Beginner Guitar Luthier

Basic Luthier Skills for the Guitar Player
Page 1
1
Name:
Mike Shear
Title of Project:
Analyze
Instructional Problem
Guitar materials are prone to needing repair due to wear and stress caused through changes in
weather and use over time. Many guitar players would like to learn enough about luthier work to
repair and set up their own guitars without having to learn how to make a guitar in its entirety or
purchase an entire wood and metal workshop to be able to complete these repairs.
Intended Target Audience
The intended audience will be guitar players. The course will be focused on adult learners but
written in a manner that allows a younger audience to understand the material well enough to
follow along (Calamari, 2018). Their interest in the course will be due to wanting to maintain their
instruments on their own.
Learning Outcomes
1. Student guitarists will be able to identify the name and describe the use of tools for
guitar repairs in preparation of working on their own instruments. (concept)
2. Student guitarists will be able to complete guitar setups through the use of the tools they
have learned to identify in outcome 1 in preparation of working on their own instruments.
(application)
Learning Objectives
Objective 1
Student guitarists will be introduced to the tools commonly used in guitar repair and shown their
basic uses.
Objective 2
Student guitarists will be able to complete common guitar setup needs.
Project Overview
Guitarists are often in need of minor repair or upkeep of their instruments. Repair shops are not

Page 2
2
always reliable or cost effective for these repairs. Repairs can take weeks or months to be
completed, so musicians often wish to take on the repairs themselves. This course will be four
weeks long and is designed to outline an understanding of the skill sets musicians need to
complete repairs and inform them of what tools to purchase to be able to complete these repairs
on their own in their own time.
Data Planning
According to Toister (2014) SME’s are a good source of data collection, an important part of the
analysis portion of ADDIE (Molenda, 2015). I have approached several luthiers about taking a
survey on some of the more common tools and repairs they have to do in their shops. To be
approached, luthiers must have a website that is up to date within the last three months with at
least five years of work logged on the site. There must be a live blog, that has been posted to in
the last 90 days to be considered as a possible expert to be relied on. This allows for a for an
understanding of how active the luthier currently is as well as how technologically savvy they are.
The survey will be completed through the use of Google Forms. Here is the link to the
questionnaire:
https://forms.gle/j3PEav5ZRJxaXsgY9
SME Checklist
Luthiers from multiple countries and backgrounds. The luthiers will include Jim Hobson of Artisan
Luthiers located in Kennesaw, GA, Gary Nava of Nava Guitars located on the Cambridgeshire-
Norfolk boarders in the UK, Gary Haze of Haze Guitars located in Dublin, Ireland, and
Brian Hawkins of Hawkins Guitars in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Utilizing Brinkerhoff’s (2013)
success case study, SME’s will generate survey answers that inform the common beginner repairs
and set up needs for guitarists. This information can be used to develop an outline that will
address the needs of the highest population of possible students for this course. The following
questions will be asked:
 How likely are you to recommend a guitar setup kit such as ones offered on StewMac,
Sweetwater, or Amazon?
 How important is it that customers and clients have an understanding of guitar set up and
repair?
 What are the most common repair or set up tasks that you are asked to complete? Please
list at least five.
 What are the most difficult instruments to work on?
 What are the best adhesives to work with?
 What are the most important tools for a luthier to own prior to starting to work on a guitar?
Please list between five and ten.
 What book do you recommend the most for people looking to learn how to set up their
instruments?
 How often are you asked to restring guitars?
Instructional Systems Design Approach
ADDIE (analyze, design, develop, implement, evaluate, a five-step method that has evolved
from a joint venture between Florida State University’s Center for Educational Technology and
the U.S. Army in the 1970s (Molenda, 2015) will be used to complete this course design. The
design is an open system theory (Rothwell, Benscoter, King, & King, 2015), originally
conceived as ADDIC, where the final stage, control, was established for military use. This was

