Instructional design model

Definitions

• “Design is more than a process; that process, and resulting product, represent a framework of thinking” (Driscoll & Carliner, 2005:9)

• Usually, an instructional design model tells how to organize appropriate pedagogical scenarios to achieve instructional goals. In more abstract terms an instructional design model is a kind of abstract design rule for a given instructional design approach.

• “Instructional Models are guidelines or sets of strategies on which the approaches to teaching by instructors are based. Effective instructional models are based on learning theories. Learning Theories describe the ways that theorists believe people learn new ideas and concepts. Often, they explain the relationship between information we already know and the new information we are trying to learn.” Learning technology Service, NC State University - 18:11, 18 May 2006 (MEST)]

This is just a short overview article, see also:

• learning theory for background information,
• instructional design for a definition of the field,
• pedagogical scenario for more concrete teaching models
• instructional design method for design methods, these are also called instructional design models !

Types of design models

This section needs yet to be written

There are probably 2 broad categories:

1. Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Models that are what DSchneider calls instructional design methods, i.e. “systematic guidelines instructional designers follow in order to create a workshop, a course, a curriculum, an instructional program, or a training session” (McGriff, 2001). A typical example would be ADDIE.
2. More general guidelines for designing and developing instruction at various levels of granularity. I.e. such models state what should happen during instruction, e.g. what kinds of activities learners and teachers are involved in. Typical examples are Gagne's behaviorist/cognitivist nine events of instruction or the socio-constructivist model for problem-based learning.

This quotation from Elean Qureshi's webpage (2004) shows again this ambiguity between the pursuit of instructional (or even educational) strategy and design methodology: “Models for instructional design provide procedural frameworks for the systematic production of instruction. They incorporate fundamental elements of the instructional design process including analysis of the intended audience or determining goals and objectives (Braxton et al., 1995). An instructional design model gives structure and meaning to an ID problem, enabling the would-be designers to negotiate their design task with a semblance of conscious understanding. Models help to visualize the problem, to break it down into discrete, manageable units. A model should be judged by how it mediates the designer's intention, how well it can share a work load, and how effectively it shifts focus away from itself toward the object of the design activity (Ryder, 2001). Instructional models prescribe how combinations of instructional strategy components should be integrated to produce a course of instruction (Braxton et al, 1995).”

You can find some models by looking at the instructional design models category

Bare-bones

Instructional design models and instructional design methods can be very complex. However, there are some common questions an educator or a course designer should ask:

1. What do the learners have to learn ? This does not just include definition of the subject matter but also the learning type (in particular the learning level) and a sort of description of what the learner should be able to do with his new knowledge.
2. Who are the learners ? This includes assessment of their entry skills
3. What is the setting ? How many learners ? How much resources can you spend ? Who is teaching ? Is the design "industrial" (i.e. a canned product) or can it be dynamically changed ?
4. Given these constraints, what are the appropriate strategies and instructional design models ?
5. How should we evaluate the learning ? Are their institutional rules ?

Brent Wilson (1997) asks: “Is 'content' defined as "What is," "What is presented to the student," or What is expected to be learned?"”. Most likely, we have to answer at least all these three questions !

Links

• The best meta resource on the Internet is Martin Ryder's Instructional Design Models
• Applying Learning Theories to Online Instructional Design
• Instructional Design & Learning Theory
• Depover Christian, Bruno De Lièvre, Jean-Jacques Quintin, Filippo Porco et Cédric Floquet. Les modèles d'enseignement et d'apprentissage
• Carl Berger's 1996 Education 626: Educational Software Design and Authoring course, University of Michigan.

References

• Braxton, S., Bronico, K., & Looms, T. (1995). Instructional design methodologies and techniques. (Dead web page cited by Qureshi)
• Driscoll, M., Carliner, S. (2005) Advanced Web-Based Training : Adapting Real World Strategies in Your Online Learning, Pfeiffer. ISBN 0787969796
• Gustafson, K., & Branch, R. M. (1997). Instructional design models. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology.
• Kemp, J.E., Morrison, G.R., & Ross, S.M. (1996). Designing Effective Instruction, 2nd Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• McGriff, Steven (2001), Instructional Systems Design Models, Pennsylvania State University, Web Page accessed on 18:11, 18 May 2006 (MEST).
• Qureshi, Elena (2004), Instructional Design, University of Windsor, Web Page accessed on 18:31, 18 May 2006 (MEST).
• Wilson, Brent, G. (1997) Reflections on Constructivism and Instructional Design, Preprint for (C. R. Dills and A. A. Romiszowski (Eds.), Instructional Development Paradigms Englewood Cliffs NJ: Educational Technology Publications. HTML