Justification

EDTECH 506
Unit of Instruction Justification
By Erin C. Markus
May 4, 2010

Defining the Visual Context
Characteristics ofthe Learner and School Details
Age 2nd
Grade (ages7-8)
Localization Rosa ParksElementarySchool inLake Washington
School District,Redmond,WA.Primarylanguage
of moststudentsisEnglish,witha5% AsianELL
population. Cultural Demographics:55%
Caucasian,32% Asian,4% Hispanic,9% Other.
Gender 49% Male/51% Female
Demographics Suburban,masterplannedcommunitywithsingle
familyhomes.
Education All studentshave completedPreschool and
Kindergarten.
Socio-Economics Middle/UpperClass
Free/ReducedLunch<2%.
Other identifiable features Othermandatory classestakenbystudentsof the
school:Dance,Drama, Chess,Computers,Vocal
and Instrumental Music,Physical Education.
Optional classestakenbystudents:Junior
Engineering,Theatreproduction,Foreign
Languages,Math Olympics.
Many studentsattendprivate mathandreading
programs(Kumon,Brainquest)
Prior Knowledge Mixed
AccessibilityIssues May have studentswhohave hearing,sight,
mobility,attention,orlanguage impairments.
Environmental Concern Details
How is the package to be used? The unitwill be taughtin a whole-groupsetting.
Activitieswill includewhole-group,small-group,
partners,andindividual work.
How many people will share the space? Classsize rangesbetween20-24students.
What uniformor dressis required? Normal school uniformwill be worn,withsmocks
or jacketsrequiredforsome activitiesthatmaybe
messy.
Special Equipmentrequired? Some lessonswilluse alarge white boardor smart
board,or individual white boards.LaptopsorPC’s
will be usedforcomputer activities.Itemssuchas
sensoryobjects(foods,textures,etc.) will be used
for certainactivities.
Lighting The classroomis litbynatural lightor fluorescent
bulbs. Some activitieswillbe outdoorsinnatural
lighting.Occasionallylightswill be turnedoff for
videoorPowerPointpresentations.
How are away is the farther learnerfrom the
materials?
While inthe classroom, studentdesksreachno
more than 20 feetfromteachingarea.Outdoorsor
ingroup settings,studentswillgatheraround

teacherfor instructionsonactivity,buttheymay
branch outto small groupor partneractivitiesina
large area. (playgroundorgym)
How much time doesthe learnerhave with the
materials?
The lessonswill be deliveredina30 minute
timeframe.
Will the learnerbe able to control hisor her own
time looking at materials?
No,the teacherwill guide the lessonsand
activities.Studentsmayfinishincomplete work
duringopenworktimes,if needed.
How much space does the learner have to spread
out materials?
Studentswill have theirowndeskspace for
individualactivities,largertable areasforsmall-
groupor partneractivities,gymspace oroutdoors
personal space allottedforlarge groupactivities.
In a classroom-type setting,what is the typical
room layout?
The room is setup withall desksfacingthe smart
board or white boardat the frontof the room,
withdesksinpairs.Studentswill use laptop
computersat theirdeskduringcomputerguided
instruction.
Other Environmental Issuesto be considered Onlygymnasiumoroutdooractivitiescouldbe
affectedbyenvironmentalfactorsdue togymuse
or weather. Classroomandcomputerusage
shouldnotbe affected.
MediaConcerns Details
If lessonisprojectedfrom the front of the
classroom, how far back is the farthest student?
What is the lighting?
The farthestdeskisapprox.20 feetfromthe front
of the room.
Natural lightfromwindowsorfluorescentlighting
will be usedinthe classroom. Gymlightingor
natural lightingforoutdoorandgym activities.
Book usage Read-aloudbookswillbe usedtoopeneach
lesson.Studentswill be seatedinasemi-circle
aroundthe teacherforthese readings.
Partnerreadingbookswill be usedatstudent’s
desks.
Individual readingbookswill be used atstudent
desksor inthe readingarea.
FlipChart, BulletinBoard, or Whiteboardusage If usinga flipchartor whiteboard,studentswillbe
no fartherthan20 feetfromboards.
Bulletinboardsmaybe usedaroundthe roomand
dependingondesklocations,studentsmayneed
to walkto boardto see details.
Studentswill use individualwhiteboardsforsome
activitiesattheirdesksorinsmall groups.
Computerand Monitorrequirements Maximum/Minimumdisplayresolution:800x600
optimal,butcouldbe 640x480, if necessary.
Color Depth:16 bitor more

