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My instructional design approach aligns closely with contextualism An approach that utilizes technology to enhance student engagement and increase the relevance of learning by incorporating scenario-based activities grounded in real-world situations.

Learning, for me, has always been more meaningful when it connects to practical applications, when I can see how a concept plays out in real life or solve problems that resemble those I might encounter outside the classroom. This belief informs my design perspective: I aim to create experiences where learners are active participants, not passive recipients, using technology to simulate authentic tasks, promote critical thinking, and build transferable skills.

Consistent feedback is an essential part of the learning process. It helps students develop meaningful skills and allow them them to reflect on their performance.

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Take chances….make mistakes - Ms. Frizzle (Magic School Bus)

This is the motto that constantly inspires me and that I seek to live out. I am a life-long learner that believes that learning is exploratory and that by learning concepts we also learn more about ourselves. I seek to have learners learn more about themselves through every lesson and activity that I design.

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As an elementary educator, my instructional design approach is both learner-centered and assessment-driven. Designing learner-centered units is foundational, as it puts students’ needs, abilities, and preferences first. Differentiation, empathy, and adaptability are essential in the K–6 setting. Placing assessment at the forefront of my design ensures that students are properly evaluated on learning outcomes, that I can quickly identify learning gaps, and that I can use these results to refine instruction as needed.

As I begin shifting into corporate learning for adults, my instructional design approach will evolve slightly, with an emphasis on supporting autonomy and flexibility. It is important to recognize that self-paced modules and asynchronous tools empower adult learners by providing the time and space to engage with content on their own terms.

Together, these perspectives reflect my ability to design meaningful learning experiences that are responsive to the needs of both young learners and adult professionals.

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As a teacher of high school students, I value meeting my students where they are while also affirming them of who they are. I do what I can as their teacher to try to design the instruction to be less "here's what it is" and more "what do you think this is and how does it connect with you?" In my experience, students learn best when they also invest themselves into the learning. It's easy to just "read a book about something", but when you "understand something because it's important to you", that's a different perspective entirely.

I want my students to learn that perspective.

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I believe that technology can enhance education and create a new, accessible, and engaging ways of learning. This belief drives my aspiration to help shape and have a meaningful impact for all my learners.

My instructional design philosophy is grounded in both constructivist and behaviorist theories. From a constructivist perspective, I believe learners actively construct knowledge through experience, reflection, and collaboration. I hope to design learning environments that encourage exploration, critical thinking, and real-world problem-solving. This aligns with adult learning principles, where relevance and autonomy are key.

At the same time, I recognize the value of behaviorism in structured training environments. Having clear objectives, immediate feedback, and reinforcement are essential for building foundational skills and ensuring mastery especially in compliance and procedural training.

One of my favorite ways to teach is by helping others learn how to use the resources available to them. I enjoy guiding learners and colleagues in navigating digital tools, building confidence in their tech skills, and discovering how technology can support their personal and professional growth.

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I believe learning is most impactful when it is actively constructed and meaningfully connected to the learner’s world.

I believe that in creating a space for connection and reflection, learners are given an opportunity to engage with peers, relate ideas to their lived experiences, and evaluate their evolving thinking.

My instructional design approach is learner centered as it recognizes the diversity of needs, abilities, and experiences that shape how individuals engage with content.

I prioritize accessibility at every stage of design, ensuring that all learners can navigate, comprehend, and participate fully. This includes clear and inclusive multimedia elements that are thoughtfully selected and presented to reduce cognitive load and support different modes of understanding.

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I am a pragmatist. I think that the learning design needs to adapt to suit the learning context. In that sense, I facilitate the learning process, however it best can happen.

I believe there's value in group work, discussion, and social learning, but ultimately that learning is an individual experience. My efforts often go towards finding ways to help individual students push through whatever is blocking their understanding.

I have patience for struggling learners, but little patience for completely unmotivated learners. The learner needs to come to the learning experience at least partially ready to learn.

I encourage my students to take a holistic perspective on the topics they're learning about. Individual skills are important, but students also need to understand why they're learning that material and how it will impact their personal lives, professional lives, etc.

(The image is from Gemini. I asked for something "abstract" that matches my reflection. Your interpretation is as good as mine!)

