Chapter 2 - What is Instructional Design

There are three main ideas in chapter 2:

1. Elements of the instructional design process
2. Characteristics of the instructional design process
3. The concluding definition for instructional design

The chapter flows well as it addresses the three main ideas in order. The elements of instructional design (ID) reviews the ADDIE model that we have been working with since the beginning of the COMET program, however, I found it to be concise and clarifying at this point in our study. Gustafson and Branch describe analysis as:

• Conducting a needs assessment
• Identifying a performance problem
• Stating a goal

It was nice to see that the references used by Gustafson et. al included authors we have been exposed to in the COMET program such as Rossett and Mager.

Using Gagne, Mager, and others, design includes:

• Writing measurable objectives
• Classifying learners by type
• Specifying learning activities
• Specifying media

Development, where my love primarily falls, involves preparing student and instructor materials. Implementation, my other love, includes delivering the instruction in the setting for which it's designed. And evaluation, which can be formative data collection that leads to revisions along the way, or summative data collection that occurs at the end to assess the effectiveness of the overall instruction.

Two models exist:
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Interestingly, sufficient evidence that these models are successful does not actually exist, though these are the models most widely used for ID.

The characteristics for ID include a design that is:

• Learner centered: the learner performance is the main concern and therefore, instruction is planned for the maximum effectiveness which may not always mean live instruction
  
• Goal oriented: the ID process should cater to the accomplishment of the client's goals which often need to be identified by a project manager
  
• Focused on meaningful performance: learners should be able to perform a meaningful task or solve a problem in the intended environment after the instruction
  
• Includes measurable outcomes: assessment often includes a checklist of learner performances
  
• ID is empirical, iterative, self-correcting: because of ongoing formative evaluation, the ID process needs constant revision and therefore, an exact model of the order of ADDIE can't always be adhered to, though the Dick and Carey process (see above) provides a good model.
  
• A team effort which usually includes: a subject matter expert, an instructional designer, producers, clerical support, and a project manager

In conclusion, ID often uses the ADDIE model in a systematic process conducted by a team of professionals that is goal oriented and focused on the learners. The elements and characteristics listed above are not likely to change too much throughout time, though practices in ID may be modified for our complex and ever-chaning world.