Connectivity:studentswill use awireless
connectionfortheirlaptopsandbroadbandfor
desktop,if necessary.
Browser-basedactivities:all computershave
plug-inscapable of anyanimation,audio,orvideo
necessary.
E-LearningCharacteristics Details
Monitor Display Studentswill be usingcomputerswithLEDdisplays
and 1024 x 768 resolution
Color Depth 16-bit or greater
Connectivity Highspeedbroadbandconnectionwithwireless
access forlaptops
Mediacards or Plug-ins Flashplayer,WindowsMediaplayer,andReal
Playerisinstalledoneachcomputer
Firewalls All computersandnetworksare protectedwith
firewallsthatpreventcertainsitesfrombeing
used. Certaineducational sitescanbe permitted
to be usedwithan override bydistricttech
supportstaff.
Color Depthor File Format Concerns Details
Images Imageswill be .jpg,.gif,or.pngfiles
Individual Graphic Visualization and Creation
Note: Each blue heading contains a link to the live visual
When visualizing my graphic images and interactive activities, I made an attempt to
maintain a common theme of my graphics used throughout the unit. According to Clark
and Lyons (2004), certain types of graphics such as organizers and explanatory visuals
need to be designed early in the development process, as they may be carried through
the design of several lessons, affect several visuals, and perhaps even influence the
overall look and feel of your product. It was with this in mind that I decided early on
that, because of the grade level that I was working with, that I would maintain a constant
theme of colorful, even “cartoonish”, graphics and visuals. All graphics and images that
were used in the development of the unit maintained this theme. The graphics that I
used to depict the five senses were used throughout the entire unit and even on the
assessments. The photographs that were used throughout the unit all included familiar
images for children of this age, and often included children in the photographs for
relativity. In this section, I will describe, in detail, each visual image that I created and
how they relate to each other and the unit as a whole.

Advanced Organizer
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), Advanced organizers were defined by Ausubel in
1968 as instructional presentations appearing early in a lesson that “provide ideational
scaffolding for the stable incorporation and retention of more detailed and differentiated
material that follows”. The advanced organizer that I used throughout my unit meets
this requirement. The image depicts each sense that the students will be learning
about, along with an example showing a real-world picture of the sense, and the word
that describes the sense. The organizer will be used at the beginning of each lesson to
introduce the lesson and as a review of previous lessons. During the opening of each
lesson, all five senses will be reviewed before focus turns to the lesson at hand.
Because the learners in this situation do have prior knowledge of the basic content of
the unit, a comparative advanced organizer is used. An effective comparative organizer
incorporates information familiar to the learner and links that familiar information to new
lesson content (Clark and Lyons, 2004). During the previous year, students learned the
name of each sense and what sensory organ it belongs to, but in this unit they will be
learning to put words to the senses and parts of the sensory organs will be addressed.
The organizer is simple and easy to understand, using "cartoon" depictions of the 5
organs, paired with a photographic visual of the sense and the word to describe the
sense. The graphic is arranged in very distinct vertical and horizontal lines with guiding
arrows to enhance the vertical path of the chart. I used muted colors for the words and
visually appealing colors for the "cartoon" graphics and photographs with simple colors
so as not to draw attention away from the other graphics. The graphic shows vertical
and horizontal balance, as well as harmony. Unity is accomplished by all pictures and
words sharing a common meaning...the senses. I used pictures and words to depict the
5 senses, so that a correlation can be made by any age.
Prior Knowledge Prior Knowledge New Knowledge
SMELL
Attention Visual
When creating my attention visual, I followed the guidelines stated in Clark and Lyons
(2004):
 Use cueing visuals to draw attention to important instructional content when the
display is complex and presentation rate is not controlled by the learner.
 Use color to improve job performance in tasks that involve visual search.
 Place words close to the visuals they describe.
 Avoid visuals that distract the learner from important instructional content.

The attention visual is attached to the “Smell” lesson of the unit. The visual is a simple
depiction of the concept of smell and the process that we use to understand a smell,
whether good or bad. Following the guidelines, I used a simple graphic depicting a
nose smelling a baking pie. This image will immediately draw attention because this is
a nice smell that everybody can relate to. The directive arrows then direct the attention
to the brain to show that the scent is taken in by the nose, then the message goes to the
brain, then finally the brain decides whether it likes the smell or not. I used pictures of
children showing a “good smell” face and a “bad smell” face. Adhering to the next
guideline to use color and contrast as a visual signal, I used large, colorful directive
arrows to have the viewer follow the progression from left to right. According to Clark
and Lyons (2004), color has been reported in some studies to direct attention to
important information in a lesson. Without the arrows in my visual, the viewer may not
know that the progression is left to right. By placing text next to each image in the
visual, the student will understand what they are looking at and make a correlation
between written word and pictures. In my visual, this is accomplished by having written
descriptions of each step below the images. I avoided distracting visuals, by keeping
the entire page simple and easy to understand, using only necessary images to
promote understanding by the student.
Memory Load and Far Transfer Visual
Learning the taste buds of the tongue can be a complex task. They all have different
purpose and they all have their own location on the tongue. Going beyond the fact that
we have a tongue and we use it to taste, the students learn the specific taste areas of
the tongue in this unit. I created a simple interactive visual that shows the tongue with
the areas of taste and images with word rollovers to teach the new knowledge.
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), mental load, which is the amount of work required
of working memory, can be reduced by replacing text with visuals. Words can also be
replaced with audio to lessen memory load. For this particular visual, I used pictures
with rollover words for learning. The graphics that I used are simple in that fact that
students will know what they are looking at, such as popcorn, chocolate, and lemons.
They will then correlate this taste to a name of the taste bud region. Because students
are learning to read and spell at this age, they will be learning new words with the
rollovers to apply to their new vocabulary of words.
Prior Knowledge New Knowledge
= SWEET

