Instructional Design - Anchored Instruction, Case-based Reasoning, Direct Instruction,

Learning Communities, Learning Through Design - OVERVIEW

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Instruction, Learning Communities, Learning Through Design - OVERVIEW - Theory, Theories,
Methods, and Reigeluth - StateUniversity.com
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OVERVIEW

Instructional-design theory provides guidance on how to help people learn (or develop) in
different situations and under different conditions. This guidance includes what to teach and
how to teach it. To do this, instructional-design theory must take into account both methods and
situations. Just as a carpenter uses different tools for different situations, so do instructional
design theories offer instructional designers and teachers different tools for facilitating learning
in different situations.

Elements of Instructional-Design Theory

Elements of instructional-design theory include instructional outcomes, conditions, methods,

and values. Instructional values are an individual's or group's philosophy or beliefs about
instruction. Instructional design theories ought to inform possible users (teachers and
instructional designers) of the values about learning and instruction with which the theory was
constructed, for they are the values that users and students must hold in order for the theory to
work well.

Instructional outcomes include both results that are intentional and those that are incidental.
Outcomes include the instruction's effectiveness, efficiency, and appeal. Instructional outcomes
should not be confused with learning outcomes. Instructional outcomes focus on the degree of
success in attaining the desired learning outcomes (the effectiveness of instruction) but also
include the efficiency and appeal of the instruction.

Instructional conditions are factors beyond the influence of the instructional designer that impact
upon the effects of the methods of instruction. Conditions may include the nature of what is
being learned (the content), the learner, the learning environment, and the instructional
development constraints (e.g., time and money). Instructional-design theory, in attempting to
provide guidance for people to help others learn, ought to state explicitly the conditions under
which different methods should and should not be used.

Instructional methods are the "how to" for facilitating human learning. They are the elements of
guidelines that inform designers and teachers what to do to help students learn. They can be
very general, such as "provide opportunities for practice," or they can be broken down into much
more detailed specifications, such as (for learning concept classification) presenting previously
unencountered examples and nonexamples of the concept in random order and asking the
learner to identify those that are examples of the concept.

Instructional methods are situational rather than universal. This means that there are values,
desired instructional outcomes, and instructional conditions (collectively referred to as
instructional situations) in any context that influence whether or not a given instructional method
should be used. Hence, instructional-design theory should specify the values, outcomes, and
conditions for which each method should be used. Also, instructional methods are probabilistic
rather than deterministic. That is, their use can only increase the probability that the desired
outcomes will be attained.

Differences

Instructional design theories differ most importantly by the methods they offer. But the methods
differ because of differences in the outcomes, values, and conditions for which they are
intended.

For example, regarding instructional outcomes, some theories may focus more on effectiveness
of the instruction, while others may focus more on appeal or efficiency. Also, regarding learning
outcomes, different instructional theories can promote very different kinds of learning: from
memorization to deep understandings or higher-order thinking and self-regulatory skills; from
cognitive goals to such affective goals as emotional and social development.

Instructional values may differ, and they lead one to select different goals and different methods
to attain those goals. Traditional instruction systems design (ISD), "a systematic approach to the
planning and development of a means to meet instructional needs and goals" (Briggs, p. xxi),
specifies that goals should be selected based on an assessment of learners' needs. However,
in 1999 Charles Reigeluth proposed that users also consider teachers' and learners' values
about goals. Furthermore, designers have tried to rely on experimental research to determine
which methods are best for any given situation. Reigeluth countered that users also consider
teachers' and learners' values about methods. If a teacher does not value learner-centered
methods, then forcing the teacher to use them is not likely to ensure success.

Instructional conditions may also differ across instructional design theories. First, the nature of
what is to be learned (the content) may differ. For example, some theories, such as those of
David Perkins and Chris Unger, focus on deep understandings, which are taught differently than
skills. Second, the nature of the learner may differ, including prior knowledge, skills,
understandings, motivation to learn, and learning strategies. Third, the nature of the learning
environment may differ. And finally, different instructional design theories may be intended for
different constraints on instructional development (time and money). In essence, different
instructional theories use different methods to attain different outcomes under different
conditions and based on different values.

Major Trends

Two major trends in the field of instructional-design theory are apparent: the increasing
predominance of an information-age paradigm of theories and the broadening of the kinds of
learning and human development addressed by instructional theorists.

Information-age paradigm. Scholars, such as Bernie Trilling and Paul Hood, are increasingly
drawing attention to the need for an attainment-based, "learning-focused paradigm" of
instruction to meet learners' new educational needs in the information age, compared to the
time-based, "sorting-focused paradigm" of the industrial age. Reigeluth (1999) distinguishes
between the industrial and information ages with certain "key markers" (see Table 1).

