Handbook

Introduction to the MA-IDT Programme
Intended Audiences and Rationale
Minimum Admission Requirements
Period of Candidature and Graduation Requirements
Application for Admission
Fees
Instructional Delivery Modes
Assessment
Curriculum
Practicum and Critical Inquiry
For More Information...

Introduction [Top]

Intended Audiences and Rationale [Top]

The Master of Arts in Instructional Design and Technology is intended primarily for two types of professional learners: those who wish to concentrate on instructional design and technology in corporate training and development settings, and those who wish to focus on technology-enhanced instruction in school-environments.

MA-IDT for Professionals in Corporate Training. Singapore's economy depends on a well-trained workforce. The Government has called upon industries and businesses to provide training for the workforce in order to remain competitive in the world market. Training of new staff and the re-training of existing staff in various industries will be important to companies to maintain competitiveness and to increase productivity. It is imperative that training suppliers be able to design and develop effective training strategies and materials, to use multimedia technology to enhance the effectiveness of training, and have expertise with innovative learning environments, such as e-learning. The MA programme is thus intended to prepare managers, instructional designers and software developers involved in training programmes in diverse non-school organisational settings (e.g., business and industry, health care, military, and other non-profit agencies).

MA-IDT for Professionals in School Environments. Various school personnel (especially IT Coordinators) and Ministry of Education personnel (e.g., from the Educational Technology Division) will be involved in the execution of MOE's IT Masterplans. The intention of this programme is to prepare them to effectively integrate ICT into classroom instruction, and to further explore the implementation and management of technology in schools. This programme is thus intended to prepare project managers and instructional designers to design and develop learning packages supported by needs assessments and evaluations.

Minimum Admission Requirements [Top]

Candidates seeking admission to the programme must have at least:

• A good degree from a recognised university.
• Additionally, the candidate shall preferably have EITHER two years of working experience in corporate training (or other related instructional design and technology profession), OR two years of school or polytechnic teaching experience.

Period of Candidature and Graduation Requirements[Top]

The minimum period of candidature for the part-time MA degree is twenty-four (24) months. The maximum period of candidature is forty-eight (48) months. The Board of Graduate Studies may require a candidate to leave the programme if in the Board's opinion the candidate's progress is not satisfactory.

There are two alternative ways of completing the Degree of Master of Arts (Instructional Design and Technology). A candidate can either complete eight courses and a practicum project (with dissertation), or complete ten courses without doing a practicum project. All courses must be completed within a maximum period of forty-eight months.

Application for Admission [Top]

Admission to the MA (Instructional Design and Technology) programme must be made on the prescribed application form from the Graduate Programmes and Research office of the National Institute of Education. The programme runs by calendar year and each new cohort enters the program in January. Information on the admission to the programme is normally advertised around July each year for admission in January of the next year.

For more information on the application procedures, please refer to www.nie.edu.sg/gpr/appl_course.htm and/or contact

Graduate Programmes and Research Office
Block 7, National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University
1 Nanyang Walk , Singapore 637616
Tel: 6790-3871

Fees [Top]

The fees payable by candidates can be found at are available at www.nie.edu.sg/gpr/fees.htm.

Instructional Delivery Modes [Top]

This programme is intended to prepare participants to effectively use the latest available technologies, including e-learning, to address school learning and training problems. For this reason, the Masters Programme in Instructional Design & Technology will, wherever feasible and appropriate, deliver its instruction using these advanced instructional delivery modes. Examples include: using CD-ROMs for self-paced instruction, using internet technologies for information dissemination, using internet technologies for asynchronous (e.g., forums or wikis) and synchronous (e.g., chat, internet telephony or video) communication modalities. These technologically-based delivery modes will be used in conjunction with more conventional forms of instructional delivery.

Assessment [Top]

All courses in this programme are assessed by projects and assignments, sometimes individually, but sometimes working in groups. There are no exams.

Curriculum [Top]

Each course in the programme is conducted over 39 contact hours. The curriculum courses may be categorised into the following areas.

Core Courses

MID 801 Instructional Design Models and Practices
This course provides students with the understanding of the major instructional design models useful in school and training contexts. Major topics covered include the analysis of performance and instructional problems, instructional design processes, and issues and processes of development, implementation and evaluation. Emphasis will be given to how to identify and solve learning and performance problems.

