PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Assess if driving instructors are ready for online teaching
By Carmel Tse/November , 2019
University of Maryland LDT 100 Project
Background
Ontario is about to introduce eLearning for its Beginner Driver Education program for novice drivers. For several decades, new drivers wanting to be safe drivers and enjoy lower insurance premium must attend a minimum of 20 hours of classroom training and 10 hours of the in-the-car driving experience. This will change the landscape of the driver education industry.
At issue here is a lack of classroom driving instructors with qualified online teaching experiences. The Ministry of Transportation stipulates that online instructors must have training and qualification obtained through authentic assessments, but stops short of listing qualified courses and institutions.
This project-based learning is part of a proposal intended to be delivered by a community college partner that may offer a course on online teaching specifically for driving instructors.
Prior knowledge
Prerequisites for joining the course is an Ontario Classroom Driving Instructor licence and intermediate computer user skills (i.e. Prior knowledge on using presentation software such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and ability to create and revise PDF, PNG and JPEG documents.)
Authentic assessment
Each candidate has to submit a Signature Project to complete the course. The Signature Project is weighed 50 percent of the final grade with another 50 percent based on knowledge assessments.
The Signature Project includes:
1. Completion of a six-point PBL checklist [10%]
2. Recording of a 2- to 4-minute opening session podcast or video to greet their own learners [20%]
3. Select and complete two out of the three topics [10% each]
Rubric
| Fail | Pass | Exceptional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBL checklist [10%] | Not submitted [0] | Completed [7] Some spelling errors |
Completed [10] No spelling error |
| Podcast or video [20%] | Not submitted, poor [0] sound/picture quality | 2-4 minutes [7] Content relevant Good quality |
2-4 minutes [10] Content relevant Good quality With subtitles |
| Elective topics 1 and 2 [10% each] | Not submitted [0] | Framework [7] completed | Framework [10] Completed Meaningful content |
Learning outcomes
Candidates upon completion of the course should be able to perform the following:
This course is not intended to train the candidates to be instructional designers.
Sample PBL checklist
Source: Essential Project Design Elements Checklist, Buck Institute for Education