From concepts of motivation to its application in instructional design: Reconsidering motivation from an instructional design perspective

This paper explores the concepts of motivation, including extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. It describes how motivation becomes a major concern in the field of instructional design (ID). Furthermore, a motivation model—the ARCS model—is identified and discussed. Finally, it provides an example of how to apply the motivational design process in ID. The aim of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of motivation and to inform professionals about its importance in learning     

Exploring teachers' instructional design practices from a systems design perspective

Curricular changes in higher vocationaleducation have rendered teachers' instructionaldesign activities increasingly important. Usinga repertory grid technique, this paper sets outto analyse current design activities of tenteacher trainers. Their actual approach iscompared with an instructional systems design(ISD) approach and related to innovativeteacher roles. Teachers' activities show animbalance in two ID phases, that is problemanalysis and evaluation. The results suggestthat they attempt to translate curricular goalsdirectly into concrete lessons and they payrelatively little attention to evaluation. Inline with this finding, they underrate the twoinnovative teacher roles of the `diagnostician'and the `evaluator'. It is argued thatimbalanced or incomplete design approaches andperceived roles may hinder innovation ineducation. Implications for the support ofteachers' design activities are discussed.     

Assessing instructional conceptions: A task-based approach

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the labour market effects of two rather different forms of vocational education, full‐time education with practice periods that have no employment status versus dualized education with an emphasis on continuous on‐the‐job/in‐service training and employee status for the apprentice. Although most developed countries know both forms of vocational education, these usually have clearly different positions in a qualitative (standardization of curricula and degrees) and a quantitative (cohort shares) sense. The Netherlands present an interesting case, because in this country both systems coexist and contribute largely to the vocational training of each new generation. That provides a good opportunity for investigating differences in the labour market effects of these ‘treatments’ in vocational education. In this article, differences in labour market careers (i.e. the chances of getting promoted or getting unemployed) between graduates from full‐time vocational education and from the dual system are explored, using event history analysis. The results show that graduates from full‐time tracks have higher chances of getting promoted. However, the period of transition to the labour market is very unstable, involving job shifts and periods of unemployment. Graduates from the dual system on the other hand experience a more stable period of labour market entry. At the same time their careers often involve many dead‐end jobs, from which no promotion takes place. Moreover, they have difficulty in transfering their skills to other sectors than the sector for which they are trained.     

Preparing CBI print‐based support material: an information/instructional design perspective

Computer‐based instructional (CBI) materials are frequently accompanied by student study guides. This report details Grant MacEwan Community College's experience in producing print‐based material to support its computer‐managed learning (CML) system. Thus the report is written from a CBI perspective, and attempts to place emphasis on the recognition of cognitive processes in the development of CBI and related materials. Grant MacEwan material has been developed using the instructional design principles promoted by Gagne and Briggs (1979). The first part of this report focuses on content organization. The ideas presented may be applicable to any setting requiring the development of independent study print support material.     

Promoting computational thinking of both sciences- and humanities-oriented students: an instructional and motivational design perspective

Educational technology research and development - We proposed to investigate whether properly calibrated e-learning environments can efficiently promote computational thinking of both sciences- and...     

Testing an instructional model in a university educational setting from the student's perspective

We tested a theoretical model that hypothesized relationships between several variables from input, process and product in an educational setting, from the university student's perspective, using structural equation modeling. In order to carry out the analysis, we measured in sequential order the input (referring to students’ personal characteristics), the teaching/learning process developed and finally the product or achievement reached by students (declarative and procedural). Two questionnaires, made up of various subscales, were used to measure input and process variables, at the beginning and at the end of the instructional process, respectively, developed in the first semester with Psychostatistics students. Results suggest that important associations exist between the three components. The structural models obtained showed a better fit for procedural achievement. The implications of these findings for teachers and the way they operate in the classroom are discussed.     

The instructional design portfolio:

Conclusion In order to make PIHnet forum more usable and useful, we recently redesigned the forum tool based on findings from a survey, interviews and observations of user posting patterns. We also developed a journal tool to assist teachers with their personal reflection. Interviews with four users showed that the new forum was easy to use and effectively helped them communicate with other members. We are still developing the journal tool, so user experiences with the new journal tool have not been investigated yet. We will continue to improve the tools based on critical feedback from actual users.     