Mental Models and Near-Transfer Visual
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), mental models are memory structures that are
stored in long-term memory and that are the basis of thinking. Good mental models
enable learners to discriminate new concepts, to solve problems, to make predictions,
and to interpret data from the environment. Mental models can be simple or complex.
My mental model image will be used in the “Hearing” lesson of the unit. The model
teaches the students new knowledge of the parts of the inner and outer ear. There are
several complex organs in the ear, but for this age group, only the large, main organs
were introduced. The organ names of the ear can be complicating to teach. They have
some difficult names (cochlea) and some simple names (hammer, anvil, ear drum).
This interactive visual teaches each part of the ear by pairing together the actual name
word with a simple image that will aid in memory of what the organ is called. This way,
the student can memorize the pictures because they know what they are, and the word
will follow. The part organ names depict very much what the organ itself looks like. For
example, the ear drum looks like an actual drum head, the hammer is long and skinny
like a real hammer, and the cochlea is a spiral of tubing that looks similar to a snail
shell. These were very easy to depict with pictures. In this visual, I used dual encoding,
or when information is provided in both text and visual formats, two memory traces are
formed (Clark and Lyons, 2004). This increases the chance of the new information
being encoded into long-term memory.
Prior Knowledge New Knowledge
= EAR DRUM
= COCHLEA
Procedures Visual
Procedural graphics, even abstract holistic organizers illustrating views from first step
through last, need to correlate what the learner is supposed to be doing, responding to,
and avoiding at each step along the way (Clark and Lyons, 2004). For my procedures
visual, I am teaching the students on the procedure of playing the game, I-Spy, in the
“Sight” unit. The game is described in a step-by-step process using an interactive visual
that also contains audio directions for those that cannot read the visual directions.
According to our text, an organizational visual is one good way to orient learners to the
flow of procedures involved in a series of tasks. The steps to play the game are clearly

stated and should be easily understood by students. If they have difficulties
understanding what they are reading, they can push the buttons to hear the audio
version of the directions. When you explain a demonstration with audio, you effectively
use the visual and auditory centers of working memory and thus maximize the limited
capacity of working memory (Clark and Lyons, 2004). I added the image of the cartoon
“spy” girl as an attention image to attract the children to the visual and give them an
understanding of what kind of game they will be playing. The “spy” theme was
maintained throughout the visual. The visual is presented in a linear formation.
Concepts Visual
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), when collecting data for concept graphics, do not
forget the counter, or non-example. For my concepts visual, I am using simple
opposites as examples and non-examples to teach the concept of touch to young
children. At the 2nd grade level, children understand the concept of opposites pretty
well. There are many opposites that can be used to explain the sense of touch. This
visual uses four examples of simple opposites using the sense of touch. In teaching
about concepts, I followed the guidelines in our text. The following guidelines were met
by my visual:
 I presented two or more examples of the sense of touch
 I used one or more counter-examples of the concept
 I used picture analogies to link the new knowledge with familiar
knowledge.
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), to help learners build an effective concept model,
create practice exercises that require them to identify instances of the concept. I
included a review exercise after the initial lesson. The review focuses on the
understanding of opposites of 2nd graders and relating it to the sense of touch.
Opposites
Soft Hard

