Is the learning experience significant? Using Fink's Taxonomy to (re)design and evaluate asynchronous distance learning courses

Concurrent Session 8

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning is an evidence-based instructional strategy developed to design in-person courses that create significant learning experiences. This session will explore the use of this strategy to (re)design asynchronous distance learning courses, as well as discuss research strategies to evaluate online significant learning experiences on a whole-class scale.

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Molly Downing, The Ohio State University-Main Campus

Molly Downing, Ph.D, is an Assistant Professor in the College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University. At Ohio State, she designs and teaches several online courses that cover a variety of drug-related topics. Outside of the classroom, she serves as the Associate Director for Generation Rx and as a staff member within the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery. Her research interests include medication safety, prescription drug misuse prevention education for youth audiences, and instructional design for online educational experiences. She holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Vanderbilt University.

Co-presenter: Cynthia Canan, The Ohio State University - Main Campus

Extended Abstract

Evidence-based instructional strategies provide effective frameworks for designing both in-person and distance learning experiences that effectively achieve course learning outcomes.  Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning (FTSL) is an evidence-based instructional strategy originally developed for in-person courses that describes six kinds of learning goals which exist in interwoven domains1. When learning experiences promote interaction between different domains, a significant learning experience that lasts beyond course completion is more likely to occur. For instructors teaching asynchronous distance learning courses, how can we design learning experiences that promote meaningful and long-lasting change in the learner’s life? And, how do we evaluate and assess said experiences?

During this session, we will explore both questions using pedagogical principles that connect with FTSL, as well as insights from a recent scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) study implemented during Autumn semester 2021. In the SoTL study, we evaluated if a student’s learning experience in a 100% asynchronous distance learning course designed using FTSL contributed toward positive changes in their health promotion behaviors that lasted beyond course completion. Preliminary findings from the SoTL study demonstrate evidence of student learning gains in five of six learning domains (foundational knowledge, application, integration, the human dimension, and caring; according to Fink1). Learning gains also connect with statistically significant shifts in some student health promotion behaviors, including strengthened behavioral intentions related to safe medication use, storage, and disposal, increased likelihood to avoid medication misuse behaviors, and increased confidence toward teaching others medication safety and helping others whose use of substances has them concerned.

Therefore, this session will help attendees explore questions such as, how do instructors use FTSL to (re)design asynchronous distance learning courses? What are examples of assessments that support achieving course goals around significant learning, and what methodologies exist to evaluate the effectiveness of said assessments toward achieving these outcomes? What research strategies can instructors utilize to evaluate if a student’s learning experience on a whole-class scale produces long-lasting and meaningful change in their life?

For each question, the presenters will share data and outcomes from the referenced SoTL study, as well as encourage attendees to engage in self-reflection exercises to apply study insights using a local course example meaningful to them. Overall, attendees will leave with course design principles that aim to reach online students with meaningful learning experiences, as well as research strategies to assess achievement of significant learning goals both during and after course completion.

Level of participation:

This session is structured using a lecture format with multiple engagement points throughout the presentation. The presenters will ask attendees to complete a few polling questions to apply the use of Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning as a framework for instructional (re)design and course assessment. In addition, attendees will complete a few self-reflection exercises to identify research strategies that evaluate significant learning experiences using local course examples relevant to the attendee.

Session Objectives:

Individuals attending this session will be able to:

  1. Describe Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning as an instructional strategy for (re)designing asynchronous distance learning courses
  2. Give examples of course assessments and methods that evaluate different kinds of significant learning goals
  3. Identify research strategies that evaluate if course learning experiences produce long-lasting change in a learner’s life

Sources:

1. Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.