INSTRUCTIONAL

DESIGN THEORIES
 Introduction:
◦ During teacher application interviews, common questions include
teaching views and philosophy. These questions are influenced
by experiences, learning theories, and research. Theory guides
instructional design and practices, and understanding these
theories helps educators make informed decisions. Instructional
designers must have knowledge of instructional strategies and
how to employ them to match task demands with learning
success. Effective instructional solutions are often constrained by
time and resources, so selecting and implementing strategies with
the highest chance of success is crucial.
◦ Reigeluth (1999) described four major characteristics of instructional design theory:
1. It is design-oriented. It focuses on means to attain given goals for learning or
development as it provides direct guidance on how to achieve their goals.
2. It identifies methods of instruction which refer to the ways to support and facilitate
learning, and the situations in which those methods should be used.
3. The methods of instruction can be broken into more detailed component methods,
which provide more guidance to educators about different elements and ways to
perform the methods,
4. Instructional design theories intend to control variables in the learning environment to
achieve certain results.
There are two major components in instructional design theory:
1. Methods of instruction - methods for facilitating human learning and development.
2. Instructional situation - indications as to when and when not to use those methods and
descriptions of the conditions under which the instruction will take place
Behaviorism
◦ Behaviorism, or behavioral psychology, posits that all behaviors
are acquired through conditioning, influenced by an individual’s
interactions with their environment. It suggests that anyone can
be trained to perform tasks, regardless of genetic background or
personality traits. Learning occurs as the learner reacts to
environmental stimuli, with reinforcement-based responses more
likely to recur. Behaviorists assess learners to determine the best
starting point and reinforcement methods, aiming to elicit desired
responses through cues and reinforcement.
◦ Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to
instructional design include the following:
1. an emphasis on producing observable and measurable
outcomes in students;
2. pre-assessment of students to determine where instruction should
begin;
3. emphasis on mastering early steps before progressing to more
complex levels of performance;
4. use of reinforcement to impact performance; and
5. use of cues, shaping, and practice to ensure a strong stimulus-
response association.
Examples of behaviorist theories:
◦ Skinner's Programmed Instruction
This theory asserts that learner's behaviors are shaped by the reinforcement of
desired learning behaviors. In the programmed instruction, content is arranged
in small steps, which progress from simple to complex and require a response
from the learner to go on.
◦ Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI)
Keller identified four essential features of a personalized course: self-pacing
feature, progressively sequential units, vehicles of motivation, and teacher-
student communication. Content is broken down into chunks and studied at the
desired pace of the learner.
Cognitivism
◦ Cognitivist learning theories make a shift from overt, observable
behavior and stressed instead on the more complex cognitive
processes, such as thinking, problem-solving, language, concept
formation, and information processing (Snelbecker, 1989). This shift from
a behavioral orientation to a cognitive orientation has created a similar
shift from procedures for manipulating the materials to be presented by
an instructional system to procedures for directing student processing
and interaction with the instructional design system (Merrill, Kowalis, &
Wilson, 1981).
Specific assumptions or principles that have direct relevance to instructional design
include the following.
1. emphasis on the active involvement of the learner in the learning process;
2. use of hierarchical analyses to identify and illustrate prerequisite relationships;
3. emphasis on structuring, organizing, and sequencing information to facilitate optimal
processing; and
4. creation of learning environments that allow and encourage students to make
connections with previously learned material.
Conditions of Learning by Robert
Gagne
◦ This theory stipulates that there are several different types or levels of learning.
The significance of these classifications is that each different type requires
different types of instruction. Gagne identifies five major categories of learning:
verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and
attitudes. Different internal and external conditions are necessary for each type
of learning. For example, for cognitive strategies to be learned, there must be a
chance to practice developing new solutions to problems; to learn attitudes,
the learner must be exposed to a credible role model or persuasive arguments.
In addition, the theory outlines nine instructional events and corresponding
cognitive processes:
1. Gaining attention (reception)
2. Informing learners of the objective (expectancy)
3. Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)
4. Presenting the stimulus (selective perception)
5. Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)
6. Eliciting performance (responding)
7. Providing feedback (reinforcement)
8. Assessing performance (retrieval)
9. Enhancing retention and transfer (generalization)
These events should satisfy or provide the necessary conditions for learning and serve
as the basis for designing instruction and selecting appropriate media.
Component Display Theory (CDT)
◦ The Component Display Theory posits that there are different
kinds of learning outcomes and each kind of learning outcome
requires unique conditions for learning. According to CDT, the
prescribed conditions for learning are dependent on types of
presentation, types of practice, and kinds of learner guidance.
There are primary and secondary presentation forms which aid in
instructional delivery. The four primary presentation forms include
rules, examples, recall, and practice. The secondary presentation
forms include: prerequisites, objectives, helps, mnemonics, and
feedback (Clancy, 1997).
Constructivism
◦ Constructivism is a cognitive theory that emphasizes learning as creating
meaning from experience. It differs from traditional cognitive theories by
focusing on the interaction between learner and environmental factors.
Constructivists believe that behavior is situationally determined, and content
knowledge should be embedded in the context. They suggest that
instructional methods should help learners explore complex topics, linking
knowledge to the context and experiences. Content is not prespecified, but
rather information from multiple sources is essential. This approach encourages
learners to construct their own understandings and validate these
perspectives through social negotiation.
The following are several specific assumptions or principles from the constructivist position
that have direct relevance for the instructional designer:
1. An emphasis on the identification of the context in which the skills will be learned and
subsequently applied
2. An emphasis on learner control and the capability of the learner to manipulate
information
3. The need for information to be presented in a variety of different ways
4. Supporting the use of problem-solving skills that allow learners to go “beyond the
information given”
5. Assessment focused on transfer of knowledge and skills
Problem-based Learning (PBL)
◦ Problem-based learning posits that learning is student-centered and
it happened best in small student groups. Teachers serve as
facilitators or guides. Problems form the original focus and stimulus
for learning. Problems are a vehicle for the development of clinical
problem-solving skills. New information is acquired through self-
directed learning. Encoding specificity: students can recall what
they have learned better in the context in which it will be used.
Elaboration of knowledge via discussion and reflection to
consolidate learning experience: activation of prior-learning via the
problem.
Perkins and Unger’s Teaching and
Learning for Understanding (TfU)
◦ TfU provides the guidelines about organizing learning where understanding is a priority. This
approach includes four elements of instruction: generative topics, understanding goals,
understanding performances, and ongoing assessment. Each element of instruction also
represents a question to ask in planning.
Generative Topics - What do you really want your students to understand?
Understanding Goals - What can you do to help them build those understandings?
Understanding Performances - What actions can they take to help themselves build their own
understanding?
Ongoing Assessment - How will we, and they, know that they understand?
Thank you!