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Instructional Design

(Key Questions)

Robert N. Bilyk M.ED.

Curriculum and Instructional Systems

LodeStar Learning Corporation

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]]> Option Page There are a variety of instructional design approaches. They vary widely from systematic approaches to iterative, rapid design. Although they differ in approach, they tend to answer the same questions:

What does the learner need to learn?

What strategies does the teacher/developer deploy in order to make the instruction effective, efficient, and engaging?

How does the teacher/developer evaluate the degree to which the learner has accomplished the objectives?

These questions are critical design elements of instruction that must all be working together.

]]> Option Page Instructors typically have had the experience of designing lessons to fit into a course of study. Each unit of study, each lesson, each course and each program is presumably mapped to address learner needs.

But, too often, when it comes to online courses and instructional strategies, suddenly the broad range of strategies that are available to instructors to address those student needs gets left behind.

The experience for the learner gets reduced to what the instructor knows. If the instructor only knows how to type text, and paste in graphics and isn't very creative about it, the student online experience can be dismal indeed.

]]> Option Page Robert Gagne's work was tremendously influential to instructional designers and teachers.

Gagne's nine events of instruction can be turned into a series of questions on the effectiveness of an online learning lesson to create the conditions that will contribute to learning.

For each event of instruction, an online teacher must ask himself: Is this event present in my online lessons and what instructional strategies can I deploy to create the event and contribute to learning.

]]> Option Page How have you gained the learner's attention?

Does the learner know the purpose of the instruction? Is the instruction relevant?

Have you stimulated recall of prior learning?

Have you presented information on the concepts, rules, procedures, etc. that relate to the subject matter?

Did the students have an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding?

Did you provide feedback and guidance?

Did you assess the students' acquisition of new knowledge?

Did you help the students apply their new knowledge outside of the eLearning context?

]]> Option Page An eLearning instructor must certainly exercise strategy in addressing the nine events of instruction.

For example:

* Use a motivating video to show the revelance of the learning objectives to real life.

* Provide a game with feedback that helps students recall prior learning.

* Use graphical organizers to present content.

* Use a discussion board to allow students to demonstrate their understanding of content through expression.

But herein lies the problem. How do you embed or link to video in an eLearning lesson? How do you create a game? How do you bring in an interactive graphical organizer? How do you relate a discussion to a specific topic?

These are just some of the dozens of strategies an eLearning instructor can learn...with the right tools.

]]> Option Page Online learning presents instructors with a big opportunity: to use a new breed of tools to make learning experiences richer. One such opportunity is that online learning can provide simulations of experiences that imitate real life. In order for online learning to be effective, it must be relevant. If learners are placed in situations where they must make decisions, exercise judgement, or bring to bear on a problem all of their knowledge, understanding of rules and procedures and when to apply them, then the probability that learning will occur is high.

Mark Lacy, an experienced instructional designer, in his address to students at Brigham Young University, put it succinctly: People learn through experience. To paraphrase him, good instructional design might be nothing more or nothing less than the creation of experiences to help people learn.

If you have an hour, we invite you to view Mark Lacy's comments in their entirety at:

**Mark Lacy at BYU:http://education.byu.edu/media/drake_lacy_bb.html**

If you don't have the time, don't worry. our sequence on eLearning strategies is intended to model how instructors can use templates to introduce a variety of instructional technologies to their online lessons.

]]> Option Page One final note about instructional strategies.

Much has been written about conducting an analysis of the things that students must learn and then applying appropriate strategies to help students learn them.

My favorite book is one co-authored by Patricia Smith and Tillman Ragan titled Instructional Design

Here is the full citation:

Smith L. Patricia & Ragan J. Tillman (1993). Instructional Design. New York, Macmillan Publishing Co.

In their book, Smith and Tillman, break down their later chapters into the following:

Strategies for Declarative Knowledge Lessons

Strategies for Concept Lessons

Strategies for Rule Lessons

Strategies for Problem-Solving Lessons

Strategies for Cognitve Strategy Lessons

In short, on one level there is a lot to learn about instructional strategies and in instructional design, in general. On another level, to a trained instructor, it's just plain common sense.

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