Exploring Design Models

As an employee of a large organization, I am required to review several mandatory online courses annually, such as ethics and conduct training, safety training, and cybersecurity training, via our internal Qualification and Learning Management System (QLMS). I understand that some of these learning concepts require employees’ knowledge be refreshed at a prescribed frequency to meet company’s compliance policy obligations and reach expected workplace behaviour. However, the readings in these first two weeks of LRNT 524 course have provoked my thoughts on a few aspects regarding instructional design models (IDMs): 1) how are training courses designed in my organization, 2) what IDM does my organization use and what role does it play in the design decision process, and 3) what other IDMs that could be useful in the design decision process for a workplace learning environment?

To find out how training courses are designed in my organization, I reached out to a colleague from the Training and Learning Development department. She explained that our Instructional Design (ID) team has been using the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) process for designing and developing training contents. There are no other distinct models that my organization uses due to resource constraint.  It is also because ADDIE process acts as the overarching framework, and the recommended steps of a model can be referred back to the ADDIE process (Dousay, 2018).

With an objective of reaching expected workplace behaviour, the ADDIE process provides an objectivist paradigm that meets my organization’s business needs based on the two prominent learning theories: a) behaviourism which “required a workforce who could follow instructions and replicate the same actions repeatedly”, and b) cognitive learning theory which “the human mind can be programmed to respond in specific and predictable ways” (Heaster-Ekholm, 2020). Since my organization consists of a few thousand employees in a highly evolving work environment, it requires flexibility in creating effective learning material. In this case, the ADDIE process would be an effective instructional design approach, because it is lean on rigid and specific guidelines, and it accommodates adaptations (Heaster-Ekholm, 2020).

While the ADDIE process might have been the most appropriate IDM for my organization in the past decade, I have found the Diamond Model and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) useful in the design decision process for a workplace learning environment. Given that my organization is operationally complex, the Diamond Model helps assess operational procedures and optimize process modeling to meet the needs of the instructional context, stakeholders, learners, and modes of delivery (Dousay, 2018). With the evolving technologies, increase recognition of inclusivity, and how employees learn today, the UDL approach is an appropriate IDM for the workplace because it uses components of design thinking, supports the design of inclusive learning experience, and seeks to include the maximum number of learners to achieve the same learning outcomes (Takacs et al., 2022).     

   There are ample IDMs in the instructional design space, and it is difficult to select one. I appreciate the comment noted by Dousay (2018), “popularity serves as a form of validation for these design models, but a wise instructional designer knows when to use, adapt, or create a new model of instructional design to fit their purposes” (p. 5).

References

Dousay, T. A. (2018). Instructional design models. In R. West (Ed.), Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology (1st ed.). EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/instructional_design_models

Heaster-Ekholm, K. L. (2020). Popular instructional design models: Their theoretical roots and cultural considerations. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 16 (3), 50-65. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1275582.pdf

Takacs, D. S., Zhang, J., Lee, H., Truong, L., & Smulders, D. (2022). A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning. Justice Institute of British Columbia. https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/jibcudl/