Norma Grassini-Komara, an instructional designer at Moraine Valley Community College, uses Information Mapping®—a three-step process that includes analyzing, organizing, and presenting content to help learners better understand complex information and to improve student satisfaction with the online learning experience.

Analyzing content
The process of mapping information begins with identifying content in terms of the following six categories:

• Fact—a statement assumed to be true
• Concept—what it is; why something is what it is
• Process—what happens; how something works
• Procedure—how to do something; how to make decisions
• Structure—what it looks like
• Principle—what should or should not be done; what is true in light of evidence

By identifying which category each piece of content fits into, you can begin to organize that information into blocks of information and units of information (a collection of related blocks of information).

Organizing content
The following are research-based principles for organizing course content:

• Chunking—Group information into small, manageable pieces.
• Labeling—Use descriptive names rather than numerical names for the various units.
• Consistency—Maintain the same appearance and organization throughout the course.
• Hierarchy—Group related items—facts, concepts, principles, etc.—in hierarchical order to form units of instruction and modules (several related units grouped together).
• Appropriate use of graphics—Don’t use a graphic unless it will help students understand the content, not merely because it looks good.
• Accessibility—“Make things accessible from different places,” Grassini-Komara says. “Let the user control navigation.”

“In an online course, unless the material is organized in a way that is very convenient for the students to access, they spend a lot of time looking for it,” says Colette Schrank, instructor of phlebotomy and medical terminology at Moraine Valley Community College. Schrank, as the content expert, and Grassini-Komara, the instructional designer, worked together to develop an online version of Schrank’s medical terminology course.

Presenting content
There are several research-based strategies for presenting content. These strategies enhance comprehension and retention of complex material. For example, if an instructor were teaching a concept, he/she would provide an example and a nonexample in addition to the definition of the concept.

To keep consistency throughout the course, Schrank provides visual cues so that students know what to expect in the course. Each item is color coded, and that color coding remains the same throughout each of the modules of Schrank’s course (e.g., the label for first assignment in each module might be blue, and the label for each test might be red).

Approximately 10 other instructors teach the medical terminology course. The instructors use a standard syllabus to define course policies, procedures, and end competencies. Additionally, the instructors use standard midterm and final exams to assess student academic achievement. However, the instructors can choose from a variety of resources, including PowerPoint, case studies, quizzes, and video to deliver the content of the course.

Schrank and her colleagues meet regularly to improve the course. “We try to put our finger on best practices. We have medical terminology faculty meetings in the fall and spring where we talk about the student success rate on the midterm and final exams and start to look at factors that could influence student performance. It’s usually during that time that faculty will share what works for them, and most of the time it provides us with opportunities to try something new,” Schrank says. “Student success is paramount, and the entire process is faculty driven and well supported by our administration.”

Contact Norma Grassini-Komara at komara@morainevalley.edu and Colette Schrank at schrank@morainevalley.edu. For more information about information mapping, visit www.informationmapping.com.

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