Page 3
3
replaced by evaluation in the 1980s to accommodate an audience outside of the military
(Molenda, 2015). Each of the five steps is meant as a development phase during the
instructional design process. The open system is demonstrated in that the evaluation phase
will inform the analysis phase allowing the design to be further developed.
Primary Theoretical Framework
As this is a flipped classroom experience, where the students will be given information ahead of
course lectures, the blueprint, or theoretical framework to be used is going to be the self-
determination theory (Grant, 2013). Self-determination theory states that a student will have a
desire to acquire knowledge for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Ryan, Soenens,
Vansteenkiste, 2019). Motivation is identified as willingness, enthusiasm and initiative to meet a
goal (Ishak, Kurniawan, Zainuddin, Muftia Keumala, 2020). In this example, the intrinsic motivation
is to be able to repair a student’s own instrument. The extrinsic motivation is to be able to
participate in live sessions with solutions for other student’s issues and achieve higher grades in
participation grades throughout the course. The grades are meant to leave students with an
understanding of what they know and what concepts they should revisit. The quizzes and
interactive videos also function as extrinsic motivation through gamification.
Design and Development
Objective 1
Student guitarists will be introduced to the tools commonly used in guitar repair and shown their
basic uses with the goal of identifying their own needs.
Content including topics and activities
Learners will be given an activity on an LMS that contains images of basic luthier hand tools, with
the names of the tools, and their use or uses for guitar repair. Underneath the description of their
use, there will be videos demonstrating the use of each tool. Students will then be given four
different scenarios in which different types of guitars need different types of repairs. They will then
discuss what tools will be needed to complete these repairs on a discussion board. The instructor
will be active daily on the discussion boards, increasing instructor presence. Learners will then be
given a matching game quiz that shows a picture of a tool. They must pick the correct name from
the tool amongst multiple choices given.
Content Outline:
Lesson 1, Changing Strings
1. Slides for tools that are needed are presented on the LMS
a. Slide shown for guitar strings.
b. Slide shown for wire cutter with image tool name, and description
c. Slide shown for pliers with image, tool name, and description
2. Videos on how to change strings on different guitar types are presented
a. Acoustic guitar string changing video
b. Classical guitar string changing video
c. Fixed bridge electric string changing video
d. Floyd Rose string changing video
3. Discussion on LMS
a. Students will identify the type of guitar they have and what type of strings are
best used for their guitars.

Page 4
4
b. They will be asked to identify what options are available for use on their
instruments.
c. Students will be asked to identify their playing styles
d. Students will be asked to recommend what types and gauges of strings for
peers playing styles.
4. An assessment on string types will be given.
Lesson 2, Adjusting the Truss Rod
1. Slides for tools that are needed are presented on the LMS
a. Images of Philips, flat, and hex screw drivers given with tool name and
description.
b. Slide with image of Hex wrenches with tool names, and description.
2. Videos for lesson
a. Video that talks about identifying neck issue identification to assist on
identifying whether the issue is the truss rod or another variable.
b. Video that talks about whether the truss rod needs to be turned left or right and
by how much.
a. Peers identify if their guitars action is problematic.
b. Peers discuss if it is a truss rod issue or another underlying issue.
c. Peers discuss if the truss rod needs to be tightened or relieved
4. An assessment on truss rods will be given.
Lesson 3, Filing and filling the nut
1. Slides for tools that are needed are presented on the LMS.
a. Image of fill gauge with tool name and description given
b. Image of files with tool name and description given
c. Images of super glue and pipette with tool name and description given
d. Images of filler substances such as bone dust and baking powder shown with
tool name and description given.
a. Video showing the proper measurement technique for identifying nut issues is
shown.
b. Video showing proper filing of nut slots.
c. Video showing how to combine glue and dust to fill in nut slots.
d. Video showing the how to file in the newly added nut slot material.
a. Students will measure the height between the first fret and the string of their
instrument or instruments.
b. Students will identify the amount of movement on each string in the nut slot as
they play.
c. Students will identify if a slot of their nut needs to be filed or filled.
4. An assessment on guitar nuts will be given.
Lesson 4, Replacing electronics
5. Slides for tools that are needed are presented on the LMS.
a. Image of soldering iron with tool name and description given
b. Image of solder with tool name and description given
c. Images of image of pliers with tool name and description given
d. Images of wire and guitar electronics with tool names and descriptions given.
a. Video showing common wiring issues.