MID 842 Evaluation Models and Methods
The focus of this course is on specific techniques commonly employed to evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of training and instructional programmes and projects. Typical evaluation models and procedures are reviewed. The discussion will focus on helping participants to understand and evaluate "real-world" problems which occur during the design development, implementation and maintenance of educational innovations.

MMM 800 Critical Inquiry (* for those who choose the all-coursework option)
This capstone course requires the participants to identify a problem which forms the focus of inquiry, locate and read the most relevant literature and undertake some data analysis (as appropriate) to generate suggested potential solution(s) to address the problem. The solution(s) should show evidence that they are able to take the available information and restructure it in an appropriate way to deal with the problem.

MID 809 Designing, Conducting, and Reporting Investigations (* for those who choose the dissertation option )
This course will cover major topics related to the preparation of a needs assessment, evaluation report, action research paper, or other document which involves the systematic posing of questions, collection of data, and drawing conclusions. Among the topics covered are methods of surveying the relevant literature, the construction of guiding questions, critical elements in data gathering methods, practical data analysis, and report writing.

Psychology of Learning and Instruction

Courses in this category are intended to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the mental processes which underlie learning, and the ways in which instruction can be designed to facilitate these processes to promote the attainment of different learning outcomes.

MID 805 Foundations of Learning and Instruction
How do people learn? How do I teach to help learners acquire knowledge and skills? Various theoretical principles and models of learning will be discussed to show how learning takes place and how these could be applied to the design of instruction and training solutions.

MID 811 Cognition, Learning and Technologies
This course is intended to improve the participants' understanding and creative response to teaching and learning issues that emerge in our rapidly changing information and technological society. The course deals with the latest developments in: cognitive theories of learning and research into social construction of knowledge and multiple intelligences; constructivist approaches, the situated nature of learning and its implications; and the use of technology to facilitate effective thinking skills and attitudes that foster lifelong learning and solving of real-world problems.

MID 823 Perspectives on Adult Learning
This course will investigate the important and unique characteristics of adults as learners, as compared with school-age learners. Additionally, this course will explore the various cognitive frameworks which describe adult learning, a range of effective instructional strategies, and how assessment can be adapted for adult learners. This course will support a variety of training environments in the corporate and business world, including both traditional and e-learning delivery systems.

MID 832 Analysing and Assessing Learners
This course has relevance to professionals in both school and corporate environments. For school personnel, issues will be explored relating to how to adapt instructional strategies to match the particular cognitive and motivational processes required for tasks specifically within different curricular areas, professionals in a corporate environment will discuss the benefits of knowing workers' styles of thinking and how they might work together more efficiently and effectively. Other current approaches to understanding the role of learning characteristics will also be discussed.

Managing Instructional Systems

These courses cover several key issues and topics surrounding the instructional development process. Topics include: the assessment of training needs, both for individuals and for organisations; management of project resources; and organisational development.

MID 806 Training Methods and Strategies
The course will familarise participants with various training methods such as role-playing, simulation, cooperative and collaborative learning, group discussion, gaming, lecture presentation, and technology-based training methods. The pedagogical principles behind each training method and the pros and cons of each method will be analysed and discussed.

MID 813 Management of Instructional Development Projects
This course addresses the key processes which managers of instructional technology projects typically encounter. Particular topics addressed include: marketing, budgeting, rapid prototyping, planning for personnel and scheduling, pilot testing, and other important project management tasks.

MID 814 Training and Organisational Development
This course addresses the design and implementation of larger training and development programmes to address employee performance issues and further goals of the organisation. The focus here is on curriculum development in the workplace, and the design of larger instructional and evaluation systems to support that curriculum.

MID 815 Training Needs Assessment and Solutions
Is training the answer to the organisation problems? What kinds of training does the organisation require? How does one determine the type of training most suitable to help improve productivity? This course will look into various training issues such as non-training determinants of performance, assessment of sub-skills, determination of entry behaviours and identification of training objectives. Possible training solutions will then be suggested.