In the early twenty-first century there is a growing recognition that the current system of
education is beginning to fail society, not in its ability to attain traditional goals, but in its ability to
provide what is increasingly needed in the emerging information society. There has begun a
societal transition in which the complexity of human activity systems is growing dramatically,
and learning has become the "indispensable investment" according to the National Commission
on Excellence in Education 1983 report, A Nation at Risk. This has important implications for
both what should be taught and how it should be taught.

Broadening the scope of instructional theory.

Much of the work that has been done in relation to and with instructional-design theory has been
focused on teaching and learning procedural tasks, which are performed by following sets of
defined mental or physical steps that were predominant in the industrial age. However,
educational and corporate settings increasingly require people to solve problems in ill-structured
and complex domains–problems for which there is not a clear solution or just one way of doing
things. These "heuristic" tasks entail the use of causal models and "rules of thumb," along with
other kinds of typically tacit knowledge that require different methods of instruction. This
heuristic knowledge because of its nature often takes years for experts to develop through trial
and error, if at all. Therefore, it would be valuable for schools and corporations to be able to
teach it well.

Several new methods and tools are designed to assist learners with real-world problem solving,
including just-in-time instruction and electronic performance support systems (EPSSs).
However, they do not provide the appropriate amount or types of support for learning this
usually tacit heuristic knowledge. Only toward the close of the twentieth century have
instructional deign theorists seriously attempted to address this complex type of learning.
Promising work has been done in the area of problem-based learning by such theorists as John
D. Bransford and colleagues, David Jonassen, Laurie Nelson, and Roger Schank.

Other current areas of promising instructional-design theory include collaborative learning, self-
regulated learning, and such affective areas as emotional development and social development.

Peter Senge highlighted the importance of the "learning organization," which he defined as "an
organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future" (p.14) through the use
of five disciplines: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision,
and team learning. A challenge for instructional design theorists is to develop comprehensive
theories that foster such organizational learning.

The preceding offers only a sampling of areas in which instructional-design theory is currently
being developed. Due to the nature of human learning, there exist many more domains of
instructional guidance that require greater study.

Controversial Issues

Three controversial or problematic issues are discussed below: (1) Should instructional design
theories be "theoretically pure" or eclectic? (2) Are traditional research methods appropriate for
advancing instructional design theories, or is a different paradigm of research needed? (3)
Should instructional-design theories be strictly "local" in scope, or should they generalize across
settings?

Eclecticism versus purism. Some scholars, such as Anne K. Bednar and colleagues, argue
that an instructional-design theory should be "theoretically pure" in that it should follow a set of
assumptions from a single theoretical perspective, such as constructivism or behaviorism.
Others, such as Peggy Ertmer and Timothy Newby, believe that such is true for descriptive
theories, but that design theories, with their goal orientation, should draw on all useful methods
for accomplishing the stated goals. For example, a behaviorist perspective would offer the
method of drill and practice to help learners remember important information, whereas a
cognitive perspective would offer the use of mnemonics to relate the new information to
meaningful information. Perhaps there are some situations where good mnemonics cannot be
developed, in which case drill and practice would be suggested by a design theory. Is it unwise
for a teacher to draw on both kinds of methods because they hail from different theoretical
perspectives? This issue is particularly important because it greatly influences the nature of an
instructional theory.

Traditional versus new research methods. Many scholars advocate experimental and/or
descriptive case studies or other kinds of descriptive research to advance our knowledge about
design theories. Other theorists, such as James Greeno and colleagues, advocate new forms of
research, such as "design experiments" and "formative research" (Reigeluth and Frick). "Design
experiments" is the term Greeno, Allan Collins, and Lauren Resnick have come to use to refer
to educators collaborating to analyze and design changes in institutional practice. "Formative
research" is a form of research developed by Charles Reigeluth and Theodore Frick that is
meant to help improve instructional-design theory. In an analysis of this issue, Glenn
Snelbecker argued in 1974 that descriptive theories in the field are evaluated by how truthfully
they describe why learning occurs, whereas instructional theories are evaluated by how useful
their methods are for attaining their stated goals. Given this very different orientation toward
usefulness rather than truthfulness, Reigeluth (1999) has proposed that the major concern in
research on design theory should be "preferability" (whether or not a given method is more
useful than the alternatives), rather than "validity" (whether or not the description is truthful). He
has also suggested that the

TABLE 1

focus for research on a design theory should be to improve it rather than to prove it, because
most of our methods of instruction are not nearly as successful as we need them to be. There is
also clearly a role for descriptive research on instructional design theories, however. It is
occasionally helpful to compare one method with another for a given situation, and descriptions
of what a highly effective teacher or computer program does can be helpful for improving an
instructional theory.

Although most researchers recognize that different research methods are useful for different
purposes, perhaps there has not been enough emphasis on research to improve the
preferability of instructional-design theories.

