Correia, students cross Atlantic virtually in instructional design course

Ana-Paula Correia, assistant professor, curriculum and instruction, has created a research experience for students in an advanced instructional systems design (CI603) course. Instead of offering traditional lectures and coursework, Correia is collaborating with a Turkish colleague to give her students eye-opening experiences working in cross-culture relationships to gain a global perspective of instructional design.

"When we prepare students to work in today's society, we have to face that we no longer work in isolation," Correia said. "Students have to leave Iowa State with the ability to work with students from other cultures, other walks of life. If they learn instructional design, they need to learn to work on issues that are global. This is the kind of training I want to provide, on top of the subject matter."

Students in the class will team up to partner up with Ames-area businesses and apply instructional design skills to business issues. While instructional design has often been used in schools, non-profits and government agencies will also participate in the project. Iowa State students will meet with business leaders to discuss practical ways of diffusing issues while gaining problem-solving skills and using a global perspective in their methods. Throughout the course, students will connect with their Turkish peers via WebCT and video conferencing to collaborate and discuss proposed solutions.

While obtaining her doctorate at Indiana University, Correia met Doctor Kursat Cagiltay, who was an advanced doctoral student at the time. Currently, he is an associate professor in the computer education and instructional technology at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey. When the two colleagues connected at a conference, the idea for a cross-culture collaborative research study focusing on instructional design and curriculum was set in motion.

"We worked on the idea to teach the class at a distance," Correia said. "I'm teaching an advanced class in design and he teaches a similar class in Turkey. The classes teach students about global issues and perspectives. When people from different backgrounds, upbringings and education have the same interests, but different perceptions, it helps us work together. Too often we focus on the differences, when actually, there are many similarities. Projects like this help students realize that."

Correia's research efforts will focus on instructional design and effective uses of technology to promote collaborative learning. The project, made possible through *a grant* from the Iowa State University Council on International Programs, will officially kick off on February 6, when Cagiltay visits the Iowa State campus.

For more information regarding the class or research project, contact Ana-Paula Correia at 515-294-9376 or acorreia@iastate.edu.