Notes: Instructional Design

Instructional design is seen as the analysis of learning needs and accompanying systematic development of instruction. Closely evolving out of a stimulus and response situation, akin to that found in behaviourist experiments, learning or instructional tasks were broken down into merit worthy instances – allowing for a perform and reward event.

Robert Gagne (1962) a key proponent of instructional design, provides a theoretical framework with which to consider how individuals learn. He identifies five levels of learning: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills and attitudes. With these in mind instructional designers may act upon each and provide suitable stimuli that enables the learner to interact and demonstrate a fundamental attaining of each level. Gagne’s (1985) 9 steps of instructional design, firmly based on a behaviourist stance, offers the learner a means of self actualisation by engaging in a hierarchical process of knowledge building. It is interesting to note the amount of debate that has occurred (Resnick & Resnick 1991) as to the validity of this sequential approach to knowledge acquisition, an approach that offers (for an instructional designer) the ideal opportunity to customise and personalise a learning environment on behalf of the end user.

Papert’s experiments with rudimentary programming allowing children to dictate the movement of a simulated ‘turtle’ (Harvey) achieving reward based on performance, this supported Piaget’s hypothesis that young children were adept at ‘processing concrete and operational data’ and only in time would they be capable of abstract and reflective processes. This move to such an empirical and scientific stance is also noted in the way Gagné own analysis shifted from a purely behavioural psychology led methodology to utilising more effectively the information-processing theory with the onset of computing in the early 70’s (Laurillard 2003: 64).

Description of ‘Human capabilities that are learned’ e.g. intellectual skills, cognitive strategies verbal information etc. these equate to the possible desired outcomes.
Followed by description of ‘Learning events’ for each of the former.
Combined these allow for the creation of the internal (mental) and external (situational) conditions for learning to be put in place.

Laurillard notes the complete list of instructional events to be carried out by a teacher are:
Activating motivation
Informing learner of the objective
Directing attention
Stimulating recall
Providing learner guidance
Enhancing retention
Promoting transfer of learning
Eliciting performance
Providing feedback

"Nine Events of Instruction".
Gain attention
Inform learner of objectives
Stimulate recall of prior learning
Present stimulus material
Provide learner guidance
Elicit performance
Provide feedback
Assess performance
Enhance retention transfer

Gagné and Merrill develop this concept to account for multiple objectives and the ensuing relationships between these by suggesting an approach in which one would add ‘integrative goals’. These are employed across the cognitive space by ‘enterprise schemas’, it is their responsibility to provide a foci for the integrative goals and in turn offer the potential for a development of a more finely tuned holistic deployment of actual student interactions.