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Design

What is instructional design? 

Instructional design is a “systematic process,” through which instructional materials are planned/designed, created, and delivered to the learner (Instructional Design Central). Instructional design looks at the learning needs that need to be addressed and based on this learning materials are developed. Instructional design uses learning theories and takes into account the learning needs and goals that need to be met and makes an analysis of how to deliver learning materials (www.umich.edu).

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According to Piskurich (2015), instructional design can be viewed as a science or as an art (p.1). Instructional design is a science because it follows theories of learning and as an art because it uses the creativity and talent of the designer (p.2).

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In simplest terms instructional design serves the purpose creating effective training in an efficient manner. As an instructional designer, “you have to ask the right questions, make the right decisions, and produce a product” that is useful (Piskurich, 2015, p.1). According to Branch and Merrill (referenced in Reiser & Dempsey, 2011, p.11) instructional design is student centered, goal oriented, meaningful, have measureable outcomes and requires a team effort.

Models 

Gagne 9  Events of Instruction

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1. Gain Attention: Present stimulus to the learner to grab attention. 

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2. Inform Students with Objectives: Learners must know what they are about to learn. 

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3. Stimulate recall of prior learning: Learners can retrieve prior knowledge. 

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4. Present the stimulus: Learners get presented the content material.

 

5.  Provide learning guidance: Learners get examples, different strategies, and support as the learning progresses.

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6. Elicit Performance: Learners get to complete practice activities where they get to apply what was learned. 

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7.Provide Feedback : Learners get immediate feedback on their performance. 

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8.Assess Performance: Learners get assessed on the content presented to match the stated learning objective.

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9.Enhance Retention and Transfer: Learners receive resources that will aid in enhancing retention and transfer of the content.

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ARCS​

ARCS is a model of motivational design created by John Keller, which is an acronym for “Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction.” According to ARCS, attention can be gained through surprise or through inquiry (challenging questions or problems). Relevance to the material is achieved through experience, worth of the material (importance and future use), and by providing learners to use different methods. The relevance factor plays into the “buy-in” and connection to the material being presented. Confidence, is the way designers help the learner understand their likelihood of success. Learners need to go through confidence building steps and receive feedback. The satisfaction component explains how learning must be rewarding or satisfying, which means that the learner should feel that the skill is useful and beneficial (learning-theories.com).

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Attention: 

Learner's attention must be obtained before learning can begin. Attention is gained through humor, specific examples, inquiry question, but ultimately it is obtained through active participation. 

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Relevance: 

Learners must see value in the material being presented to them in order to ensure better learning outcomes. Relevance can be obtained by establishing the worth and usefulness of the learning experience they will engage with. 

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Confidence: 

Learner's confidence can be established by helping them understand their likelihood of success. Learners must be presented with objectives that they believe they will be able to achieve to keep their motivation high. Providing feedback to the learners is also a way to increase their confidence. Finally, learners can have a higher confidence when they have some sense of control over their learning. 

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Satisfaction: 

Learners experience satisfaction in their learning when there is feedback being provided and reinforcement is provided for their work. Reinforcement must be meaningful, which means that learners should be rewarded in accordance to the task they are completing. 

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ADDIE MODEL

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According to Instructional Design Central, ADDIE is the acronym for the “Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, & Evaluation,” instructional design model (2018). The first step is the analysis phase is where the instructional problem will be identified. The second step is designing learning objective, learning methods and activities. Following the design phase, development of these planned materials occurs. During the implementation phase the instructional designer delivers the learning material to trainers and instructors. Following these phases, the last phase is the evaluation phase where there are both formative and summative evaluations. The aim of the evaluation is to inform the designer whether the training met its goals (Instructional Design Central, 2018).ADDIE was considered a linear process at the beginning stages of this model (Piskurich, 2015, p.4). An instructional designer will look at the evaluation data, which leads to more analysis, which in turn led to re-design. This meant that ADDIE following a liner process was not the ideal representation and a change into a cyclical model was made (Piskurich, 2015, p.4).

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Analyze: 

During the first stage of the ADDIE model, the instructional designer must analyze the learners and their environment before identifying goals and objectives. A learning gap or problem must be identified and through a careful analysis of the learners, the designer will plan goals and objectives that are meant to close the gap. The analysis stage is where the designer plans the learning objectives and determines what the learner will know or be able to do by the end of the course.

 

 

Design:

 

The design stage is where the designer creates a solution that will align the learning objectives, strategies to be used, and the instructional goal of the learning material to be created. Not only are objectives aligned to the instructional goal, but the types of assessments to be used will also be determined. With all learning there must also be strategies used to support the learner, which means that during the design phase the instructional designer must determine what strategies are to be used. The design phase also calls for the designer to establish what kind of media will be used. A designer must also design different activities that are meant to be of formative nature to assess whether the learning is going in the right direction. The design phase is one where the designer must plan accordingly all the steps, activities, and assessments needed throughout the learning experience.

