Advantages of Using Systematic Instructional Design
There are a number advantages to using a systemtic process.
Following is a list of some of the advantages of systematic instructional
design:
1)
Encourages advocacy of the
learner. To very large degree, the learner is the focus of instruction.
Designer spend a great deal of effort during the beginning stages of a design
project trying to find out about the learner. Information about the learners should
take precedence over other factors that might drive design decisions, including
the content itself.
2)
Supports effective,
efficient, and appealing instruction. All of them are considered indicators for
success. The process of design itself focuses on effective instruction.
Effecieny is particularly facilitated by the process of instructional analysis
in which inappropriate content is eliminated. The consideration of the larner
and the concentration on designing appropriate strategies promotes the appeal of
instruction. The process of formative evaluation provides the opportunity to
revise instruction to make it more effective, efficient, and appealing.
3)
Supports coordination among
designers, developers, and those who will implement the instruction. The systematic
process and resulting written documentation allow for communication and
coordination among individuals involved in designing, producing, and delivering
instruction. It allows for common language and general procedure.
4)
Facilitates
diffusion/dissemination/adoption. Because the products of systematic
instructional design are in fact physical “products,’’ they may be duplicated,
distributed, and used in the field. In addition, because design and development
have employed information about the learners and setting, products will
have a high likelihood of being practical,
workable, and acceptable solutions to the instructional problems that they are
designed to solve.
5)
Supports development for
alternate embodiments or delivery systems. Much of the work that goes into an
instructional design project is independent of the specific form that the
finished product takes (such as print, web computer, or video)
6)
Facilitates congruence
among objectives, activities, and assessment. The systematic approach to
instructional design helps ensure that what is taught is what is needed for
learners to achieve stated goals for learning and that evaluation will be accurate and appropriate.
7)
Provides a systematic
framework for dealing with learning problems. Frequently, creative individuals
not trained in systematic instructional design will develop ingenious
approaches to instruction that are rather like “solutions looking for a
problem”. Although these approaches may add to the repertoire of possible
approaches, they seldom appeal to high-level management in government or
business, to school system administrators, or to the funding agencies. The
innovations that are generally appealing are those that have clarified the
problem into a learning goal, have developed an instructional approach that
gives reason to believe that the problem can be solved and the learning goals
will be met, and has a well-constructed plan
for gathering evidence to determine whether the approach has solved the initial
problem what undesirable effects it might have.
Limitations of Systematic Instructional Design
In particular, instructional design has limited
applicability to educational experiences in which (a) learning goals cannot be
identified in advance, or (b) no particular goals are ever identified. In such
cases, because there is no “lead time” to the education, and since reflection
and planning are central to
instructional design, there is limited opportunity to apply many of its
principles and procedures. An example of such a situation might be an advanced
graduate class or other educational environment
in which the learners have exceptional prior knowledge of the content;
these students would have well-developed cognitive strategies and be required
to identify the goals of the course, devise the educational strategies, and
assess their learning themselves. If a teacher is available in this situation,
a skilled instructor might be able to process information rapidly enough so
that as learners identify goals and devise strategies, the instructor could
make suggestions for better or alternative strategies. In such a case, the
teacher’s knowledge of instructional design may be very helpful in his
consultant role; however, he may not have time to employ much of the
instructional design process and principles. If a teacher is not available,
then the responsibility for structuring the learning experience rests totally
on the learners, and their success depends on their own cognitive strategis, prior
knowledge, and motivation. The educational process in such an environment rests
on an almost completely generative strategy. In addition to goal-free learning
environments, many other problems and situations are not amenable to
instructional design. Finally, instructional design is not intended to take the
place of expertise in particular teaching methods for individual subject areas
(although instructional design can be a helpful undergirding for such methods).
People Who Do Instructional Design
As you may (or may not) recall from the Preface, the
treatment of instructional design in this text is intended for everyone who may
benefit from it. Consequently, you will see more or less equal attention given
to examples from corporate contexts as from K-12 or higher-education setting.
With the variety of application settings in mind, who are the people in those
settings who do instructional design?
TRAINING DESIGNERS. Trainers may be part of a human
resources department or thay may have their own separate department. They may
work in a centralized locatipon, consulting with any of the divisions of the
organization that may request their assistance, or they may be permanently
attached to particular division requires. Not all trainers are instructional
designers. Some trainers are experts in their skill or subject area, who are
either permanently or temporarily assigned to conduct training in that area.
Other trainers are technical writers, videographers, or others production
specialists and have high-skill levels in communication within their medium.
Many trainers come from an adult development. Human resource development (HRD) programs also prepare trainers for employment
in this area.
TEACHERS AS DESIGNERS.
Some individuals employed as teachers are directly involved in the design of
new instruction. These teachers may be involved in ongoing and long-term
projects. Certainly, instructional design procedures and principles can be
employed effectively in their curriculum design and development activities.
These instructional design practices may be as formal, precise, and well
documented as any other instructional design project because of the need for
group communication and the development of a record that codifies the decisions
that they have made and why they made them.
Do teachers not involved in curriculum design projects use
instructional design principles and procedures? Indeed, they do. Although they
may receive goal statements based on statewide initiatives, they do consider
these goals and may add goals or identify sub goals (objectives) that will lead
to these goals with aid from curriculum guides, textbooks, or their own task
analysis reflection. Teachers select or develop activities and information
sources that will assist learners in reaching these goals. The development of
engaging activities seems to be a particular strength of practicing teachers.
Teachers also select or develop ways to asses learners’ progress toward
reaching goals. These assessment approach may include written test, performance
test, observation, oral questioning, and a variety of other techniques for
assessing learning. Teachers use information from their testing to revise their
instruction, especially for remediation. These design activities are completed
both planfully in advance of implementation and spontaneously as circumstances
suggest their use. Both teachers who have taken courses in instructional design
and teachers who have not engage in these types of instructional design
activities, (Martin, 1990)
OTHER DESIGNERS. Instructional designers are also engaged in
developing instruction that is embodied in textbooks multimedia, instructional
software, and videos. Instructional designers are sometimes called upon to make
contributions in the visual realm. Not only is the form and content of
illustrations a critical part of much instruction, but also visualizations and
visual metaphors which may underlie a simulation, microworld, virtual reality,
or exploratory learning environment may benefit from the contributions of an
instructional designers who possesses a high proficiency in visual literacy
skills in addition to core instructional design competencies.
