information is displayed in almost everything. The different epistemological beliefs such
as Behaviorism to Constructivism. I learn a fair amount of information that will go with me. One

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of the major principles that I will always be reminded of is probably one of the simplest, making
sure that there is a need for training. Looking at the training for my previous job, Gamestop, and
then looking at my current jobs training, finding out if there is a need is very important. I talked
about how I should conduct an analysis of the needs for work and the response of we should
call that a needs analysis made me put a lot of things into perspective. Sometimes the simplest
things are forgotten and making sure to hit all the points is a must. If not, then too many different
aspects of instructional design is left behind and you are left with a giant mess without a way to
save yourself. The other aspect is that I always think about constructivist ways. I know that this
is something that I should have thought about while I was teaching, but apparently I always
happen to miss certain things in life. It wasnt until my time in the Instructional Psychology and
Technology program that I was able to put names to ways that I believe aspects should be taught,
and I was able to get a better understanding of the different theories that fall under
constructivism. After learning more about constructivism, my belief that people construct their
own knowledge grew. I had to make sure that I wasnt just focusing on constructivism in
projects. Not every project can be geared for constructivism, and I needed to make sure that I
wasnt solely focusing on it. Making sure that I pick the most appropriate models, theories, and
pedagogies for a project is something that I learned all throughout my career at OU.
What I wanted to take away vs the end result
Looking back on everything, what I expected from this degree program going in, and
what I expected at the end are vastly different. I didnt know anything at first, but now I can say
that I have learned a lot, and will take it with me no matter where I go. One thing I will admit
that I like was that I had the opportunity to work on some video game related projects. I was able
to take my hobby and work with it. When I first came to OU, I remember when classes first

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started and we would have to talk about ourselves, I would always say that I am a video game
geek and I would always get looks of disapproval. Even when I talked about my job, being an
assistant manager at Gamestop, I would get looks like it wasnt a real job, and I even had
someone tell me that my job was simple and that it wasnt a real job, but I can say that working
there showed me how instructional design worked when developing training and administering
it. What people who didnt like video games and saw them as childish didnt realize that the
principles we learn as Instructional Designers are reflected in games. What people didnt see is
the scope of what Instructional Designers can do and what they can work on that doesnt seem as
conventional as making training material for a major company.
For the future, I have almost no idea where I am going or how I am going to use my
instructional design skills, but I am looking for jobs across the nation. I have already gotten a job
at a technology company, but something isnt right. I dont feel like I have used much of what I
have learned as an instructional designer and right now, I am in a position where they dont want
me to be an instructional designer until I have my degree. Once I finish my degree, I am
supposed to be exercising my skills more, but since there isnt a definite yes I am looking for
other jobs.

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References
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Bonk, C., & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 Model: Online learning for the diverse
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Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2005). The Systematic Design of Instruction (6th ed.).
Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M., Kalman, H. K., & Kemp, J. E. (2012). Designing effective
instruction. Wiley.
Ormrod, J. E. (2011). Human learning. Boston, Mass: Allyn & Bacon.
Piaget, J. (1947). The Psychology of Intelligence.
Reigeluth, C. M. (1999). Instructional-Design Theories and Models: Volume 2: A New Paradigm
of Instructional Theory. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (2005). Instructional Design (3rd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.