Instructional Design
In this section of the ITS web site you will find an abbreviated primer on instructional design. Although, most models have more sophisticated procedures, for the sake of this web site, we will break the process down into three steps:
Needs Assessment And Assessing Learning Characteristics
Step 1 - Needs Assessment And Assessing Learning Characteristics
Step 2 - Instructional Goals And Content Analysis
Step 3 - Developing Performance Objectives and Creating Learning Materials
Step 1
Needs Assessment And Assessing Learning Characteristics
Doing a needs assessment is an extremely important part of the instructional design process and it can be very complex, or it can be flexible enough to allow you to get just the information you need. Some might say that it’s akin to performing a market survey when you’re trying to market a product or service. In an educational context, it ‘s the tool you use to find out “the gap” between what your students already know and what you want them to know. Filling “the gap” with instruction that meets the needs of your learner is what ID is all about.
To perform a needs assessment, you can use questionnaires, surveys, interviews, observation, or any sort of tool to collect data about your learners. Questions can be open-ended and broad or specific, asking the learner to rate something. You then use the data you collect to assist you in the rest of the ID process.
Assessing Learner Characteristics is another important “front-end” part of the ID process that can go hand-in-hand with the needs assessment. This part helps you assess who your learners are and at what level on the knowledge spectrum they exist in the specific area of instruction. It’s important that you don’t teach over the heads of beginners or bore advanced students with information gauged at novices. It also tells you the participant’s preferred method of learning and the best delivery method to meet that style. Similar to the needs assessment, to get this information, you can use questionnaires, surveys, interviews, or other information gathering techniques.
The data collection methods should help you discover the learners preferences for learning, whether it be through hand-ons, team oriented activities or through self-paced individual learning assignment. You also could discover what the base line knowledge that the learners need to bring to the educational program. With any educational program, you have to have a starting off point, and learners are best prepared when they know that level.
Knowing your audience is important. When delivering educational programs it is essential to meets the needs of your participants and performing a needs assessment and assessing learner characteristics can create on a successful program.