A Novel Instructional Design Based on Cognitive Apprenticeship Model to Enhance Teaching Network Management

A continuing worry for Australia is the decline in STEM achievement and the number of people pursuing STEM at advanced levels. This may be due to outdated Instructional Design, disconnected curricula from current and real-world conditions, and its resulting lack of student engagement. This research identifies and utilises a Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CAM) approach to Instructional Design for the purpose of addressing this issue. The CAM paradigm has been demonstrated to enhance learner engagement, transfer learning, and flexibility in blended learning contexts. This approach is applied to the subject, Corporate Network Management, in order to show the application of CAM on our proposed Instructional Design for Network Management (NM) subjects. The course structure includes interactive industrial case studies in accordance with the novel Instructional Design, as well as other changes meant to improve engagement, while keeping blended delivery in mind. This is expected to better transition learners into a real-world NM environment and increase learner satisfaction.