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I subscribe to contextualism, where learning is best done in realistic situations and when knowledge is checked during the activity. My program designs focus on applying knowledge "in the moment" and getting consistent feedback to strengthen a learner's skills. Good contextualistic design ensures that every type of learner can perform in these situations, and working closely with experts in the field can ensure that the scenarios are life-like and allow learners to practice their skills.

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I align with the cognitive-constructivist approach to learning. Learners must be actively engaged in creating meaning and building knowledge through experience and reflection.

I lean on authentic learning experiences rather than situating learners as passive recipients of information. And I will always emphasize the process of HOW students learn over WHAT they are learning.

I believe that the physical or digital environment around learning can promote or inhibit the learning process.

I believe that I cannot force anyone to learn if they are not open and motivated to the process.

I think that every person has the capacity to learn whatever they set their mind to.

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I believe in designing learning experiences that are purposeful, engaging, and grounded in how people actually learn. I emphasize guiding learners through a clear and interactive learning flow, starting with content that is personally relevant to help build connection and interest. I also follow Mayer’s multimedia learning principles to provide effective scaffolding and incorporate a variety of methods to sustain engagement. Inclusive, learner-centered design is important to me. I aim to support diverse needs while encouraging autonomy. For me, instructional design isn’t just about delivering information. It’s about creating meaningful opportunities for learners to actively construct knowledge and stay motivated throughout the process.

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I strive to simplify complicated concepts into engaging, meaningful learning activities that learners enjoy interacting with to construct knowledge, skills and understanding from. As a life-long learner myself, I am dedicated to helping others learn new things. Through a deeper understanding of instructional design theories, concepts and practices I hope to be able to implement learning solutions that make learning fun, meaningful, and helpful to improving learner's understanding, confidence and abilities. -Janet Drews

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Although I have not been a professional educator in a traditional academic setting for many years, I have spent decades teaching martial arts and dance. These experiences shaped my view of what real learning looks like: it is never passive, and it cannot be achieved by simply listening or reading.

In every class I’ve taught, learners only truly progressed when they engaged physically, experimented, failed (safely), reflected, and tried again. This belief aligns with constructivist theorists like Piaget and Vygotsky.

I see my role not as delivering information, but as creating opportunities for learners to actively build meaning for themselves. Whether designing digital modules or live workshops, I want to prioritize hands-on tasks, experimentation, and reflection supported by collaboration. My years of teaching movement-based disciplines have convinced me that learning only sticks when it is lived, tested, and constructed through doing.

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Learning through self-reflection- it is important to stop and reflect on where we have been and what we have encountered

I want the new experiences to challenge/build from our collective past experiences.

I want to produce learning environments that enchant and captivate.

I want to be present but “out of the way.” Letting engagement build naturally, not complicating their journey with heavy text and distracting interfaces.

Creativity. Introspection. Encouragement. Purpose.

I want to learn while helping others learn.

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I believe that education should make students smarter and more importantly, it should make them FEEL smarter.

I believe that learning should feel good. Obviously, learning is good for the brain, but there's a pleasant feeling in your brain when you learn something, and I think teachers should make room for learners to have that pleasant feeling.

I think the best kind of teaching is when the teacher is the least important person in the room.

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I believe that every endeavor I partake in should be centered around the learner. My goal is to create training that meets the needs of an organization in a creative and engaging way that meets the learner base where they are. Whether mentally, emotionally, physiologically, this can only be done through adept observation and needs analysis, collaboration with leaders and SMEs.

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The best part of my job as a teacher and tutor at the college level was when a light bulb went off in a student's head, when they just "got it" after not doing so for a while. Sometimes, they would look at me like I was a wizard, and all I had done was find a clear way to think about thesis statements!

Those moments, the times when I could feel good by helping people learn, are what I am after in instructional design. I want that perspective.

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I embrace social constructivism, believing learning occurs through active exploration and meaning-making.
My designs center on creativity, self-efficacy, and empathy to foster cognitive and affective growth.
I support creative behaviors and products through authentic, open-ended learning tasks and creative pedagogy.
I believe that motivational theory and negotiated learning guide learners toward autonomy and confidence.