Resource

Website Resource: Big Dog & Little Dog's Performance Juxtaposition

http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/development.html

Don Clark worked in the Information Services/Inventory Control Department at Starbucks Coffee Company's roasting plant in Kent for thirteen years. Prior to that, he was Sergeant First Class (E7) in the U.S. Army and retired after 22 years. Presently, he creates and delivers learning platforms (both classroom and e-learning), to include leading train-the-trainer, and train-the-instructional designers classes.  Maybe that’s why I like him—he’s a retired Sergeant First Class and he knows a good cup of “Joe.”  Big Dog & Little Dog was the winner of the MERLOT 2013 Classics Award for developing an outstanding, peer reviewed online resource.

Website Design and Ease of Navigation:  

Big Dog & Little Dog is somewhat confusing to navigate, but I think it’s largely because the site offers so much content.  Each learning concept is mapped, so that the user can actually assemble a plan of instruction from the material referenced.  Tabs at the top of the page link to “Leadership,” “Training,” “Learning,” “History,” “Knowledge,” “Performance,” “Java,” “News,” and Mr. Clark’s blog.  For example, the “Leadership” tab opens a page titled, “The Art and Science of Leadership” that contains links for content like, “The Four Pillars” of leadership, “Human Behavior: Parts I&II,” and more.  These tabs reveal content that may not be exhaustive, but certainly serves as a great point of entry for the subject.  The “Instructional Design” page offers material on learning design theories, models, templates and instructional design framework.  I found the “Learning Concept Map” doing research for my Education Research class.  After that, I was hooked.  Overall, despite the awkwardness of navigating the site, it serves as an excellent resource for education theory and information for designing unit and lesson plans.

Response and Recommendation for Use:

I found Big Dog & Little Dog’s Performance Juxtaposition while studying Merrill’s Component Display Theory in my Education Research class.  The site reflects Donald Clark’s knowledge and experience from decades in the Information Services community.  The site content centers on performance, details concepts, human behavior, and offers in-depth information about learning models.  I use the site as a starting point when I have a question about learning theories, styles, and history.  I recommend that educators use the site to learn about concepts, processes, and procedures for teaching in any content area.