Case briefing, analysis and solution system
for a university instructor and her class.
I chose this project to satisfy the Interpersonal competency because both the process of conducting the performance analysis and the recommendations that we presented in the case were representative of the competency description.
In 795A we were asked to improve our performance analysis skills by looking in-depth into an assigned case with a partner and report back to the class. This case involved a new instructor to a university who had been given a 100+ student classroom. She thought things were going just fine but the students were unmotivated and disgruntled.
Grace Huang and I worked together to analyze the case and come up with recommendations. To go beyond the case, we did a quick performance analysis of the situation by reviewing extant data which included literature on theories of motivation and learning. Had this been a real life scenario, we would have reviewed syllabi and curriculum documents. In addition, we would have interviewed current students and departmental faculty/administration.
Guided by performance analysis concepts (Rossett 2006) (Rossett & Sheldon 2001), we quickly identified the positives as well as the hurdles (optimals and actuals) in the case. I gathered insight and recommendations by interviewing a instructor in the School of Teacher Education who is also a department chair, as the case was about a teacher whose class had gone awry. By selecting this person, I could acquire multiple perspectives from both an instructor and administrator point of view (Rossett 1999).
Our SME's reflections and recommendations modeled various theories, including Vygotsky's Social Development Theory (the classroom becomes a community of learning) (Vgotsky 1978), Keller's ARCS Model (providing the learner with realistic or authentic situations to master newly acquired skills. Many of the recommendations were of an interpersonal nature between the instructor and the students. Feel free to browse through the case study document and powerpoint presentation for details.
We wrapped up our case briefing with a solution system and gave our presentation to the class. To increase relevance and authenticity in our presentation, we included audio of a student complaining and the teacher presenting her side of the story. (CLAM, Rossett 2006) (Clarke & Mayer 2006).
As with all of my group projects, Grace and I needed to interact effectively and swiftly to get the gist of the case, so that we could identify the root causes of the problem and make appropriate recommendations. Adding audio of a student complaining and of the bewildered instructor, we were able to personalize the case and make it come alive for our audience. You may view the full slide show here.
Big group effort to research, analyze and
evaluate the 9-11 Commission report.
This project in 685 was also meant to hone our performance analysis skills. We were a team of 6 members. Producing a deliverable with this number of members demanded that we interact effectively as a team. We were asked to provide a Performance Analysis Perspective on the 9-11 Commission Report. This included researching, analyzing, and evaluating the report and presenting our findings to the class and instructor.
Needing an overarching understanding of the report to move forward, we began our review. Since the full report is 585 pages, we decided to parse it into sections that we were each responsible for. Once this was done we determined the tasks to be accomplished and categorized them as follows:
Information Sharing: (determining actuals such as information not being shared across agencies) and optimals (noting exemplary agencies using best communication practices in other situations)
Drivers and barriers (such as inadequate databases, vertical storage of information rather than horizontal, agency cultures not willing to share information)
Our Solution System recommended the following:
Improved leadership at both the national and local levels Improved environment Development of “horizontal” Knowledge Management System with robust
information capabilities and interoperability of systems
In addition to our presentation, we conducted a forum in which two of the team members played the roles of a senator and her aide. The remainder of our team played the roles of audience participants by asking the Senator questions regarding the roles of the FBI and CIA in relationship to the 9-11 events. By having a “real life” scenario, it was our intention to improve learning by using CLAM strategies (Contextually Authentic, Learner Oriented, Attention Riveting, Message Extending) (Rossett 2006). I believe that this style of presentation made the experience more of an event than just a regurgitation of our findings.
In summary, working with a group this large required strong organization and communication skills. Because of the amount of data contained in the 9-11 report, we had to trust that each of us would do our share of the research and bring it back to the group. The beauty and value of such a collaboration of minds is that it yields a treasure trove of rich ideas and insights to build upon.You may view the full slide show here.
Information Sharing: (determining actuals such as information not being shared across agencies) and optimals (noting exemplary agencies using best communication practices in other situations) 