Page 5
5
b. Video showing how to test each electronic component.
c. Video showing how to remove old wiring and strip new wiring
d. Video showing the how solder new wiring in
a. Students will be asked to brainstorm possible electrical issues with guitars.
b. Students will be asked if they have any issues currently with their instruments.
c. Students will be asked to brainstorm possible resolutions to peers’ electronics
issues.
8. An assessment on guitar electronics and soldering will be given.
Content-type (well-defined or ill-defined)
This content is well defined as the uses of the tools given have been established over many
decades of craftsmanship.
Learning Environment
This will be an asynchronous course offered online through Blackboard, a free LMS (Alturise,
2020) or another established LMS such as Coursera or Udemy. Discussions and quizzes will be
given due dates to set realistic completion times for students enrolled in the course so the course
can be offered in semester long periods.
Interactions (3 levels)
Learner to material: Learners will interact with the material by viewing images, descriptions and
videos demonstrations of the tools used in luthier work. They will then complete a gamified
matching quiz to allow assessment of their understanding.
Learner to Learner: Students will engage with each other on discussion boards focusing on how to
repair common repair needs such as truss rod adjustment, nut cutting and replacement, and
remedying saddle spurs. Students will also compete with each other for the best scores on the
matching quiz through a leaderboard.
Learner to Instructor: Instructors will be present on the discussion board to prompt new and
reframe misconstrued ideas and theories.
Measurement
Measurement will be conducted in two places. The first is a series of formative assessment
quizzes including matching games, and multiple-choice quizzes that ask students to identify the
correct tools for the job as well as questioning the uses of the tools as they are covered in the
video material given. The second will be discussion boards hosted on a Blackboard class or
another established LMS such as Coursera or Udemy. Instructors will monitor and interact with the
discussions and conclude whether or not students have reached correct conclusions. If they have
not completed these conclusions correctly in an appropriate amount of time, instructors will hint at
correct conclusions and reframe incorrect conclusions explaining why the results will not solve the
problems. Reframing of information is completed through instructor feedback. Students will be
weighed within the discussion boards on whether they can identify the right tools for the task.
Time
The course will run for 4 weeks. Discussions on the scenarios of guitar repair will be open for one
weeks at a time allowing students time to ingest the available information and form conclusions.
The videos for the tool demonstrations will be under ten minutes each to allow appropriate
chunking of information. A total of 14 videos will be shown, totaling no more than 140 minutes.
Tool descriptions will be less than 100 words each.

Page 6
6
Objective 2
Student guitarists will be able to complete common guitar setup needs after learning the
appropriate tools to use.
Content including topics and activities
Learners will be given videos of each of the live session topics. Videos will be both passive
watching and have H5P interactions embedded into them. The interactions will be prompts or
questions asking for the correct action needed to continue the repair. Learners will than attend a
weekly online instructor lead discussion to address issues with their individual instruments and
how to repair the issues at hand. Students can discuss different options for troubleshooting the
issues that come up and utilize the instructor as a subject matter expert.
Content Outline:
Lesson 1, Guitar Strings
1. Video: Viewers will watch an interactive video on guitar strings asking them to identify
the material used for the strings, appropriate gauges for the instrument.
2. Live online session: Blackboard Collaborate or other live online meeting software such
as Go To Training or Zoom will be used to allow students to bring their needed repairs
to the class to discuss the possible ways to fix the issue. Instructors are there for
guidance, but not to lecture.
3. Session review: Students will be graded on attendance, interactions, and quality of the
information and ideas offered during the class.
Lesson 2, Adjusting the Truss Rod
1. Video: Viewers will watch an interactive video on making truss rod adjustments on an
acoustic guitar, a solid body electric guitar, and a semi-hollow electric guitar.
Measurements will be given for each string height at the nut and the amount of
movement within the string. Students will be asked if neck is fine or if it needs to be
adjusted. If it does need to be adjusted, they will be asked in which direction and by
how much.
2. Live online session: Blackboard Collaborate or other live online meeting software such
as Go To Training or Zoom will be used to allow students to bring their needed repairs
to the class to discuss the possible ways to fix the issue. Instructors are there for
guidance, but not to lecture.
Lesson 3, Filing and filling the nut
1. Video: Viewers will watch an interactive video on making truss rod adjustments on an
acoustic guitar, a solid body electric guitar, and a semi-hollow electric guitar.
Measurements will be given for each string height at the nut. Students will be asked if
the nut is fine or needs to be either filed or filled on each string of each guitar.
2. Live online session Blackboard Collaborate Training or other live online meeting
software such as Go To Training or Zoom will be used to allow students to bring their
needed repairs to the class to discuss the possible ways to fix the issue. Instructors are
there for guidance, but not to lecture.
Lesson 4, Replacing electronics
1. Video: Viewers will watch an interactive video on the electronic components within a
guitar. Students will be asked to identify the differences between single coil and

