Legends and Misconceptions
Prior to starting the Instructional Design course my understanding of an Instructional Designer's job used to be a hybrid between a teacher and a computer nerd. It turned out the profession of an Instructional Designer is considered practically “invisible”, as it both reflects a shift of pedagogical paradigm and goes under so many names.
As for the paradigm shift the learner and the performance problem are in the focus of Instructional Design, whereas traditionally the content used to run the show. “Instructional Design focuses on the individual and how to improve the individual performances rather than on what content to cover.” (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, Kemp. (2011). Designing effective instruction, p. 12)
Moreover, the profession being relatively new still arises so many issues when the ID has to convince others of his/her value. Hopefully with time as technology is becoming so essential in many industries the ID profession will gain more recognition.
Instructional Design – Science, Art or Craft?
There is no doubt that Instructional Design is a science as the systematic approach lies at the core of its foundation. However, I agree with Tom Gram who acknowledges Instructional Design as science but also points out craft and art as a basis of a successful ID model. The main idea is of Art inspiring, Science justifying and Craft bringing all your experiences to a project. “Art and craft together without the systematic analysis of science can lead to disorganized learning designs. Craft and science without the creative vision of art can lead to dispirited design, careful and connected but lacking flare. Learning design based on art with science is creative and systematic, but without the experience of craft can produce, impersonal and disconnected learning.” (Gram, 2010) Therefore Analysis stage can be viewed as purely scientific element; Design and Development have more art and craft to them; to successfully complete Implementation stage one needs good communication skills and understanding of psychology of human interaction; finally Evaluation methods and procedures are scientifically based.
ADDIE and Zen
“Any art, practice, or technique is quite dangerous if it has no firm, theoretical foundation. But any theory, be it scientific, religious, or philosophical, is quite useless if it is too difficult to understand or impractical for daily living." – G. Osawa, a Zen teacher, an author of a Macrobiotic diet.
This Zen idea can be a key to interpreting ADDIE and other training models: ADDIE defines all the components of Instructional Design process and gives it a logical structure and it is the responsibility of an ID team to adjust it to a given project. Other ID models are designed to incorporate the ADDIE components, so there is no need to come up with a new model each time there are new project variables.
Though many in the ID field argue that ADDIE is not a model, I see it as a general principle that gives an opportunity to combine and experiment.
For e-learning projects it would be very effective to include a Rapid Prototype Phase in the design phase. So a quickly assembled module can be tested early in the ID process. The feedback allows for flexibility and creates an iterative loop where you can shape a pilot of an end product and work with a model.
For business training of certain performance skills the Human Performance Technology models are ideal.
One more type of ID models worth of mentioning are Practical Variations: Hands-On-Training (HOT) and Telling Ain't Training. They work best when employed by subject experts hired by organization.
With so many models in mind an ID can adjust the design process to the budget and other variables of a given organization, every time providing an optimal solution.
Dreams Come True
After this initial introduction to the intricacies of Instructional Design I can say for sure that skills and knowledge I have gained as a member of an ID project team definitely changed my understanding of the profession. As an online ESL teacher I am aspiring to create my own online school and this experience makes me confident and optimistic about creating an efficient and technologically advanced online learning environment.
