Instructional design

Instructional design is about understanding and improving the teaching and learning process. It can be the process of translating general principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials and learning. It is an entire process of analysis of the learning needs and goals through to the evaluation of the instructional program. Instructional Design and Learning Theory  is a good introduction. Also, The Development of Online Courses .

A very popular framework for the systematic design, development and management of educational materials and programs is Instructional Systems Design (ISD). Donald Clark on his website Introduction to Instructional System Design  gives a brief description of the ISD process including the ADDIE model (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate).

Analyse

• Analyse system (department, job, etc) to gain a complete understanding of it.
• Compile a task inventory of all tasks associated with each job (in needed).
• Select tasks that need to be trained (needs analysis).
• Build performance measures for the tasks to be trained.
• Choose instructional setting for the tasks to be trained, eg classroom, on-the-job, self study, etc.
• Estimate what it is going to cost to train the tasks

Design

• Develop the learning objectives for each task, to include both terminal and enabling objectives.
• Identify and list the learning steps required to perform the task.
• Develop the performance tests to show mastery of the tasks to be trained, eg written, hands on, etc.
• List the entry behaviours that the learner must demonstrate prior to training.
• Sequence and structure the learning objectives, eg easy tasks first.

Develop

• List activities that will help the students learn the task.
• Select the delivery method such as tapes, handouts, etc.
• Review existing material so that you do not reinvent the wheel.
• Develop the instructional courseware.
• Synthesise the courseware into a viable training program.
• Validate the instruction to ensure it accomplishes all goals and objectives.

Implement

• Create a management plan for conducting the training.
• Conduct the training.

Evaluate

• Review and evaluate each phase (analyse, design, develop, implement) to ensure it is accomplishing what it is supposed to.
• Peform external evaluations, eg observe that the tasks that were trained can actually be performed by the learner on the job.
• Revise training system to make it better.

New Instructional Design

Some have criticised the ADDIE model as being too systematic, ie too linear, too constraining, too inflexible and even too time-consuming to implement. Kruse, in Introduction to Instructional Design and the ADDIE Model , suggests an alternative to the systematic approach he calls the systemic design model that emphasises a more holistic, iterative approach to the development of education. Rather than developing the instruction in phases, the entire development team works together from the start to rapidly build modules, which can be tested with the student audience, and then revised, based on their feedback.

This holistic approach to instructional design lends itself more to the learning styles of the next generation of students now entering our University. Called the Net Generation, they have grown up with information technology. Their aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles reflect the environment in which they were raised, one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up. This next generation of learners could be called the "Now Generation". They want everything now including their learning. They have been raised on high impact images and audio. They learn using hypertext and multi-task more than the generations before them. Not only are they demanding 'just in time' education, research is also showing that they have signs of 'rewired' brains. They are learning differently from the linear text-based way most faculty members have learnt. This is a huge challenge for instructional designers, course developers and staff developers. Role plays and simulations developed and continuously upgraded using scenario-based learning to 'push' students into higher order learning, could hold the keys to a new form of instructional design, because scenarios combine the best of the technology with the best of learning approaches Educating the Net Generation .

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