Page 7
7
humbucking pickups. Students will also try to identify shorts and other issues in the
video as it goes along.
2. Live online session: Blackboard Collaborate Training or other live online meeting
software such as Go To Training or Zoom will be used to allow students to bring their
needed repairs to the class to discuss the possible ways to fix the issue. Instructors are
there for guidance, but not to lecture.
Content-type (well-defined or ill-defined)
Content is a hybrid of well and Ill-defined concepts as videos and quizzes fall under well-defined
preexisting practices, but the lecture leaves an opening available to creative troubleshooting of
different guitar issues. This problem-based learning allows for the curriculum to adapt to the
students, placing the problem before the knowledge (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018).
Learning Environment
The environment will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online sessions.
Synchronous sessions will be held via video conferencing sessions that last for 2 hours once a
week to allow students to share images of their guitar issues. If the number of students enrolled in
the course allows for it, there may be multiple live sessions per week to allow students the
opportunity to find a time that is most convenient to them. Asynchronous videos and quizzes will
be given weekly deadlines that will be due prior to the live lecture to ensure students have the
appropriate information to offer educated solutions in class. The course will be placed on
Blackboard, a free LMS (Learning Management Systen) (Alturise, 2020) or, other established LMS
sites such as Udemy or Coursera.
Interactions (3 levels)
Learner to material: Learners will interact with the material by viewing videos and answering
questions about them. They will also interact with a follow up quiz offered in each module.
Learner to Learner: Students will engage with each other during live sessions and problem solve
guitar owner issues together.
Learner to Instructor: Instructors will be present during the live sessions offer up expert advice and
encourage students to continue in correct directions (Wilson & Gobeil, 2017)
Measurement
Learner understanding will also be measured through correctly completing a quiz given at the end
of the interactive videos. Learners will also be graded on their ability to assist in problem solving
issues during live sessions. Rubrics that weigh knowledgeable lines of questions and ideas for a
repair, overall interactions, professionalism will be broken quantitively. During the first live session,
students will identify what set up needs are needed on their personal instruments. The process of
this set up will be checked on during each session. The completion of the set up will be evaluated
in the final session, utilizing both student and instructor feedback.
Time
Live sessions will be two hours in length once a week for 4 weeks. Video lessons will be kept at 10
minutes per week. Quizzes will be summative at the end of each interactive video. The amount of
questions at the end of the video will be dependent on the number of interactions within the video.
Sample Content

Page 8
8
Storyboard
Here is a link to storyboards of a sample lesson:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15TeF-PVzBSk2orR1KZtu-rXnHeOW0lVw/view?usp=sharing
Video Presentation
Here is a sample of video lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGP2rj5fiUE
The video explains the different types of strings and which guitars use which, this aligns with the
material in week 1. It is meant as an example of chunking information for better transference to
learners in a flipped classroom (Slemmons Anyanwu, Hames, Grabski, Mlsna, Simkins, & Cook,
2018). This presentation covers the two most important factors that need to be considered when
purchasing guitar strings for an instrument.
Assessment
This is an assessment to be paired with the example video.
1) Of the following choices, which one is will depend on the type of guitar you have?
a. Price
b. String color
c. String material
d. String weight
2) What kind of strings do electric guitars use?
a. Nylon
b. Nickle
c. Brass
d. Bronze
3) Gauge refers to what measurement?
a. The diameter of a string
b. The tension of a string
c. The length of a string
d. The area of a string
4) What kind of strings do acoustic guitars use?
a. Nylon
b. Nickle
c. Bronze
d. Gold
5) Which of these are options available for guitar strings?
a. Coating
b. Alloy
c. Gauge
d. All of the above
6) What kind of strings do classical guitars use?
a. Nylon
b. Nickle
c. Gold
d. Platinum
7) What material do electric and acoustic guitar strings have in common?
a. Nickle
b. Steel
c. Bronze

