Contributed by – Janan Boljevic
The ID2ID program provides insight into instructional design work through a network of diverse, engaged professionals from around the world. Maxine Frendel, Accelerate participant, offered us her takeaways from the ID2ID program and her Accelerate project.
A graduate of the University of Chicago for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Frendel used her education in sociology and humanities to work as the assistant director of the Social Science Writing Program at her alma mater. The culmination of her teaching experiences in and out of the classroom lent themselves to her path into instructional design.
An expert in authentic assessments, online discussions, active learning and equitable grading, Frendel joined the University of Illinois – Chicago as an instructional designer. There, she developed courses and partnerships with instructors to ensure instructional materials were engaging, accessible and equitable.
“I’ve always been mindful of people’s lived experiences and how that impacts them, especially students in the classroom,” said Frendel. “I’ve also always been passionate about accessibility, accommodation, taking… a holistic approach to learning versus very rigid policies.”
Having been established in her career for more than 10 years, Frendel was eager to be a part of a like-minded community like ID2ID to see the potential of creating student-central experiences in the classroom. With the program’s support, she felt she could showcase her expertise to a wider audience.
“I have completed a lot of research on online discussions and metacognition, and that was what led me to ID2ID,” Frendel said. “I was interested in completing a project on metacognition to see how instructors could implement metacognitive practices into their classrooms.”
In the Accelerate program, the first part of Frendel’s project included publishing resources for metacognition, like weekly reflection journals, which are now implemented in courses that are running live.
A presentation at the “Online Learning Consortium Accelerate Conference” in Orlando, Florida, made up the second part of Frendel’s work with the program. Her presentation, “Mindful Connections: Thoughtful Networking Through Meditation, Metacognition and Active Listening,” explored the relationship between these concepts while integrating ideas from the conference sessions.
“I’ve really been able to use those metacognition resources now in several of the course designs I’ve done at UIC…,” Frendel said. “On the online asynchronous space it’s especially valuable because it affords instructors insight to student thinking that they may not get online.”
Along the way, Frendel noticed the supportive and constructive community ID2ID fostered. She was able to connect with the ID community to learn about the role of instructional design at other universities and bounce ideas off of a supportive group.
“It was a very positive, good-vibes working environment. I got a lot of great feedback, too, so I was very grateful for the support of the ID2ID program along the way,” said Frendel.
As her time with Accelerate came to an end, Frendel had her own advice to share for those looking to start a project of their own.
“Don’t be frightened, just jump,” said Frendel. “When I applied, I don’t think I felt confident in my idea because I wasn’t sure where I was yet, so I feel like if I hadn’t taken that leap and just applied, none of this would’ve ever happened.”
Interested in the Accelerate Tier of the ID2ID program? First, please apply to be included in the next Engage cohort. Then, you will have an opportunity to submit a project proposal to join the next Accelerate cohort.