Generalizable versus local knowledge. Some scholars argue that instructional design
theories should be "local" in scope because every situation is unique and methods that work
well in one situation may not work well in another. Others believe that the purpose of an
instructional-design theory is to generalize across situations–that if it loses this quality, it has
little usefulness. Given that the standard for a design theory is usefulness rather than
truthfulness, the issue may boil down to whether a highly local theory is more useful than a
highly generalizable theory, or even whether a design theory that is intermediate between local
and general may be the most useful.
There is another consideration that may enlighten this issue. Design theories are made up of
not only methods, but also situations (values, desired outcomes, and conditions) that serve as a
basis for deciding when to use each method. If a design theory offers different methods for
different situations, the theory is at once both local and generalizable. It recognizes the unique
needs of each situation but also offers methods for a wide range of situations. In this manner
perhaps the profession can transcend "either—or" thinking and be both local and global.

Further Directions

Instructional-design theory bridges the gap between descriptive theory and practice and offers
powerful guidance for practitioners. It has the potential to spur tremendous improvements in
practice, but it currently constitutes a minor percentage of scholarly efforts devoted to education.
Partnering of researchers and practictioners to develop and improve more powerful
instructional-design theories can provide valuable insights and improvements for more useful
design theory to facilitate human learning and development.

See also: COOPERATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING; INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN,

subentries on ANCHORED INSTRUCTION, DIRECT INSTRUCTION, LEARNING THROUGH
DESIGN, PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BEDNAR, ANNE K.; CUNNINGHAM, DONALD; DUFFY,

THOMAS. M.; and PERRY, J. DAVID. 1991. "Theory into Practice: How Do We Link?" In
Instructional Technology: Past, Present, and Future, ed. Garry J. Anglin. Englewood, CO:
Libraries Unlimited.

BIELACZYC, KATERINE, and COLLINS, ALLAN. 1999. "Learning Communities in Classrooms:

A Reconceptualization of Educational Practice." In Instructional-Design Theories and Models,
ed. Charles M. Reigeluth. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

BRIGGS, LESLIE, ed. 1977. Instructional Design: Principles and Applications. Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: Educational Technology.

CORNO, LYN, and RANDI, JUDI. 1999. "A Design Theory for Classroom Instruction in Self-
Regulated Learning?" In Instructional-Design Theories and Models, ed. Charles M. Reigeluth.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

ERTMER, PEGGY A., and NEWBY, TIMOTHY J. 1993.

"Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional

Design Perspective." Performance Improvement Quarterly 6 (4):50–72.

GREENO, JAMES G.; COLLINS, ALLAN; and RESNICK, LAUREN B. 1996. "Cognition and
Learning." In Handbook of Educational Psychology, ed. David C. Berliner and Robert C. Calfee.
New York: Macmillan.
KEMP, JERROLD E.; MORRISON, GARY R.; and ROSS, STEVEN M. 1998. Designing
Effective Instruction, 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

LEWIS, CATHERINE; WATSON, MARILYN; and SCHAPS, ERIC. 1999. "Recapturing

Education's Full Mission: Educating for Social, Ethical, and Intellectual Development." In
Instructional-Design Theories and Models, ed. Charles M. Reigeluth. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

MERRILL, M. DAVID. 1999. "Instructional Transaction Theory: Instructional Design Based on

Knowledge Objects." In Instructional-Design Theories and Models, ed. Charles M. Reigeluth.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION. 1983. A Nation at Risk: The

Imperative for Educational Reform. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

NELSON, LAURIE M. 1999. "Collaborative Problem Solving." In Instructional-Design Theories

and Models, ed. Charles M. Reigeluth. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

REIGELUTH, CHARLES M. 1999. "What Is Instructional-Design Theory and How Is It

Changing?" In Instructional-Design Theories and Models, Vol. II: A New Paradigm of
Instructional Theory, ed. Charles M. Reigeluth. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

REIGELUTH, CHARLES M., and GARFINKLE, ROBERT J. 1994. Systemic Change in

Education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

SENGE, PETER M. 1990. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning
Organization. New York: Doubleday.

SNELBECKER, GLENN E. 1974. Learning Theory, Instructional Theory, and

Psychoeducational Design. New York: McGraw-Hill.

STONE-McCOWN, KAREN, and McCORMICK, ANN H. 1999. "Self-Science: Emotional

Intelligence for Children." In Instructional-Design Theories and Models, ed. Charles M.
Reigeluth. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

TRILLING, BERNIE, and HOOD, PAUL. 1999. "Learning, Technology, and Education Reform in
the Knowledge Age or 'We're Wired, Webbed, and Windowed, Now What?"' Educational
Technology 39 (3):5–18.

DANIEL F. OSWALD

CHARLES M. REIGELUTH

Read more: Instructional Design - Anchored Instruction, Case-based Reasoning, Direct

Instruction, Learning Communities, Learning Through Design - OVERVIEW - Theory, Theories,
Methods, and Reigeluth - StateUniversity.com
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2097/Instructional-Design.html#ixzz5MyXVyF4f