The document discusses tools and strategies provided by the USAID COMET Program to help university instructors improve their teaching practices. It describes several instructional toolkits focused on areas like work readiness skills, facilitation skills, participatory learning, instructional design, project-oriented learning, and blended learning. It also discusses administrator toolkits for building communities of practice and industry partnerships. The document recommends using a design thinking approach to define problems, gather needs, and design class improvements. It provides overviews of backward design and strategies like establishing learning outcomes and evidence of learning. The goal is to help instructors transition from an instructor-centered approach to a more student-centered one.

1. USAID COMET Program Toolkits
Tools for Teaching and Learning
of New Generations
Phattanard Phattanasri
Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University
Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
31 Oct 2016

2. Work Readiness and Technical Skill Gap in
Lower Mekong Region
Credit: USAID COMET Program Introduction presentation by EDC

3. University Instructor’s obstacles
to transform classroom.
Most University Lecturers are not professionally trained teachers, but are
experts in academic fields. We do not know how to adapt teaching
approach to cope with behavioral changes of new generation of students
due to social changes and technology.
Wrong assumption about student’s skills especially digital skills i.e. Google
Search.
Many roles and responsibility: Research,Teaching, Academic Service, etc.
Student and Supervisors do not understand the consequences of student-
centered pedagogy. Resistance from students who are familiar with lecture
based classroom for many years.
Solo performer, not working as a team and expect to succeed on class
transformation with a few iterations.

4. Vision Skill Incentive Resources
Action
Plan
Change=
Skill Incentive Resources
Action
Plan
Confusion=
Vision Incentive Resources
Action
Plan
Anxiety=
Vision Skill Resources
Action
Plan
Resistance=
Vision Skill Incentive
Action
Plan
Frustration=
Vision Skill Incentive Resources Diffusion=
Essential Elements for Change Management
In Education Reform
Source: Creative School (Ken Robinson)
Tim Brighouse’s essential elements to create a climate of innovation and possibility in education
USAID
COMET
Toolkits

5. USAID COMET Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

6. Work Readiness Skills are the skills necessary to succeed on the job,
no matter what the technical position.
The critical skills most valued by local employers are:
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Diligence
• Problem solving
• Time management
• Communication
The toolkit provides an introduction to work readiness skills and
helps instructors to build work readiness skills in their students
through their activities.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

7. Facilitation Skills draw out ideas, promote participation,
ensure equity and develop deep knowledge in learners.
The toolkit introduce strategies and ideas for asking good
question, organizing collaborative teams and
summarizing learning.
Facilitations don’t lecture – they question, observe,
summarize and organize learning.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

8. In participatory classrooms, learners are not passive but are actively
engaged in their own learning. Participatory learning or methods
include approaches like active learning, peer instruction and
collaborative learning.
The toolkit helps instructors design learning activities that promote
deeper learning through collaboration where learners are engaged
in discussions, group work, and projects.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

9. Instructional Design is the process that instructors use to design a
lesson, course of study or unit of study.
The toolkit leads instructors through the backward design process
to identify the intended learning outcomes, instructional
approaches to achieve those outcomes and the methods to assess
the extent to which learners attained those outcomes.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

10. Project-Oriented Learning is an instructional method where
students investigate and respond to complex questions, problems
and challenges.
Real-life application of technical and work readiness skills are used
to solve a problem.
In project-oriented learning, learners gain knowledge and skills by
working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond
to engaging and complex questions, problems or challenges.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

11. Learner-Centered Assessment focuses on strategies and techniques
to help instructors use a variety of assessments – performance,
oral, written and projects – before during and after the lesson.
In learner-centered assessment, the instructor doesn’t just use one
type of assessment after each lesson. Instead, the instructor uses a
variety of assessments on an ongoing basis.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

12. Blended Learning is instruction that blends digital content and face-
to-face instruction. Integrating technology tools is used to support
learners to achieve learning objectives using the available
infrastructure.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

13. Finding, Evaluating and Using Online Resources helps instructors to
analyze online content for instructional purposes.
This toolkit works with instructors to critically evaluate digital
curricular resources in order to support instruction and learning in
the classroom.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

14. The goal of industry partnerships is to strengthen the foundational,
technical, and work readiness skills needed by new employees.
This toolkit leads instructors through the process of working with
local employers to ensure that training program content meets
current industry needs.
Instructional Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

15. Industry partnerships are central to the success of higher education
and technical vocational institutions.
Partnerships can ensure that classes are relevant to the industry in
which graduates may work. Partnerships provide connections to
facilitate recruitment of graduates.
The toolkit guides institutions in building industry partnerships
through an industry advisory committee. MekongSkills2Work
encourages each Mekong Learning Center to pursue three types of
partnerships: curriculum partners, work-based
learning/employment partners and service and product partners.
Administrator Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

16. A Community of Practice is the strategies and techniques used to
build and maintain a community-wide practice.
This toolkit is designed to help administrators and instructors work
together to develop a community of practice at their institution as a
way to help each other improve and to institutionalize new
practices.
Administrator Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

17. How to use USAID COMET
Toolkits
Credit: USAID COMET Program Source Book by EDC

18. Classroom improvement by
using Design Thinking Approach
Source: The Beginner’s Guide to Design Thinking in the Classroom by AJ Juliani

19. Define Problem Phase
Case Study: Fundamental of Electrical Engineering Lab Class
Topic: Phasor Analysis. Students: Non-EE students
Issues: Complex and abstract topic for most students
Defining Problems
1. Can we help students related Phasor Analysis
to their field of study?
2. Can we help study develop technical skills
on Phasor Analysis required by Industry?
3. Can we help study develop soft skills for
Engineers during the class?