Facts Visual
The facts visual of my unit will be presented as a review of new terms learned
throughout the unit. The facts that the students will be learning in this unit are how the
new terms and words they are learning relate to a sense. This visual gives them a
review of that concept. For example, the word “anvil” belongs to the hearing sense and
the word “taste bud” belongs to the sense of taste. I used representational visuals to
address the senses, as directed in our text. According to our text, to promote transfer of
learning, display concrete facts with representational visuals in the form of screen
captures or illustrations (Clark and Lyons, 2004). Below are two examples of how I am
teaching facts by using a newly learned word and having the students use the
interactive visual to learn which sense each new word belongs to. This is done by using
interactive rollovers. It is not showing the definition of the words, but the fact that it
belongs to a certain sense.
/ Nostril / Ear Drum
Process Visual
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), processes are descriptions of state changes that
communicate how systems work. For my process visual, I am teaching the students
about the process of how we see an image and process it into knowledge. The model
that I used is a dynamic model of the eye and the process of an image as it travels
through the parts of the eye and into a final image for knowledge. A dynamic mental
model allows learners to visualize the entire process and reach a deep understanding of
the system (Clark and Lyons, 2004). In the model, I used red arrows to depict the travel
direction of the sensory image, the tree. The simple organs of the eye are also labeled
with rollover images to see them from a frontal view for further understanding. The
interactive visual culminates with a review activity where the student uses the “tree”
figure to understand that an image gets flipped upside down while traveling through the
eye and then our final image, processed by our brain, is right-side up again! This visual
is easy to understand and uses a linear progression of teaching the process. Below is a
visual representation of how we see. This is a simple representation without even using
the eye organs themselves. In the lesson, the students will learn how and why this
happens. This is a fun sense to teach about.

Principles Visual
For my visual on teaching principles, I chose to teach about the Pain-Pleasure Principle
of the Senses. This is an easy principle to teach children because most of the concepts
of it are familiar to them. They already have the basic knowledge of how we use our
senses to feel pain or pleasure, in fact, they experience it every day. The point of this
lesson is to put that prior knowledge into comparative knowledge with what they are
learning about the five senses. According to Clark and Lyons (2004), use interpretive
graphics and dynamic simulations to model principles in action. I accomplished this by
using an interactive visual that shows graphic images that are easy to understand. The
interactive visual is shown as a tutorial with several pages of information breaking down
what pain and pleasure is and then teaching them how words we use every day are
relevant to this principle. To help the students further learn their new words and how to
spell them, I included a culminating activity where they fill in the blanks of words that
they just learned. This will not only aid in their spelling skills, but also in their recall of
what the word is and eventually what sense it belongs to. Below is an example of a
graphic that I created for my visual to teach students the basic meaning of pain:
OUCH!
Instructional Visual Design Model
According to Clark and Lyons (2004), good designers start by looking at the goals of the
instruction and the graphic needs of the entire package. The Visual design model
focuses on planning and design, and not the development of the graphics themselves.
Below is a synopsis of how I followed the Visual Design Model found in Chapter 2 of
Clark and Lyons (2004).
I. Define Goals
a. Goals are to inform and motivate
b. Goals are to build near-transfer (procedural) skills and associated
knowledge
c. Goals are to build far-transfer (problem-solving) skills and associated
knowledge
The first task of creating my Unit of Instruction was to set the goals for my unit. Defining
the goal of instruction determines the direction of the graphic design process (Clark and

Lyons, 2004). The goals of my Unit of Instruction are based on the education standards
for the state of Washington. The following is a list of the goals for my Unit of Instruction:
 The student will be able to name the 5 senses.
 The student will be able to give examples of using the senses (smell a flower).
 The student will be able to name the organ that uses the sense (the ear hears).
 The student will be able to complete educational activities and games using the
senses (“Which smell is it?” Game).
 The student will be able to identify the simple parts of the five sensory organs.
Each goal is obtainable through completion of the individual lessons of the unit. All
lessons and activities in the unit are directly related to the goals of the unit, and all goals
will be met by successful completion of the unit.
II. Define Context
a. Context includes learner profiles, learning landscapes, delivery media, and
pragmatic issues.
When defining the visual concept, I took the above considerations and created a chart
showing the results of my research to create the unit. This chart can be found at the
beginning of this paper. The first consideration is learner profiles. According to our text,
research shows that visuals benefit low prior knowledge learners the most. It is very
important to consider the prior knowledge of the learner when creating a unit of
instruction. If a learner goes into a new unit with no prior knowledge of the materials,
they will begin the unit with a disadvantage and possibly fall farther behind as the unit
progresses. For my unit, the learners have some prior knowledge of the materials from
1st grade. There may be a mix of prior knowledge if a student transferred from another
school that did not require knowledge of the material in 1st grade. Another important
aspect of learner characteristics is demographics. This includes location of the school,
socio-economic status, language, and accessibility. For my unit, the school is located
in a suburban middle-class, master planned community with very few low SES students
in attendance. Almost all students speak fluent English, with some students speaking
Asian and Hispanic languages at home. The school has a mixed population of families
from Asian countries, India, and European countries due to its close proximity to the
Microsoft Corporation Main Campus.
The learning environment of the school, as stated in my chart, is conducive to
successful learning and this particular unit. The unit requires classrooms, computers,
gymnasium, cafeteria, and a fenced in outdoors area. The school does provide for all of
those factors. The classrooms are very nicely organized and all students will have easy
access to viewing media delivered in the unit. Each class has full usage of computer
labs and/or laptops in the classroom. Classrooms have a lot of natural lighting and
fluorescent lighting to supplement the natural light. Teachers will guide the students
through the unit activities in 30-minute or 1-hour time increments, depending on the
lesson.