Page 9
9
d. Brass
8) Which guitar type was not in the video?
a. acoustic
b. electric
c. 12-string
d. classical
9) How do you choose what type of guitar string to purchase?
a. It depends on the length of your guitar.
b. It depends on the weight of your guitar.
c. It depends on the type of your guitar.
d. It depends on the color of your guitar.
10) Set sizes are referenced by the low-e.
a. True
b. False
Please answer the following question:
11) Discuss if you would use guitar strings intended for a different type of guitar than what you
were putting them on. What are some of the differences you may notice? Do you think any
possible issues would arise? Once you have answered the question here, copy and paste it
into the upcoming discussion board and discuss your answer with your peers.
12) Locate a set of strings for your guitar, purchase one if you do not have one in the house. Take
a picture of the packaging of the strings next to your guitar and submit the image to this
assignment. Make sure both the entire guitar, plus the writing on the packaging can be seen in
the picture.
13) With specialty guitar options on the rise such as 7 thru 9 string guitars, headless, locking
tremolos, advanced bridge mechanisms such as Evertune, and other designs, how are string
makers being affected? Some research is expected to be able to answer this question
correctly.
Link to assessment:
https://forms.gle/vDhQYuynocqmaR4f9
This assessment can be rewritten to include all videos within the lesson outlined in the content
above. Students will be able to apply this knowledge while changing the guitar strings. The
questions themselves focus on reenforcing what is being taught in the video to be able to discuss
these ideas with other students in the discussion board.
Evaluation and Implementation
Implementation Planning
Intervention Types
A blended approach to interventions will be used to monitor possible changes within the course.
Feedback from students enrolled in the class will happen during discussion boards (blended),
virtual live sessions (in-person), formative and summative assessments (self-paced) as well as
within the summative survey (self-paced). SME’s can also be asked for feedback on the course as
it develops over time through surveys (self-paced) and interviews (in-person) which can allow the
scope of the course and the course outcomes to shrink or grow as students request to learn
certain skills and dismiss others as unneeded. Assessments will inform the instructional designer if
the information is transferring correctly to a large enough share of the students that do not

Page 10
10
demonstrate an understanding of the material can be considered outliers. Discussion and live
session curriculum are open enough to allow students to present issues note planned for in the
course. If the issue happens is brought to the class often enough, then an objective to address
repairing the issue should be added. There are opportunities within the live sessions and
discussion boards for students to review their application of the learned materials throughout the
course to see if they can move from the understanding to applying what they have learned during
their time in the course.
People
As the course is meant to be for personal enrichment the number of people involved is limited to
the instructional designer, curriculum designer, and facilitator, all of whom are the same person,
the students taking the course, and the subject matter experts that can provide feedback on the
common practices within guitar repair. Due to having a smaller number of groups to create
feedback, all of them can impact the course design and refinement in meaningful ways but may
result in an unfocused approach to creating goals for an intervention, as the end goal should be
changing the scope of the objectives to meet the needs of the students, as they are the majority
stakeholders in this case.
 SME: The subject matter experts will be able to intervene and help refine course materials
before the course launch to make sure all listed practices are expectable ways to complete
the setup and repair work being covered. They will also be asked to review any new
materials developed due to an intervention for the stakeholders (instructional designer and
students) before the redeveloped or new materials being implemented.
 Instructional Designer: The instructional designer, who will also be the curriculum designer,
and facilitator, will be responsible for assessing all evaluation methods and take note of
consistent errors in both formative and summative assessments as well as outcome
requests from active students in live sessions and on discussion boards. They will also be
utilizing the summative survey from the student learners to complete a plan to implement
or disseminate the intervention changes to best suit the student’s goals.
 Trainer: At this point in the process the instructional designer is the planned trainer. If
interest in the course grows to the point that other trainers need to be hired, then the
default place to look for trainees will be SMEs first, and successful alumni of the course
that have continued to train themselves in the given skillset. These trainers will not be
brought on board until well after the initial dissemination. These trainers will also become
involved in future interventions and course refinements. The trainers will be asked if they
would like to be included in further lesson designs, if they opt-out they will be treated as
SMEs on the revisions. Trainers will be treated as managerial stakeholders for the course
as the success of discussions and live sessions will be dependent on them.
 Learners: Being a personal enrichment course, the goal of the course is to make the
students feel that they have enriched themselves with the knowledge that they had been
looking for when signing up for the course in the first place. They will have a chance to
bring forth guitar set-up issues throughout the course allowing for a study of student needs
that can inform what interventions should take place through surveys, discussion boards,
and live sessions. A pre-course survey will be utilized to identify what issues can be
brought up during the live sessions that will directly address the student’s needs.
Training Dissemination

