5:17pm Jan 28 at 5:17pm
Instructional design models are the framework for the creation of learning experiences and materials that includes assessing needs, designing a process, developing materials, and evaluating their effectiveness for the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. Instructional design is a systematic way of creating a detailed plan for the development and evaluation for enhancing learning. The process of instructional design involves the instructional knowledge base that covers six content domains to help facilitate the process: • Learners and Learning Processes; • Learning and Performance Contexts; • Content Structure and Sequence; • Instructional and Noninstructional Strategies; • Media and Delivery Systems; and • Designers and Design Processes (Richey2011).
Using the current organization that I am employed by WinCo Foods Inc. our company offers to all employees an online learning system called Skillport. Designed for easy access and classes that are designed to be taken monthly focusing on relevant situations to the grocery industry. The system allows employees to learn at their own pace and select the classes that interest them. In addition, WinCo furnishes online books for self-improvement related to their core values. The design of the program most closely aligns with the learners and learning processes. While the program has been somewhat successful with store management personnel, most employees have seen little value in pursuing this type of education. There appears to be a gap in the connection between hourly employees and the program because of a lack of tangent reward upon completion. Without an incentivized program that advances the goals of more employees by broadening the scope of learning, there will continue to be a disconnect between the Skillport program and most of the organization.
References
Benjamin, S. (1989),A closer look at needs analysis and needs assessment: Whatever happened to the systems approach?Nonprofit Management Leadership, 28: 12-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.4170280905
Richey, R., Klein, J., & Tracey, M. (2011). The instructional design knowledge base: Theory, research, and practice (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
2:37pm Jan 28 at 2:37pm
An instructional design is a set of “strategies for creating particular products and… the implementation and management of the overall design process.” (Richey, Klein, & Tracey, 2005, p.13). Hoover and Donovan (1995) describe a theory as “a set of related propositions that attempts to explain, and sometimes to predict, a set of events” (p.69). Therefore, an instructional design model is still technically a theory because instructional design models are iterative, dynamic, and evolving after being tested and modified. These ideas could be combined and extrapolated to describe instructional design models as a theoretical planning framework with the purpose of building a process to convey information to a learner, in such a way that it is retained and usable by the learner at the desired level. When developing or selecting models, there are multiple variables that need to be accounted for when determining which would be the most effective. Some examples of those variables are the way the learner learns, the environment the learning will take place in, the environment the learner will use the lessons, the depth of understanding desired, the capabilities of the facilitator, and the communication methods to be used.
The general process of instructional design is the sequential flow of the design model. It is often depicted as cyclic or linear to emphasize the value of sequencing the steps.
A real example of instructional design exists at a property management company in Northwest Florida where new property managers are onboarded into the company with varying degrees of knowledge, skills, and abilities, so customized training plans are developed for them. That customized training plan is a result of using the in-house and relatively unsophisticated instructional design model. It most closely aligns with the ADDIE model (Dick & Carey, 1996). The initial analysis phase, or commonly called the needs assessment, of the model, was focused on behavioral outcomes for the new property manager. It started with a developmental session to determine what a property manager should be able to do and what their level of expertise should be in each area they would lead or manage. The list was partitionable into knowledge, functional skills, and areas of applied judgment. Historical data was then used to predict the time needed to learn, understand, and, if necessary, master the items on the list. Throughout the process, assumptions were challenged to see if the theoretical model would yield the correct outcome when a property manager was in their autonomous role.
In practice, the unsophisticated model to develop the plan has been effective. However, it is important to note that during the iterative nature of preparing for new property managers, the analysis phase has continued to evolve. One area that needed significant improvement was the determination of how best to deliver the training. More factors played into this analysis phase than were originally considered. Specifically, learning style, time of the year, and availability of trainers were more important than the original design factored in. The model is used and iterated nearly weekly at the property management company.
Richey, R. Klein, J. and Tracey, M. (2011).
Instructional Design Knowledge Base. New York, New York: Routledge
Hoover, K. R., & Donovan, T. (1995).
The elements of social scientific thinking
(6th
ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson/Wadsworth.
Dick, W., & Carey, L. (1996). The Systematic Design of Instruction (4th Ed.). New York: Harper Collins College Publishers