According to our text, the delivery medium is a major factor that shapes your visuals.
The delivery medium refers to the material or equipment on which the material is
displayed. The delivery media for my unit will include computers, projectors or smart
boards, read-aloud books, decodable books, DVD players, and worksheets. There will
also be hands-on activities within each lesson of the unit. This school meets all
requirements of the unit. All computers available for use meet the minimum
requirements for the unit.
The only possible constraints of the unit for the school will be related to obtaining
recommended materials for the lessons. There are recommended read-aloud books
and DVD’s that the teacher should use for the lessons, but if they do not have those
particular books or DVD’s, they will be able to supplement with topic-appropriate books
or videos of their choice. This is stated in the Unit of Instruction Plan that all teachers
will read. There is very low cost to the unit. Most items can be brought in by the teacher
or students for hands-on activities.
III. Design Visual Approach
a. Determine the image
b. Assess general graphic requirements of content
c. Design Treatment:
i. Instructional Strategy
ii. Text dominant or visual dominant
iii. Layout or Interface for media
iv. Navigation and functionality
v. Surface features that align with context and goals
In this section of the model, the appearance and approach of the delivered content is
addressed. Because my learners are young and have limited prior knowledge of the
topic, the delivery media will be attractive and simple. Throughout the unit, a bright,
colorful theme is maintained. Children respond to bright colors and “cartoonish” art or
figures. I used very few real-life photographs, but the ones that I did use usually
included children as the main focus character of the picture. This is an important
relevance, as children will be more likely to remember the face or actions of another
child than an adult. Many of my visuals use simple text for learning basic terms, but
they are always accompanied by visual and/or audio to ensure that children of all
capabilities can learn the content. Navigation through interactive visuals is simple and
easy to understand with large arrows and buttons. Many visuals use rollovers that only
require a mouse to touch the image.

IV. Identify Communication Function Needed to Match Content Types
a. Multiple content- use organizational visuals
b. Procedures- use representational, transformational visuals
c. Concept- use diverse representational or interpretive visuals
d. Facts- use representational and mnemonic visuals
e. Process- use transformational visuals
f. Principles- use explanatory visuals, such as relational, interpretive, or
transformational
In this phase of the model, I evaluated my content to determine individual graphics that
will illustrate key instructional points. Using a few examples of my visuals, I will
describe how they apply to this part of the model.
Multiple Content Visuals use organizational visuals. Organizational visuals illustrate
qualitative relationships among lesson content. In my Advanced Organizer, I used a
simple model of the five senses and paired the appropriate images with sample real-life
pictures of the sense being performed and the word that associates with the name of
the sense. An example of this is explained in the section of this paper where I describe
my Advanced Organizer visual. This organizational model is used throughout the entire
unit as a discussion visual for new and spiral learning.
Procedure Visuals use representational and transformational visuals to teach about a
procedure. Transformational visuals communicate movement and change over time or
over space. In my Procedure Visual, I use a representational model of the eye and
demonstrate, as simply as possible, how we perform the sense of sight. This is done by
beginning with an image, such as a tree, and using arrows to show the path the image
travels through the eye organs and is processes through the brain and a final image for
understanding is produced. This is a difficult procedure to teach because it is quite
complicated how it happens, but I thought it was a great sense to use for this visual
because the eye is such an intriguing organ.
Concept Visuals use diverse representational or interpretive visuals to teach a concept
for understanding. Representational visuals portray the appearance of lesson content in
a realistic manner. For my Concept Visual, I decided to create a lesson on the concept
of “touch”. Touch is a difficult concept to put into words or pictures. We use our sense
of touch in everything that we do. The best way that I could figure out to teach the
concept is to show pictures that represent common feelings associated with touch, such
as hot and cold, dry and wet, and smooth and rough. When creating an interactive
visual to teach this concept, the images have to be visually “tactile” and really make the
learner feel like they are experiencing the sensations. I could only do this with pictures.
I chose pictures that are easy to correlate to the texture being shown. I also included
rollovers on the images that show the word that associates to the picture and an audio

