KCELT Instructional Designer Introduction

My name is Maryam Ghayoorrad (Rod-Szabo) Instructional Designer at Kirkwood Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (KCELT). I was an instructor of Educational Technology and Design and I am a doctoral student at the University of Northern Iowa. I have taught and served as a graduate research assistant at the University of Northern Iowa for the past four years. When pursuing my Master’s degree I researched the student experience in online courses influenced by Quality Matters, and I am currently a Quality Matters program research colleague. I taught English as a Foreign Language in Iran for three years before coming to the United States.

I enjoy troubleshooting and learning about the new technology that can facilitate learning and teaching. When I taught at UNI, I flipped several sessions of my Educational Technology & Design course to allow more practice and discussion time in the classroom and let students personalize their learning, critical thinking and mastery of skills using Competency Based Education model. Meanwhile I self-studied my progress to apply the new studies and to improve my student experience of integration of technology to their teaching practice. I introduced TPACK (Technology Pedagogy And Content Knowledge) to my students and they practiced technology integration to the subject that they teach.

I have worked in positions where I have assisted faculty and staff with technology integration, and troubleshoot their technology challenges, while I have learned with and from them. As an Instructional Designer I hope to be able to assist faculty with technology integration, designing competency based approaches to teaching and learning with them in a way that they feel comfortable. That means to consider the curriculum, pedagogy and content that faculty have developed and provide alternative choices of technology that can assist them and their students succeed in meeting the curriculum goals. I also would like to know what works great and what makes faculty successful because we can learn from each other.

Please check KCELT link for my contact information.