Page 11
11
As this is a course intended for independent release through a platform such as Udemy for
personal enrichment of individuals who play guitar but wish to understand how to set up their
instruments for the best possible playing experience, the dissemination of the training lies solely
with the instructional designer deciding when the course design is complete enough to launch as
the other stakeholders, the learners, will not be involved with the course until after the
dissemination point. If secondary trainers have been brought in before the dissemination, then
they will be involved in any reworking that the intervention has created a need for. Implementation
of the intervention will then take place between the instructional designer and trainer(s) and a joint
decision will be made as to when the intervention material is read to be launched and taught.
Training Diffusion
Currently, there are several options to launch a course available, Blackboard, Udemy, and
Coursera are three possibilities, and more studies on the benefits of disadvantages of each will
need to be addressed before a final decision is made. The diffusion of the intervention will be
weighed against creating other courses with the plan on becoming a series or even a program
over time. This will depend on the frequency of new skill requests coming forth during live
sessions, discussion boards, and surveys. The learners signing up for the course are doing it
purely for personal enrichment so, it should be assumed that they will be in alignment with the
course that they are signing up for and will not need further coaching for the intervention. The
trainers will be involved with the creation of new materials and the rewriting of out of date
materials. Being involved in the writing of the materials creates a degree ownership of the
materials and will garner greater commitment from the trainers than just asking for compliance
would (Rothwell et al., 2015).
Achieving Adoption and Buy-in
Learners - Adoption and buy into any intervention will not be needed until secondary trainers are
brought on board as the only other stakeholders will be the learners who also would have initiated
the need for the intervention while being surveyed and assessed. It can be assumed that any
learner who has signed up for the course as already aligned themselves to the course outcomes
before signing up for a personal enrichment course (Xu & Ran, 2020). Signs of any fall off in
engagement from a student throughout the time of the course can be addressed during live
sessions and discussion boards by addressing the student’s direct needs indicated in the pre-
course survey.
Trainers - To assure all trainers are aligned to the adoption of the intervention, they will be
involved in the creation of the materials and lesson plans and be treated as managerial partners
who must be in agree with the intervention before adoption. This collaborative effort can also be
built further by allowing the trainers to train each other in meetings. This train-the-trainer approach
will enable more people to be involved in the direct dissemination of the intervention (Rothwell et
al., 2015).
Training Monitoring and Potential Problems
Monitoring of the intervention will be done through several channels. Formative and summative
assessments taken by students will inform the instructional designer and trainers of the success or
failure of transference of knowledge from the disseminated course intervention materials. Students
will also have opportunities to give feedback on the materials during live sessions, discussion
boards, and surveys through general inquiries from the instructor. This feedback should be
monitored by both the instructional designer and trainers. The trainers and instructional designer
can take a wide-net approach (Rothwell et al., 2015) and discussing observations on student
feedback and assessment performance from within their sections and making a decision on
whether changes should be made to the instructional materials to achieve better transference of
the information or not. If surveys and engagement allude to new materials not being of interest to

Page 12
12
the student body, then a meeting between the trainers and instructional designer should take
place to consider whether or not the material in question should be removed.
Neuroscience of Learning
As the brain is the processor for the entirety of the human as a being it is important to consider
how it operates when designing for someone to learn. The neurons within the brain help people
not only acquire new knowledge and skills but also to retain and recall them, (Pulichino, 2017).
The study of these neurons is referred to as neuroscience. With an understanding of some basic
neuroscience, course designs can be created to achieve better retention of information was a
reduced cognitive load (Reiser & Dempsey, 2018). The current model for optimal learning is
referred to as the AGES model, which stands for attention, generation, emotion, and spacing
(Pulichino, 2017). These variables are addresses in this course design in the following ways:
 Attention: Attention spans are at their limits at the twenty-minute mark (Pulichino, 2017).
While this time limit can be met in the asynchronous sections of the course by limiting
video run time to under twenty minutes, and allowing the students enough to in between
due dates to adjust the ingestion of the information to their own attention spans, care must
be taken during live virtual sessions to change up the mode of learning every twenty
minutes to interject what the mind will perceive as breaks. This can be done by training
trainers to make sure they are asking individual students questions within the twenty-
minute block of time or making sure to stop a student from talking over that twenty-minute
time frame by interjecting themselves and asking what another student thinks of that
student’s thoughts.
 Generation:Since the generation of memory is dependent on how meaningful the
information is to the learner (Pulichino, 2017), any information in the course that refers to
repairs or parts of a setup that a student needs will have strong connections. By trainers
being active on discussion boards and asking questions of students based upon their initial
statements, the question asked can facilitate reflection on student’s own words and garner
greater connections to the information. This same methodology can be applied to the live
virtual sessions. Through operating as a facilitator instead of a lecturer in the live sessions,
trainers can prompt quieter students to become more involved in the discussion and have
a more active participatory role in the sessions. This active participation can result in better
memory generation for the students.
 Emotion: By beginning each video with an introduction to why the information presented
will be meaningful to the students, it will keep the students’ reason for learning at the
forefront of their thoughts and help them create a positive emotional attachment with the
material. According to Pulichino (2017), emotions connected to new information create a
heightened ability to recall the information later, thereby showing that retention of the
information is increased.
 Spacing: By repeating information on formative assessments from prior lessons and
forcing students to retrieve information periodically they will be able to memorize the
information at a higher rate than they would without the repetition. This is known as the
testing effect. The testing effect can complement spacing by easing the information from
short term to long term memory (Pulichino, 2017). The spacing between the formative
assessments will allow for the spacing effect to be achieved without learners needing to
take a break in learning new information.
Rationale
The blended learning implementation approach allows for as many channels of feedback to be
open as possible. By allowing students to give feedback in multiple places within the course
(survey’s, discussion boards, and live virtual sessions), they can form an emotional attachment
with the course material allowing for a heightened ability to recall the information being learned
(Pulichino, 2017). By utilizing assessments, trainers can quantitatively identify what information is