clip to hear the word spoken. This way, a correlation is made between picture, word,
and sound.
Facts Visuals use representational and mnemonic visuals. Mnemonic visuals aid in the
recall of lesson facts and concepts. My Facts Visual is used as a review for the unit.
The visual is teaching about the fact that certain words, body parts, and feelings are
associated with the five senses. In the visual, the students look at new vocabulary
words that they learned throughout the unit and they place their mouse over the word to
see if they guessed correctly which sense that word belongs to. The senses are
represented by pictures of the sensory organs and the vocabulary words are in text.
Process Visuals use transformational visuals to teach a process. For my Process
Visual, I chose to teach the students how to play the game called “I-Spy”. The game is
to be played as part of the Sight Lesson. The visual is a linear description of the game.
In the visual, I give the directions in both written and audio form. The student can touch
the visual with the mouse and the written direction will appear, or they can press the
“Play” button to hear the audio direction. The visual must be used in the correct
progression or the game will not be played correctly. This is accomplished by following
the “Steps” images.
Principles Visuals use explanatory visuals, such as relational, interpretive, or
transformational. A relational visual is used to communicate quantitative relationships
among two or more variables and can include charts and diagrams. Interpretive
graphics help learners build mental models of events or processes that are invisible,
abstract, or both. My Principles Visual is the final visual of the unit and is used to teach
the Pain-Pleasure Principle. Since pain and pleasure cannot be tactile, this visual is
used as an interpretive explanation of the principles of pain and pleasure. The visual
puts the concept of pain and pleasure into simple graphic images using pictures and
words to help the students understand what pain and pleasure is and how it relates to
our senses and our daily lives.
V. Apply Principles of Psychological Instructional Events
a. Apply principles for all instructional goals and to awaken prior knowledge
and support transfer
b. Apply Principles if complex content, novice audience, or runs outside
learner control, then apply attention and cognitive load principles
c. Apply Principles if building far-transfer skills, then apply mental model
principles
d. Apply Principles if building near-transfer skills, then apply transfer
principles
e. Apply Principles if learners low in personal motivation, then apply
motivational visual principles

Each visual in the unit uses graphics and other media to continually awaken prior
knowledge. Because the students have simplified prior knowledge of the content, it can
be used to build upon and pave the way for new knowledge. I feel that all of the
graphics and images used in my unit of instruction are age appropriate and will be
easily understood by the age group for which the unit is intended.
AECT Standards Met by Unit of Instruction
Standard 1: Design
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for
learning by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design,
instructional strategies, and learner characteristics.
.
Assignment that meets this standard: Unit of Instruction
The Unit of Instruction meets all parts of this standard. By completing the Unit of
Instruction, I am demonstrating my knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design
conditions by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design,
instructional strategies and learner characteristics. All of these elements are evident in
my completed Unit of Instruction. Within the Unit of Instruction, the following sub-
standards are met:
1.2 Message Design
Message design is embedded within learning theories (cognitive, psychomotor,
behavioral, perceptual, affective, constructivist) in the application of known principles of
attention, perception, and retention which are intended to communicate with the learner.
This sub-domain is specific to both the medium selected and the learning task.
Components that meet this standard:
1. Directing attention: Attention Visual
2. Awakening prior knowledge: Unit of Instruction and all lessons within the Unit
3. Minimizing memory load: Memory Load and Far-Transfer Visual: Sense of Taste
Lesson
4. Helping learners build mental models: Mental Model and Near-Transfer Visual: Sense
of Hearing Lesson
5. Accommodating learner differences: Many of my visuals have text, picture, and audio
to accommodate different learners.
6. Visualizing a procedure: Procedure Visual: Sense of Sight Lesson
7. Visualizing a concept: Concept Visual: Sense of Touch Lesson
8. Visualizing facts: Facts Visual: Review in Lesson 5
9. Visualizing processes: Process Visual: Sense of Sight Lesson
10. Visualizing principles: Principles Visual: Pain-Pleasure Lesson

1.3 Instructional Strategies
In practice, instructional strategies interact with learning situations. The results of these
interactions are often described by instructional models. The appropriate selection of
instructional strategies and instructional models depends upon the learning situation
(including learner characteristics), the nature of the content, and the types of objectives.
Components that meet this standard: The lesson plans for the Unit of Instruction
meet standard 1.3 by including instructional strategies that take into consideration
learner characteristics, learning environment, and the objectives of the school, district,
and state. The objectives are fully attainable by competing the unit and its lessons.
1.4 Learner Characteristics
Learner characteristics impact specific components of instruction during the selection
and implementation of instructional strategies. For example, motivation research
influences the selection and implementation of instructional strategies based upon
identified learner characteristics. Learner characteristics interact with instructional
strategies, learning situations, and the nature of the content.
Components that meet this standard: The Unit of Instruction includes a Visual
Context Analysis that addresses learner characteristics. The visual context includes
such factors as school location, student population, cultures and languages within the
school, socioeconomic status of student body, and special accommodations that need
to be made for students. The lesson plans include special accommodations for
students that have physical or sensory impairments.
Standard 2: Development
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional
materials and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated
technologies.
The Unit of Instruction was completely developed using instructional materials created
by the designer, myself. The materials created include print, audiovisual, computer-
based, and integrated technologies throughout the unit. All of the computer-based
visuals and interactive visuals were completely created by the designer. The following
sub-standards were met by materials within the Unit of Instruction:
2.1 Print Technologies
Print technologies include verbal text materials and visual materials; namely, text,
graphic and photographic representation and reproduction. Print and visual materials
provide a foundation for the development and utilization of the majority of other
instructional materials.

