Photo by Lucas George Wendt on Unsplash
Tony Bates once wrote:
“Teachers, instructors and faculty are facing unprecedented change, with often larger classes, more diverse students, demands from government and employers who want more accountability and the development of graduates who are workforce ready, and above all, we are all having to cope with ever-changing technology. To handle the change of this nature, teachers and instructors need a base of theory and knowledge that will provide a solid foundation for their teaching, no matter what changes or pressures they face.” (2015c, para. 1)
To further build on Bates’ narrative on coping with the educational classroom’s ever-changing landscapes and the proliferation of emerging technology to keep up with daily. More than ever, teachers and learners need a carefully designed learning environment with sound pedagogy, well structured, with clear learning objectives for successful teaching and learning experience. Thus, it is essential to take the time to select a design model to encapsulate accessible content, meaningful activities, authentic assessments, and meet all learning outcomes. Göksu et al., (2017) pressed upon the importance of planning and arranging instructions to ensure quality in education as instructional design leads to better and more effective teaching.
Before selecting a design model, here are a few foundational aspects to consider, according to Dousay (2018):
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- What is the delivery format?
- Will the instructions be synchronous online, face-to-face, asynchronous online, or a combination of both?
Additionally, the first stage of the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) model is the most crucial stage to analyze, determine design decisions and what innovations are needed or required. As Bates (2015a) outlines, this analyzing stage to identify the variables, such as:
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- What are the learner characteristics?
- Learner’s prior knowledge and skills?
- Are resources available?
Moreover, in my experience as an instructional designer, we also need to consider the course’s shelf life to maximize the investment of time and cost. As such, the ADDIE model is the default model of choice for most course developers. However, the experienced course developers or teachers who are confident in their teaching practice, independent, and willing to take risks (Bates, 2015b) may decide to use a flexible design model, such as the Agile or ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) model.
Lastly, Dousay (2018) reminds us that deciding which model to use does not need to be an overwhelming or cumbersome process, as long as the “designer can
align components of an instructional problem with the priorities of a particular model; they will likely be met with success through the systematic process.” (p.7)
References:
Bates, A. W. (Tony). (2015a). 4.3 The ADDIE model. In Teaching in a Digital Age. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/6-5-the-addie-model/
Bates, A. W. (Tony). (2015b). 4.7 ‘Agile’ Design: Flexible designs for learning. In Teaching in a Digital Age. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/6-10-agile-design-flexible-designs-for-learning/
Bates, A. W. (Tony). (2015c). About the book – and how to use it. In Teaching in a Digital Age. Tony Bates Associates Ltd. https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/front-matter/introduction/
Dousay, T. A. (2018). Instructional Design Models. In Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/instructional_design_models
Göksu, I., Özcan, K. V., Cakir, R., & Göktas, Y. (2017). Content analysis of research trends in instructional design models: 1999-2014. Journal of Learning Design, 10(2), 85. https://doi.org/10.5204/jld.v10i2.288
Hey Vanessa,
Great insight! I see many of the same connections you identified in the readings. I specifically like the idea of moving to a more open-ended model like AGILE or ARCS once comfortable. As you state, Dousay’s quote is a great one to remember – it reminds us to take chances, learn, revise, and improve. So impressed with your summary of the articles; again, great work.
Thank you for your comment and kind words, Mike! It means a lot to me.
I fully agree with taking chances to revise and improve. Thus, I’m redeveloping my own courses, yet again, for the upcoming winter semester, to implement what we’ve learned so far. Because it’s a technology course, I feel that it is my professional and moral duty to do so, but I have to admit that it’s been a bit of a challenge carving out time for it. Guess what I’m doing this Christmas holiday? 🙂
Hi Vanessa,
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on exploring design models. It sounds like you have lots of experience in instructional design so I look forward to reading more from you.
You mentioned how as an instructional designers, we ” need to consider the course’s shelf life to maximize the investment of time and cost.” Could you give an example of what you mean by that? Thanks for your help!
Thank you for your comment, Kate!
I have some experience though, after this week’s readings, I am very humbled by the amount of literature on design theories that I was not even aware of. Humbling but exciting!
To answer your question in regards to course shelf life. It’s a speculative process to predict how long the course will be relevant once designed. Science-based courses such as chemistry or mathematics generally don’t require much content revision. Whereas, tourism or technology might need constant revisions to stay up to date. These courses are more difficult to invest in and shorter shelf life as they depend on many variables such as additional cost and time for revisions. Thus, too often, it falls on the teacher to teach an outdated course or take it upon themselves to revise on their own time.
Of course, that makes sense! Thanks for clarifying.