 

Development:

 

The development stage of the ADDIE model is where the designers start putting all the gathered data and pre-planning to start developing a structured format of the learning experience. Designers must gather all course materials needed to develop the content for the learning module. The designer will start the development of content such as files (documents, audio, visual), written material, and create or collect graphics. The development of the learning material will be completed before moving onward to the next stage.

 

Implementation:

The implementation phase is where the designer delivers the instructional material to an instructor that can put it in use. The learners are introduced to the material that was created; the process and the resources to be used. During this phase the learners must become familiar with the requirements needed to complete the learning modules.

 

Evaluation:

The evaluation of the material created must be both at a formative and summative levels.

 

Formative evaluations must occur to modify and change elements that are not working. Formative ev

 

A summative evaluation must also be completed to evaluate the effectiveness of the course designed. Learner’s perspectives regarding the course are also evaluated during this phase.

 

During a usability test the designer gets a chance to see if the course created actually met the expected results. The ultimate purpose of the evaluation phase it to improve the learning material created.

Design Projects: 

Go Figure! – ETEC 544 Design & Development Project

In ETEC 544 my team and I created a training for third grade students learning the grammar language arts concept of figurative language. Our team followed the more traditional model of design, ADDIE, as the base for our material design. We began our project by conducting a needs assessment and identified a gap in student learning due to most students scoring less than 55%, which according to California Common Core Standards, means that most students were below grade level. The gap in understanding led the direction of our project towards creating learning material for the students. During our design stage of our project we created measurable learning objectives, decided on a medium for our learning materials, and the platform through which these would be delivered (Google Classroom). We created a video on the different kinds of figurative language, which is an appropriate tool that can reach students at different instructional levels and different learning styles. We conducted a beta test, where feedback was collected from three subject- matter experts (teachers), which yielded positive feedback. A pilot test was also conducted with students and feedback was mixed, where some students really liked the learning material and some offered ideas for future improvement.

Go Figure Presentation

Usability Test 

Analysis Report

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Seesaw Incorporation in the Classroom – ETEC 644 Design & Development Project

The instructional design process can be a rewarding process when you see your finalized product being used by your intended targeted audience. The takeaway from this process is the experience of having to develop this product as a one-man team. The instructional design process calls for a team to be in charge of developing all the different aspects of the project. Taking the responsibility of all these parts was very time consuming, but in the end the product developed will help educators with identifying new technology that can easily be incorporated into their classrooms. Following the Dick, Carey, & Carey model (2015) approach of instructional design, this project started as a means to address a need identified through the analysis phase. The developed product was a training with video and PDF tutorials on how to utilize the different tools in Seesaw (a universal design based student electronic portfolio). The learning objectives created where created to measure the ability of the educators to utilize these different tools (image, video, add file….). The goal for this training was to address the need of educators needing new technologies that could be implemented with their students. Before any technology is incorporated into the classroom it is important that the educators learn these technologies. These educators also need materials that are easy to follow along and are not time consuming, which is why the quick tutorials were created. Once instruction (tutorials) were utilized the educators will practice multiple times on their training site. Feedback was sought out from individuals close to the target audience (teachers and para-educators). Revisions will continue being made as more individuals utilize the training.

Reflection: 

Instructional design is a powerful creation tool that I can have as an educator. Understanding the instructional design will allow me to apply this when creating future content for my classroom students. It will also allow me to create learning products that can be utilized with my adult staff and use this as trainings. As the after school coordinator it becomes critical that I provide resources that can aid my staff. Keeping in mind my learners through this instructional design process will not only allow me to collect outside resources, but to develop learning content that will of high-interest, will require active engagement, and will provide the learners with meaningful applications to their real-world experiences. Using an instructional design model, such as ADDIE, will eventually lead me to be better prepared to reach my learners. 

References: 

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ARCS Model of Motivational Design Theories (Keller) (2018). Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/kellers-arcs-model-of-motivational-design.html

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Definitions of Instructional Design. University of Michigan. Retrieved from http://www.umich.edu/~ed626/define.html

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Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. (2015) The systematic design of instruction (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Instructional Design Center (2018). Instructional design models. Retrieved from https://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/instructionaldesignmodels

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Instructional Design Center (2018). What is instructional design?. Retrieved from https://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/whatisinstructionaldesign

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Piskurich, G. (2015). Rapid Instructional Design: Learning ID Fast and Right. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey. ISBN: 978-1118973974. Third Edition

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Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J.V. (2011). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
ISBN-13: 978-0132563581

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