MID 834 Technologies as Cognitive Tools
This course is about learning with technology. In this sense, technology engages students in meaningful and intentional learning. Computers are used as cognitive tools to support various forms of understanding. They engage different kinds of critical, creative, and complex thinking. Among the cognitive tools discussed are semantic organisation tools and dynamic systems modeling tools. At the end of the course, they should be able to articulate the affordances of some of the cognitive tools and formulate plans to integrate such tools into their own teaching/training and research.

Technologies for Instruction

These courses survey the current state-of-the-art in technologies used for education and training. Several courses examine the implementation of various technologies, while other courses focus on ways to utilise the technology to create innovative and effective computer-based instructional products.

MID 816 Advanced Computer-Based Systems for Education and Training
Advanced technologies are developed daily which could have an impact on the development of instructional systems. This course explores some visions and insights into creative and yet practical vanguard computer based systems suitable for education and training. Implications of educational use of Internet technology will be discussed. Opportunities will be provided for participants to design and develop web-based learning objects.

MID 817 Designing e-Learning Systems
There is growing interest by educationists and administrators in developing systems for delivering instruction without students having to be physically present at a common site. This course provides students with an understanding of various instructional approaches and activities used in distance learning, in particular how to develop and use the newer e-learning systems. Additionally, the use of appropriate technologies to deliver distance education, and practical issues and concerns behind the creation and implementation of distance learning systems will be addressed.

MID 822 e-Learning Tools for Training
Participants will explore various kinds of web-based e-learning tools that will provide solutions to a variety of training and performance problems. Among the innovative technologies which are particularly useful within a corporate training environment are audio and video streaming technologies, synchronous and asynchronous communication tools, and interactive multimedia support. Participants will have hands-on experience using many of these tools, and become aware of how they can be cost-effectively employed in training situations.

MID 839 Designing School Learning Environments
Situated within the social-constructivist paradigm, this module provides opportunities for participants to engage in the knowledge construction of models and issues of designing school learning environment for effective ICT integration. It covers 5 interrelated ideas of designing school learning environment to take up the educational opportunities of ICT.

MID 842 Multimedia Design
Computer-based instruction allows the possibility of delivering lessons to students which employ multiple information representation modes (text, graphics, sounds, etc.) within a non-linear structure and different forms of learner interactions. This course explores the major conceptual, theoretical, and empirical bases for the creation of multimodal learning environments. A particular focus will be given to information design and representation, developing interactive sequences and temporal displays of concepts.

SE801 Topics in Learning and Technologies
The content for these topics change as new understandings arise.  Topics may include the theoretical approaches to teaching/learning with technologies; recent development in technologies that support effective learning practice; design and study of leaning environments; cognitions and learning; relations between the growth of conceptual understanding and cognitive skills; collaborative learning with technologies; and engaged learning.

Practicum or Critical Inquiry [Top]

Practicum is the final project for those who choose to do eight courses and a practicum project (with dissertation). In the project, the student applies his/her learning from the programme to solve an instructional design problem within a real-world school or training context, and which typically collects data related to the problem, typically involving action research, needs analysis, design-development-testing, or various other types of evaluation. The Practicum is a 78-hour project supervised by a NIE faculty member. The dissertation, together with any other products prepared in the course of the Practicum (such as instructional software), shall be equivalent in amount of work to a standard 10,000-word dissertation.

For those who choose to complete 10 courses without doing a dissertation, they are required to take a core course – MMM 800Critical Inquiry. The Critical Inquiry course will be taken at the end of the programme, usually in the 5^th semester of the programme (after the completion of 8 courses). This capstone course requires the participants to identify a problem which forms the focus of inquiry, locate and read the most relevant literature and undertake some data analysis (as appropriate) to generate suggested potential solution(s) to address the problem. The solution(s) should show evidence that the students are able to take the available information and restructure it in an appropriate way to deal with the problem. This course will be assessed through an individual assignment of between 4000 – 5000 words. 

For More Information [Top]

If you have additional questions about the MA(IDT) programme, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. If you have more questions, please contact the programme coordinator:

Dr Michael D Williams
Phone: (65) 6790 3276
maidt@nie.edu.sg

All enquiries on admission please direct to:

Graduate Programmes & Research Office
National Institute of Education
Nanyang Technological University
1 Nanyang Walk
Singapore 637616
e-mail: nieadmpp@nie.edu.sg