The Learning Design and Technology (LTEC) Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa offers a cohort-based master’s program in both online and face-to-face formats. The program prepares students in instructional design to design, develop and evaluate learning environments, programs and resources. An overarching theme of the program’s philosophy is building and maintaining a community of practice among its faculty, students and alumni. It achieves this through a variety of collaborative methods integrated into the curriculum and alumni events. An LTEC master’s student’s first experience in the program begins with a mandatory orientation in which students are enculturated into the community of practice where collaboration is key. As students move through the program’s coursework, each instructor includes required collaborative design projects. The projects require students to not only apply the theoretical principles of instructional design, but to also practice the collaboration skills vital to practicing designers. Finally, as a culminating collaboration, students are assigned critical friend groups in which they are responsible for providing feedback and peer review as they work toward finalizing and evaluating their individual master’s projects. A qualitative study will be conducted to study the impact of LTEC’s collaboration-focused program philosophy on our graduates’ work practices and outcomes. Thematic analysis of the interviews will be conducted to determine programmatic elements that graduates identify as being important to their work practices and that foster a community of practice. The paper will conclude with a discussion about any additional emergent themes and practical implications for instructional design program development.

Authors:
Peter Leong, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, United States
Ariana Eichelberger, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Peter Leong is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at University of Hawai‘i at Manoa in United States

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peleong

Additional website of interest
https://coe.hawaii.edu/directory/peterleo

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