20. Need finding Phase
 Get support from industry partners on how phasor analysis
is used in Mechanical Engineering Field.
 Analyze the past years Lab reports to identify student learning
gap and root causes.
 Analyze the potential soft skill developments for the class
using industrial requirement and understanding of skill
requirement for reference.

21. Idea and Design Phase
Process Design Approach
Class Syllabus
Class Notes/Lab sheet
Class Syllabus
Class Outcome statement
Lesson Plan
Class Materials
Technology support tools
Rubric
Instructor-centered approach Student-centered approach
 It is not about Action Learning vs Lecture-based
Class, it is about the outcome-based learning

22. What is Backward Design?
• An instructional design method which begins with the end in mind—
what will students know and be able to do as a result of this activity?
• From this end (goals), designers work backwards to develop a lesson
and materials that meet this goal.

23. Three Stages of Backward
Design
1. Learning Outcomes
2. Determine Acceptable
Evidence (Assessment)
3. Design Activity
Credit: USAID COMET Program Backward Design by EDC

24. 1. Identify the Desired Results
• What do we want students to
know and be able to do as a
result of this lesson?
• What is the big idea of this topic
that the should learn?
Credit: USAID COMET Program Backward Design by EDC

25. 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
• How will we know if students have
achieved desired results?
• What kind of formative and
summative assessment do we build
into the activity?
Credit: USAID COMET Program Backward Design by EDC

26. 3. Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction
What needs to be taught? Coached?
What can they learn on their own?
What activities will equip students with
needed knowledge and skills?
What materials and resources will I use?
How should students be grouped?
How can technology help?
Does my overall design match my
learning goals?
Credit: USAID COMET Program Backward Design by EDC

27. Learning Outcome
 Learning outcomes are brief, clear, specific statements that describie
what the learner is expected to achieve as a result of instruction.
 Learning outcome should be SMART
• (S) Specific
• (M) Measurable
• Attainable
• (R) Related to prior knowledge and skills
• (T) The correct level of difficulty
Credit: USAID COMET Sourcebook by EDC

28. What is Blended Learning?
 Teaching and Learning Method to create deep learning
 Combine Face to Face activities (discussion, etc) and
Technology-based instruction (Online or Offline).
 Lot of models and they are all about teaching, not
technology.
 Give student ability to control time, path, pace of
learning.
 Promote learner-centered learning
 Teacher must change the role from instructor to
facilitator.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_learning

29. Example of Blended Learning
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_bodekaer_this_virtual_lab_will_revolutionize_science_classLink
Relatively inexpensive VR Headset i.e. Google Cardboard can help transform
Education with more engagement from students.

30. Source: 5 Tools You Can Use In Your Classroom TOMORROW by
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O5xWhgOlSk&feature=youtu.be
1. Google Cultural Institute:
https://www.google.com/culturalinstit...
2. Ted ED
http://ed.ted.com
3. Socrative
http://www.socrative.com
4. Plickers
https://plickers.com
5. Kahoot
http://kahoot.it (students)
http://getkahoot.com (teachers)
5 Tools You Can Use In Your
Classroom TOMORROW
Online resource tool
Online Resource and Flip
Classroom tools
Student-assessment and
Participatory learning tools

31. 5 Tools You Can Use In Your
Classroom TOMORROW
Source: 5 Tools You Can Use In Your Classroom TOMORROW by
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O5xWhgOlSk&feature=youtu.be

32. Class Design idea

33. Prototyping Phase
Define learning outcome
Expectation
 using SMART
 Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy

34. Lesson Plan Design (Cont)
Define Acceptable Evidence
 Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy

35. Lesson Plan Design (Cont)
Design Diagnosis Assessment plan
Design Participatory learning apporach

36. Lesson Plan Design (Cont)

37. Lesson Plan Design (Cont)
Design Formative, and Summative Assessment plan

38. Rubric for Lab Report Grading

39. Test Phase
EGEE 218: Fundamental of Electrical Engineering: Phase Analysis Class: https://youtu.be/pX93pNmcfcg

40. • Implement in the real class, document the class for study
• Make assessment of students during the class by asking questions.
• Review Exit slip that summarized what students expected, learned and feedback
on the class.
• Review the lab report on the student work, learning outcomes and grade
the report based on rubric
• If possible, have your colleagues observe your class. Excellent way to learn
about your class.
Test Phase

41. Re-Define Problem Phase
• Analyze the outcome of the lesson
• Share with colleagues in a meeting or using online tools
(Facebook, Conference call)
• Get feedback from your colleagues and students
• Improve the lesson plan for the next iteration.

42. Summary
• University Instructors need the five elements to help transform their classrooms
• Classroom transformation to help student is the continuous improvement process
not fixed goal as the world and technology are changing rapidly.
• Easy to implement tools for Blended learning are available and free to use.
• Community of practice is critical for success. This is the key of Finland, Singapore
success in education.
• Each class may need different approach (Mixed and flexible approaches i.e.
Lecture, peer to peer learning, Inquiry-based learning, etc) to help learning
process of the students. Teaching is the art and need teacher-student
connections and trust.
• Improve teaching is not about technology or techniques, it is how we as teachers
can connect to the students and let them find the relevant of the lesson topics to
their day to day life and applications for their career.