Towards an understanding of instructional design heuristics: an exploratory Delphi study

Evidence suggests that experienced instructional designers often use heuristics and adapted models when engaged in the instructional design problem-solving process. This study used the Delphi technique to identify a core set of heuristics designers reported as being important to the success of the design process. The overarching purpose of the study was: (1) to examine and describe the heuristics that guided instructional designers’ practice and (2) to identify the relationship between these heuristics and key competencies of the discipline, as outlined by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance, and Instruction. Sixty-one heuristics were ultimately identified (reached consensus). All 61 aligned with at least one of the four categories of IBSTPI, with some aligning with more than one. More specifically, 17 heuristics aligned with Professional Foundations competencies, 17 aligned with Planning and Analysis competencies, 18 aligned with Design and Development competencies and 10 aligned with Implementation and Management competencies. By examining instructional design heuristics, we hope to better understand the potential genesis and/or future application of each heuristic. Results provide insights into the specific heuristics experienced designers perceive as being effective during the ID process.     

The instructional message: A theoretical perspective

This article presents a theoretical model for message design proved capable of improving the quality of instruction while increasing cost effectiveness. Integrating classical rhetoric, information theory, contemporary media criticism, social psychology, and the psychology of human information processing, the model directs the designer to design a block of time that optimizes the information load and message complexity within the constraints of the receiver’s abilities and experience, the requirements of the source, and the capabilities and limitations of the medium.     

Enhancing instructional design efficiency: Methodologies employed by instructional designers

Instructional systems design (ISD) has been frequently criticised as taking too long to implement, calling for a reduction in cycle time—the time that elapses between project initiation and delivery. While instructional design research has historically focused on increasing learner efficiencies, the study of what instructional designers do to increase efficiency during the design of instruction, including web‐based training, has not yet been fully examined. The purpose of this qualitative developmental study was to identify and understand the methodologies used by experienced instructional designers to increase the efficiency of the instructional design process. Data were gathered from 11 instructional designers working within two business and industry consulting firms that provide learning solutions to global clients. Results revealed 47 efficiency methodologies found within the four categories of design model, instructional design team member roles, instructional design processes and instructional design tools. Additionally, 14 supporting instructional designer competencies were found within the category of instructional designer knowledge, skills and attitudes.     

Real books vs reading schemes: a new perspective from instructional psychology

A fiercely contested debate in teaching reading concerns the respective roles and merits of reading schemes and real books. Underpinning the controversy are different philosophies and beliefs about how children learn to read. However, to some extent debates have largely been rhetoric‐driven, rather than research‐driven. This article provides a theoretical perspective derived from instructional psychology and explores the assumptions that have been made about the use of real books and reading schemes, which have tended to polarise arguments about their respective strengths and limitations. It analyses the structures of adult literature, children’s real books, and reading schemes, and examines the demands that they make on children’s sight vocabulary and phonic skills. The critical high‐frequency words and grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs) are identified that will enable children to read the majority of phonically regular and irregular words that they encounter which, perhaps surprisingly, occur more often in real books than structured reading schemes. Learning additional sight words or GPCs is of limited value due to their relatively low occurrence in written English and, thus, potentially minimal impact on children’s reading. Finally, the implications of this research for teaching reading are considered, particularly the complementary roles of real books and teaching methods derived from instructional psychology. In the past they have been viewed as diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive.     

Cognitive design for instructional design

There is strong interest in the field of instructional design in building expert systems that can provide advice to inexperienced instructional designers. This paper questions whether the expert systems model to advice-giving is in fact appropriate for a design process such as instructional design. An alternate approach based on case-based reasoning and the critic approach to advice-giving is considered to be better adapted to the cognitive needs of this task. The cognitive constraints of the task are used to orient the design of an instructional design workbench. The concept of an ID workbench illustrates the direct application of cognitive science to a complex practical task in the area of design.     

Metacognition research and theory: Analysis and implications for instructional design

Metacognition, a construct with strong empirical and theoretical foundations, is integral to successful learning. Research on metacognition has provided convincing evidence supporting its importance in the instruction and learning processes. In this article, research on several aspects of metacognition are briefly reviewed and analyzed, examples of metacognitive strategies are provided, and implications for instructional design are described.     

Instructional metacognitive knowledge: A qualitative study on conceptions of freshmen about instruction

Many studies have pointed to the limited direct effectiveness of instructional interventions and one explanation of this has drawn attention to the importance of 'instructional metacognitive knowledge'. In this exploratory study, instructional metacognitive knowledge of university freshmen is addressed by means of a survey covering: (a) instruction in general, (b) instruction in two different environments, and (c) specific delivery systems and concrete instructional interventions. While some differences appeared in the answers on different sets of questions, also large similarities were found. The results show students' knowledge about instruction to be mainly affected by their instructional experiences. The students' view is 'reactive' and places instructional agents at the core of the instructional process. The findings provide additional support for the importance of correspondence between learners' and teachers' views on instructional interventions if forms of support for students' learning are to be effective.