Components that meet this standard: Each lesson of the Unit of Instruction includes
print materials, either created by the designer or chosen by the designer with links to the
resource that created the materials for optional use in the unit. The assessments
throughout the unit were created by the designer and fulfill the unit objectives. Each
lesson of the unit includes the reading of a read-aloud book relating to the lesson topic.
Students will also be reading and sharing decodable books that are age and grade level
appropriate.
2.2 Audiovisual Technologies
Audiovisual technologies are generally linear in nature, represent real and abstract
ideas, and allow for learner interactivity dependent on teacher application.
Component that meets this standard: During the Sense of Sight lesson of the Unit of
Instruction, a DVD video will be shown to teach the children about the sense of sight.
The sense of sight is the most complex sense that is taught in the lesson. The DVD
video gives many examples of how we use the sense of sight to see our world.
2.3 Computer-Based Technologies
Computer-based technologies represent electronically stored information in the form of
digital data. Examples include computer-based instruction (CBI), computer-assisted
instruction (CAI), computer managed instruction (CMI), telecommunications, electronic
communications, and global resource/reference access.
2.4 Integrated Technologies
Integrated technologies are typically hypermedia environments which allow for: (a)
various levels of learner control, (b) high levels of interactivity, and (c) the creation of
integrated audio, video, and graphic environments.
Components that meet this standard: Interactive visuals include audio, graphic, or
both forms of interaction to enhance the learning environment. The following interactive
visuals that allow for learner control and interactivity are included within the lessons of
the Unit of Instruction:
1. Procedure Visual in the Sense of Sight Lesson (audio and graphic)
2. Process Visual in the Sense of Sight Lesson (graphic)
3. Concept Visual in the Sense of Touch Lesson (audio and graphic)
4. Facts Visual in the Review Lesson (graphic)
5. Principles Visual in the Review Lesson (audio and graphic)
6. Mental Model Visual in the Sense of Hearing Lesson (graphic)
7. Memory Load Visual in the Sense of Taste Lesson (graphic)
Standard 3: Utilization
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and
resources for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion,
implementation, and policy-making.

The Unit of Instruction meets the standard of utilization by demonstrating the designer’s
knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources for learning by
applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and
policy-making. The following sub-standard was met by components of the Unit of
Instruction:
3.1 Media Utilization
Utilization is the decision-making process of implementation based on instructional
design specifications.
Components that meet this standard:
1. Directing attention: Attention Visual
2. Awakening prior knowledge: Unit of Instruction and all lessons within the Unit
3. Minimizing memory load: Memory Load and Far-Transfer Visual: Sense of Taste
Lesson
4. Helping learners build mental models: Mental Model and Near-Transfer Visual: Sense
of Hearing Lesson
5. Accommodating learner differences: Many of my visuals have text, picture, and audio
to accommodate different learners.
6. Visualizing a procedure: Procedure Visual: Sense of Sight Lesson
7. Visualizing a concept: Concept Visual: Sense of Touch Lesson
8. Visualizing facts: Facts Visual: Review in Lesson 5
9. Visualizing processes: Process Visual: Sense of Sight Lesson
10. Visualizing principles: Principles Visual: Pain-Pleasure Lesson
Mission of Boise State University Educational Technology Program
The Department of Educational Technology is a diverse network of education scholars,
professionals, and candidates who:
 Lead research and innovations in online teaching and learning
 Model, promote, manage, and evaluate digital-age teaching and learning
resources in K-higher education environments
 Inspire creativity and expertise in digital media literacy
 Design and develop imaginative learning environments
 Empower learners to be evolving digital citizens who advocate cultural
understanding and global responsibility
 Promote and pattern participatory culture, professional practice, and
lifelong learning
 Forge connections between research, policy, and practice in educational
technology
By creating a Unit of Instruction for Educational Technology 506: Instructional Message
Design, I am fulfilling several parts of the Department of Educational Technology
Mission Statement. The Mission Statement states that candidates will “model, promote,

