ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the ecological psychology principles being used to design two of the courses. It describes how those principles are applied and adapted into instructional design strategies that immerse the online student in the rich context of a very complex healthcare environment and enable them to interact with that environment and each other to accomplish targeted learning outcomes. The Ecological Approach to Instructional Design anchors learning in the complexity of real-life situations, which makes it both appealing and challenging for online doctoral education. The Workforce and Healthcare Delivery Environments course requires student immersion in both the science and the lived experience of workplace shortages and turbulent working conditions. In the Technology course, the focus is on applying information technology to improve our ability to deliver health care to underserved areas. The exemplar used is Diabetes care at the US-Mexico Border.
