What Is Good Instructional Design?

 What Is Good Instructional Design?



     "An instructional design is the practical application of this knowledge to create a situation where learning is most likely to effectively occur" (Brtown & Green, 2024, p. 8). In a nutshell, instructional design is the intentionality with which one plans to deliver information to learners, whether in a professional setting or in the classroom. There are several approaches to good instructional design such as ADDIE (analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate), the Successive Approximation Model (SAM), Merrill's Pebble-In-The-Pond Model, and the Systems Approach Model for Designing Instruction. While none are exactly the same, they all follow a version of the same method. "The most popular approach to designing Instruction is to follow some variation of what is essentially a three-step process. 1. Analyze the situation to determine what instruction is necessary and what steps need to be taken to deliver that instruction. 2. Produce and implement the instructional design. 3. Evaluate the results of implementing the instructional design" (Brown & Green, 2024, p. 8). Something that I really hadn't considered very much before taking this course is the degree to which professional development should, at least, be learner centered. I have historically viewed PD as a way for administrators to give teachers necessary information. However, after developing my own PD for the faculty at my school, I found myself thinking of them, as teachers, and what I thought they could use the most in their classrooms. "Efficient ID strategies can provide context, foster harmony among the faculty, increase rapidity in uploading content, increase work time, and help to foster a sense of responsibility" (Abuhassna & Alnawajha, 2023, p. 726). I would definitely like to make creativity the end goal and encourage teachers to tap into their creativity. I truly enjoy tapping into my students' creativity and giving them creative outlets in my classroom. I think this could be a fun angle to take with adult PD, as well. Check out the video below to learn more about infusing creativity with instructional design. 


    The professional development course I designed for this class is entitled, "Understanding and Serving Gifted Learners". As a gifted specialist, I am required to provide some PD each year to my teachers to explain who gifted learners are and how they are best served at school. Many times, this is accomplished thought the mandated state training. However, this class provided me a great opportunity to mix things up and create a more engaging and tailored experience for the teachers at my school. I began by analyzing the need for teachers to have a better understanding of gifted learners and their needs. Most teachers have never had any classes or formal training on gifted learners. It is a very misunderstood population. I tried to design a Google slideshow that is visually appealing, informative, and inspiring. I have plans to implement this training at a faculty meeting sometimes in the first month or two of school and follow through with one or two teachers who would like to go into more depth throughout the first semester of school. I will evaluate teacher learning by sending a survey out to the faculty after the PD is complete. Learning about instructional design has helped me consider how to create a training that teachers will actually learn from and hopefully use. "Instructional designers use learning theory and a systematic approach to create material, learning activities, training, and other solutions to improve the teaching and learning process" (Abuhassna & Alnawajha, 2023, p. 726). Please see the link below to the blog post I created that holds my Google slides presentation and a screen shot of the handout that goes with this training. 

Understanding and Serving Gifted Learners


References

Abuhassna H., & Alnawajha, S. (2023). Instructional design made easy! Instructional 

     design models, categories, frameworks, educational context, and recommendations for 

     future work. European Journal of Investigation in Health Psycholology and Education,

     13(4), p. 715-735. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe13040054. PMID: 37185907; PMCID: 

     PMC10137401.

Brown, A., & Green, T. (2024). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting 

     fundamental principles with process and practice. Routledge. 








Comments

  1. MenaAugust 1, 2024 at 7:18 PM

    Kim, I found your blog post intriguing because we share the same professional development interests! One aspect that has caught my attention in the blog posts I've been reading is our mutual desire for teachers to actively engage with the professional development sessions we offer. Your post on the ADDIE model resonated with me as I used the same model to craft my own PD presentation. In my blog, I discussed how this model encompasses the entire process of analyzing learning needs and objectives, creating a delivery system to address them, developing instructional materials and activities, and finally, testing and evaluating all aspects of the instruction (Brown & Green, 2024, p. 7). This approach aligns with your own experiences during the development phase.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mr. BeardAugust 1, 2024 at 7:38 PM

    Hey Kim! Awesome post again and thanks for all the useful information and the video! I think the fact that you send out a survey after a training session is complete is huge. That's a part of the instructional design process that so many people rush through or skip over altogether. You can glean so much useful data from a survey that can help you improve your training. Another important part of the instructional design process that is often skipped is the analysis phase. Having a well-designed needs analysis and learner analysis can help to make your training sessions more effective and useful for the participants. According to Brown & Green (2024, p. 62), "The needs analysis provides instructional designers with a focus and the overall breadth of the instruction that needs to be developed. The learner analysis provides an understanding of the learner’s knowledge and background related to the content. The combination of the needs and learner analyses provides a starting point for the instructional designer to determine the scope and sequence of the content to be included in instruction."

    Reference:
    Brown, A., & Green, T. (2024). The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice. Fifth Edition. New York: Routledge.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Misinformation: Can We Teach Our Students to Recognize It?

Image
Digital Misinformation: Can We Teach Our Students to Recognize It?   In a digital world where everything is seemingly at our fingertips, it is increasingly important to understand how to recognize misinformation or information that is being intentionally skewed to influence our thinking. "Rhetoric is the art of persuasion" (Lawrence, 2022, p. 12). Three rhetorical devices commonly used to persuade audiences are ethos, appealing to the author's trustworthiness or character, pathos, appealing to one's emotions, or logos, the use of logic or reason.  Ethos, Pathos, and Logos Explained:  "Rhetoric is also the critical framework through which we can analyze digital media and the ways it manifests in the world and appears on our screens. What does the media want us to do? How does it want us to behave or think?" (Lawrence, 2022, p. 12). It is imperative for students both young and old to be able to read an article or a post on social media and determine the source...
Read more

Reflection on Instructional Design Strategies

Image
 Reflection on Instructional Design Strategies       "An instructional designer's job is to create something that enables a person or group of people to learn about a particular topic or develop or improve a set of skills, or to encourage the learner to conduct further study. The 'something' created can take many forms: a lecture, a multimedia presentation, the curriculum for a year's study, a piece of computer software, an in-person demonstration, or a test-preparation booklet" (Brown & Green, 2024, p.33). Using different instructional design strategies in training helps to keep learners' focused and engaged. Multimedia such as videos, gamification, or digital presentations are especially useful. Some of the most engaging trainings that I have personally attended have employed multimedia such a as YouTube videos (TED Talks) and gamification sites (Kahoot). "Multimedia technology helps simplify abstract content, allows for differences from individ...
Read more

Artificial Intelligence for Teachers: Using AI in the Classroom

Image
 Artificial Intelligence for Teachers: Using AI in the Classroom       Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. Today's students will need to have an understanding of its uses in order to be ready for the work place of tomorrow. "Skills such as critical thinking, teamwork, and communication are common to both; however, it is clear that new graduates will also need AI literacy as a core job-readiness skill. They will need to articulate how well they use AI and what human quality enhancements they can provide" (Bowen & Watson, 2024, p.41). To accomplish this goal, it is imperative that teachers embrace new technology instead of shying away from it. This is certainly easier said than done. In this blog post, I plan to highlight some ways that teachers can begin to use AI as a tool. As the old adage goes, knowledge is power. The more we understand something, the less we are afraid of it. " Given that AI is increasingly prevalent in tech circles and is being integrate...
Read more