manage, and evaluate digital-age teaching and learning resources in K-higher
education environments.” My Unit of Instruction is a model that was created to be used
in an actual classroom, utilizing resources available such as computer and interactive
learning activities. As the mission statement states, my Unit of Instruction shows my
“creativity and expertise” in digital media literacy. I have learned how to use tools for
creating and implementing interactive and graphical visual learning tools. The creation
of the unit involved research, policy and practice in educational technology. All of these
efforts resulted in a complete and ready-to-use Unit of Instruction that is designed for a
second grade curriculum.
College of Education Conceptual Framework
The Professional Educator
Boise State University strives to develop knowledgeable educators who integrate
complex roles and dispositions in the service of diverse communities of learners.
Believing that all children, adolescents, and adults can learn, educators dedicate
themselves to supporting that learning. Using effective approaches that promote high
levels of student achievement, educators create environments that prepare learners to
be citizens who contribute to a complex world. Educators serve learners as reflective
practitioners, scholars and artists, problem solvers, and partners.
As a student of Educational Technology, I have learned new skills and practices to
improve teaching and learning using computer technology, web-based tools, and
creative lesson planning. I have learned to create, use, and manage new technological
processes and resources. I believe that technology is a tool that enhances and expands
the educational environment. During this class, specifically, I have learned how to
create a Unit of Instruction from the ground-up. I am excited to deploy my new
knowledge into the world of computer-based and online learning.
Biography of the designer, Erin C. Markus
I am currently in my 3rd Semester in the Boise State University Educational Technology
program. I am working towards the Masters of Educational Technology with a Graduate
Certificate in Online Teaching. I hold a Bachelors Degree in Business Management
from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Minor in Aviation Safety and Aircraft
Crash Investigation. I went into the teaching career field in 2006 and am a certified
teacher for the State of Idaho. I taught for 2 years in Mountain Home, Idaho before
moving to Redmond, Washington due to my husband’s Air Force career. I am not
teaching currently and enjoy spending my free time with my 3 children, ages 8, 5 and 5
(twins).

REFERENCES
Text:
Clark, R. C., & Lyons, C. (2004). Graphics for Learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.
Unit and Lesson Plan Templates:
Unit of Instruction Plan template obtained from
http://edtech.tennessee.edu/~bobannon/unit_plans.html
Lesson Plan template:
O'Bannon, B. W., & Puckett, K. (2010). Preparing to Use Technology: A Practical Guide
for Technology Integration. Allyn & Bacon.
Graphics and Images:
Advanced Organizer Visual:
All images and graphics used were obtained from Microsoft Word Clip Art files.
Attention Visual:
All images and graphics used were obtained from Microsoft Word Clip Art files.
Procedure Visual:
All graphics used were obtained from Microsoft Word Clip Art files.
All audio clips were created by the designer using Audacity 1.3 Beta.
Mental Model Visual:
Martin, Phillip (Artist). The Human Ear [Clip Art], Retrieved February 20, 2010 from
http://humanbody.phillipmartin.info/human_ear.htm and adapted for the interactive
visual using Adobe Fireworks.
All other graphics were obtained from Microsoft Word Clip Art files.
Memory Load Visual:

Concepts Visual:
All graphics and images were obtained from Microsoft Word Clip Art files.
Facts Visual:
Process Visual:
Eye diagram retrieved on March 26, 2010 from www.wikipedia.com/images and
adapted for visual using Adobe Fireworks
Retina image retrieved on March 6, 2010 from www.yahoo.com/images
All other graphics and images obtained from Microsoft Word Clip Art files.
Principles Visual:
Book and DVD Images:
All book and DVD cover images used were retrieved on April 21, 2010 from
www.amazon.com
Printable Materials:
All printable activity materials were obtained from www.edhelper.com
All lesson and unit assessments were created by the designer using Microsoft Word
and Word Clip Art files and the following sources:
Diagram of the skin retrieved April 26, 2010 from www.wikipedia.com
Diagram of the ear retrieved April 26, 2010 from www.yahoo.com/images
Diagram of the eye created by the designer using Adobe Fireworks.
Online Tutorials:
Children’s University of Manchester tutorials retrieved April 23rd, 2010 from
http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/brainandsenses

Web-site Logo Images:
Children’s University of Manchester logo was retrieved April 26th, 2010 from
http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/brainandsenses/
Amazon.com logo was retrieved April 26th, 2010 from www.amazon.com
EdHelper.com logo was retrieved April 26th, 2010 from www.edhelper.com
Mission Statement:
The Boise State University Department of Educational Technology mission statement
was retrieved on May 3, 2010 from http://edtech.boisestate.edu/web/edtech.htm
Department of Education Conceptual Framework:
The Boise State University Department of Education Conceptual Framework was
retrieved on May 3, 2010 from
http://edtech.boisestate.edu/dbeck/541/activities/week16/conceptualframework.htm

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