Page 13
13
being transferred throughout the time of the course. By allowing trainers to be involved with the
intervention process, they will also have a greater commitment to the course through ownership
(Rothwell et al., 2015). Ghiringhelli and Lazazzara (2016) found that a team member’s feeling of
ownership of the material is crucial to their alignment to an intervention.
Evaluation Planning
As the stakeholders are a combination of the instructional designer and the students that enroll in
the course, the design and development of the course will rely on the Brinkerhoff Success Case
Method. This process will be used to apply the Brinkerhoff Success Case Method, to “identify,
document, and quantify specific instances of positive performance impact as a result of our
learning solution” (Brinkerhoff et. al, 2013, p. 38). For the formative evaluation process, subject
matter experts will be given prototype materials and will be interviewed to gather input on whether
the developed materials adequately address the needs of the skill being taught. Students will also
supply formative evaluation of the material through quizzes and matching games. These testing
formats will allow both students and the instructional designer an understanding of what skill
knowledge is being successfully transferred, and what lessons will need to be redesigned to
achieve the appropriate knowledge transfer.
For the summative evaluation process, students will be given a survey after the course completion
to see if the course meet the personal goals of the students that signed up for the course. The
goal will be to address as many of the repairs or upkeep needs that originally created the need or
interest in the course for students in the first place and offer feedback on what skills are useful,
and what skills can be removed from the curriculum and if the skills have been trained in an
adequate way or not (Rothwell et al., 2015). It will also open the opportunity to add on to the
course after students identify needs that have not been met in the training in its current form and
allow for continued development for topics.
Formative Evaluation
Formative evaluation will be achieved in a couple of different ways. The aforementioned subject
matter expert interviews to help achieve a course design that addresses the most commonly
identified issues with guitars. The pre-course survey given to students will also inform the redesign
process as it will inform the instructional designer to what is drawing students to the course in the
first place and allow for the refinement of the course and course outcomes to best meet the needs
and wants of the target audience.
Summative and Quantitative Evaluation
The following two surveys will be used to inform the instructional designer on whether the course
design has succeeded in information transfer on all sections. They will allow for a measuring
instrument that informs the designer of what can be altered to transfer the information in better
ways if a weak spot in the curriculum is identified.
 Summative Assessment: https://forms.gle/RQYMoeHvZJhKPsR78
The summative survey will allow the instructional designer to identify what has
been learned for both objectives by whether or not students are able to correctly answer
the questions on the material covered in the course.
 Quantitative Survey:https://forms.gle/wWT5q4uh5cHLPQadA
The quantitative survey will allow students to express what they feel they have
learned and whether or not the course has resulted in transferring the information that
enrolled in it to receive. This feedback allows the instructional designer to identify ways to
possibly improve upon the course.

