Before I got through reading the first two pages of Bates’ (2014) blog post on ADDIE in the digital age, I immediately got the feeling that a framework such as this is way to prescriptive for someone designing a course and learning environment.  I think it is great to keep a framework such as ADDIE in mind to keep you on track, but in my experience as a carpenter, teacher, and manager, the moment you define a process for someone to follow you stifle creativity as the individual will become to focused on the framework rather than the journey and the end result.  I probably feel this way as I fall in the constructivist field of thinking when it comes to course design.  Bates (2014) notes that the ADDIE model indeed has been criticized by constructivists as it does not specifically refer to the importance of the interaction between the learners and instructors.  Many other instructional design models exist, but I think that if you choose to follow any of them and build a constructivist learning environment, you should keep a process such as Design Thinking (Scheer, Noweski, & Meinel, 2012) in your mind as you work through it.  Design Thinking is based in constructivist theory and focuses on training certain learning skills such as exploration and critical thinking.  It supports several competencies and follows a cyclical process of understanding, synthesizing, ideating, prototyping, testing, and iterating.

One thing that caught my attention early on in the Thomas (2010) doctoral dissertation was that there were many definitions and explanations provided of various design processes and instructional design models, and they all seem to aspire to a practice in which a superior product can be achieved.  This seems contradictory to me in a sense because while each model or process touts its ability reach a desired goal, in reality the only way to achieve your desired result would be to treat each design situation as unique.  The context for the course design and the makeup of the learning community is different for every design therefore a prescriptive instructional design model wouldn’t be the best approach.  I realize that instructional design models are just guides but I think more attention needs to be drawn to the uniqueness of each situation.

References

Bates, T. (2014, September 9). Is the ADDIE model appropriate for teaching in a digital age? [Blog post]

Scheer, A., Noweski, C., Meinel, C.  (2012).  Transforming constructivist learning into action:  Design thinking in education.  Design and Technology Education:  An International Journal.  17(3).  8-19.

Thomas, P. Y. (2010). Learning and instructional systems design. In Towards developing a web-based blended learning environment at the University of Botswana. (Doctoral dissertation).