Page 14
14
Evaluation Data Reporting
The following evaluations will be used to promote discussion between the instructional designer
and trainer(s) during meetings focused on interventions for possible changes to the curriculum in
between course terms.
 Pre-course Assessment: Will inform the instructional designer and trainer(s) as to whom
their students are, revealing what kind of knowledge or experience they have with the
subject before seeking out the course. This information can be used to determine if the
material is at the appropriate level of difficulty for the interested audience in place of the
intended audience.
 Formative Assessments: Audits of the formative assessments will be used by the
instructional designer and trainer(s) to identify questions answered incorrectly by more
than half of the students who completed the assessment. This will be used as an indication
of a need for an intervention on the topic materials and will be scheduled for a rewrite.
 Summative Assessment: Much like the formative assessments, audits showing missed
questions by more than half of the students taking the course will be an indication of a
need for an intervention on the topic materials and will be scheduled for a rewrite. The
instructional designer and trainer(s) will be responsible for completing and tracking the
audits of the sections they run.
 Live Session/Discussion Boards: Trainers, including the instructional designer will be
asked to keep track of topics approached in these areas by students that are not covered
in the course. The tracking notes will be reviewed between terms for consideration for
adding to the course in later terms.
 Quantitative Evaluation:The instructional designer and trainer(s) will review the
evaluation at the end of each term and identify any common areas that can be improved
upon and consider how to implement changes to address the desired improvements.

Page 15
15
References
Alturise. F. (2020). Evaluation of Blackboard Learning Management System for full online courses in
western branch colleges of qassim university. International Journal of Emerging Technologiesin
Learning, 15(15),33–51. doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i15.14199
Brinkerhoff, R. O,. Kazbour, R. R., McGee, H. M., Mooney, T., & Masica, L. (2013). Evaluating the impact
of a performance-based methodology on transfer of training. Performance Improvement
Quarterly, 26(1), 5–33. doi.org/10.1002/piq.21135
Calamari, S. (2018, September 12). Elearning essentials: Instructional design, Retrieved August 31, 2020,
from https://www.linkedin.com/learning/elearning-essentials-instructional-design
Colbert, C. Y., A West, C., Graham, L., & Pien, L. (2016). Getting SMART about teaching objective
writing. Medical Education,50(11),1171–1172. doi.org/10.1111/medu.13166
Ghiringhelli, C., & Lazazzara, A. (2016). Blended learning for developing effective virtual teams: A
proposed intervention format. EAI Endorsed Transactions on E-Learning, 3(12), 151718.
doi:10.4108/eai.2-12-2016.151718
Grant, C. (2013, November 30). Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in
dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your"house".Retrieved September 02, 2020, from
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1058505
Ishak, T., Kurniawan, R.,Zainuddin, Z., & Muftia Keumala, C. (2020). The role of pre-class asynchronous
online video lectures in flipped-class instruction: Identifying students’ perceived need
satisfaction. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1),1–11. doi.org/10.33902/jpr.v4i1.145
Molenda, M., (2015). In search of the Elusive ADDIE Model. Performance Improvement, 54(2),40–42.
doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21461
Pulichino, J. (2017, September 05). Brain-based elearning design - Introduction to neuroscience. Retrieved
September 22, 2020, from https://www.linkedin.com/learning/brain-based-elearning-
design/introduction-to-neuroscience?u=57690305
Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey,J. V. (2018). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. New
York: Pearson Education.
Rothwell, W. J., Benscoter,G. M., King, M., & King, S. B. (2015). Mastering the instructional design
process: A systematic approach. Hoboken,NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Ryan, R. M., Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste,M. (2019). Reflections on self-determination theory as an
organizing framework for personality psychology: Interfaces,integrations, issues, and unfinished
business. Journal of Personality, 87(1),115–145. doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12440
Slemmons, K., Anyanwu, K., Hames,J., Grabski, D., Mlsna, J., Simkins, E., & Cook, P. (2018). The impact
of video length on learning in a middle-level flipped science setting: Implications for diversity
inclusion. Journal of Science Education & Technology,27(5),469–479. doi.org/10.1007/s10956-018-
9736-2

Page 16
16
Suggs, D. (2015). Try instant assessment:It’s easier than you think! Campus Activities Programming, 47(6),
14–17. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/eds/pdfviewer/
pdfviewer?vid=12&sid=fa3d3e493541-4bc0-9375-894c6bebb7e0%40sdc-v-sessmgr02
Toister, J. (2014, August 22). Instructional design: Needs analysis. Retrieved September 10, 2020, from
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructional-design-needs-analysis
Wilson, J.,& Gobeil, M. (2017). Guitars and makerspace:Examining the experience of first nations
students. Canadian Journal of Learning & Technology,43(2),1–16.
Xu, D., & Ran, F. X. (2020). Noncredit education in community college: Students, course enrollments, and
academic outcomes. Community College Review, 48(1),77–101. doi.org/10.1177/0091552119876039

Beginner Guitar Luthier

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Beginner Guitar Luthier

Similar to Beginner Guitar Luthier (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Beginner Guitar Luthier