Instructional Design, Philosophies, and Theories

 

    Instructional design plays a crucial role in education by helping to develop educational materials and experiences. 

    

    The term instructional design refers to the systematic and reflective process of translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials, activities, information resources, and evaluation (Smith and Ragan, 2005). Essentially, an instructional designer is like an engineer in that they both try to design solutions that are not only functional but also attractive or appealing to the end user (Smith and Ragan, 20025). 

    As a linking science, instructional design is a discipline that constantly looks to the findings of other disciplines, such as cognitive psychology and communication, to study and improve methods of developing, delivering, and evaluating instruction and instructional practices (Brown and Green, 2016). 

    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 (Brown and Green, 2016). What is created can be a lecture, multimedia presentation, curriculum for a year's study, computer software, in-person demonstration, or a test prep booklet. 

    In order to achieve these goals, it is important for instructional designers to have a good understanding of the philosophical foundations and theories in their field. 

 Why use Philosophy and Theory in Industrial Design

    In their 2005 book "Instructional Design," Smith and Ragan list three major reasons why instructional designers must incorporate philosophy and theory into their work: 

    1. Theories are the source of princi­ples from which many of the prescriptions for design arise, and your understanding of the bases will help both your learning from this text and your ability to engage in excellent application in the field. 

    2. The relationships of specialists and scholars to their field of study and practice along with your relationship to that field. "We feel that it is imperative that writers in our field ac­knowledge the bases of their conclusions and recommenda­tions. Theory bases are the common ground that we share with other professionals in the field. 

    3. These theories allow designers to explain why they make the decisions they do.  

    The use of theories and philosophy helps guide the instructional designer into which direction they want to go. Sometimes designers must justify or even defend their decisions to clients or students, so using educational philosophy and theories can provide a rationale for many of their decisions (Smith and Ragan, 2005). 

    Just as dress designer uses techniques, materials, and tools to create the perfect little black frock, an instructional designer must also have a strategy. The instructional designers has identified a need for instruction and decided on a method for delivering that instruction (Brown and Green, 2016).

    However, an instructional designer must take an open mind and a broad view of ideas and practices. Not all students are the same. Not all students learn the same. What looks good on paper, may not translate well when giving instructions.  

    "Design involves dealing with uncertainties, and designers must not only learn to deal with uncertainty but embrace and use uncertainty as a tool to propel optimal design solutions" (Brown and Green 2016). 

    

    We deal with a lot of uncertainty in public schools. Education is a dynamic field, and instructional designers need to adapt to evolving learning trends and advancements in technology. Just like their students, instructors are always learning. Instructional designers look to philosophies and theories to ensure their practices remain relevant and effective over time. It keeps them grounded while trying to dissect new technology and new ideas. 

"Mona Lisa Smile"

My thinking about education and designing instruction

    Since the COVID-19 pandemic, education has been flipped on itself. We, as teachers, can no longer just stand in front of a classroom, tell students to open the book, and then proceed to lecture on for 45 minutes. 

    In today's world of 1to1 education, students can easily surf the web, or their phones, to find the answers. 

    One of my favorite movies is "Mona Lisa Smile." The scene where Julia Roberts' character, an art history teacher, starts her first class, she is shocked how all the students already know all the art works she shows them. Roberts' character ends the scene with a look of fear. I have that same fear. I fear I will walk into a classroom, and my students, with Chromebooks in front of them, will start spouting off the answers leaving me feeling helpless. 

    Today, teachers are under a great deal of pressure to cover standards so that students pass a standardized test. Through intentional instructional design we can guide students to think critically about arguments, concepts, and ideas and to create solutions to real-world problems (Pijanowski, 2018). 
    

    In her article on edutopia,Lissa Pijanowski gives eight principles of deeper learning, which are key elements that teachers can use in instructional design to guide students to engage more deeply with content: 
    

    1. Learning goals and success criteria: Any great lesson begins with clear goals for what students need to know and be able to do. Goals, coupled with criteria for success, should be communicated to students in a manner that clarifies our expectations and serves as a guide for self-assessment.
    

    2. Compelling content and products: Beyond discrete standards, teachers have the opportunity to use content and performance expectations to create real-world problems or situations for students to solve. Learning experiences that offer authentic, interdisciplinary tasks provide relevance and promote curiosity for students.
    

    3. Collaborative culture: Learning is social, and the purposeful inclusion of collaboration throughout the learning process is highly engaging for students. There are endless design options for collaboration, including flexible groups, partners, peer tutoring, Socratic seminars, academic discussion, and online experts.
    

    4. Student empowerment: Students’ ownership of their learning increases exponentially when they’re given choice over how to show mastery or create a final product or performance, including using digital tools and resources. Additionally, inviting students to provide input into what they learn and how they engage with content allows them to play the role of co-designer.
    

    5. Intentional instruction: Evidence-based strategies should be carefully selected in order to have the greatest impact on the learning goals. One such strategy is the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model, which provides structure for direct instruction and modeling (“show them”) and guided practice on a task (“help them”), before students attempt it independently (“let them”).
    

    6. Authentic tools and resources: Students should have access to a variety of tools and resources, both print and digital, throughout the learning process and when creating products to demonstrate their learning. Providing a variety of tools offers students choice and emphasizes process over product. Digital strategies such as blended learning and flipped classrooms offer rich experiences that are highly engaging and honor how students like to learn and create.
    

    7. Focus on literacy: Regardless of the content, reading, writing, and speaking should be incorporated into every learning experience. Expose students to multiple texts, primary and secondary sources, and online resources. Engage students in opportunities to write often—e.g., by assigning lab reports, technical manuals, narrative stories, research summaries, opinion papers, or interactive notebooks.
    

    8. Feedback for learning: Throughout the learning experience, there are feedback loops to give students guidance on their progress toward the learning goals. This feedback can be teacher-to-student, student-to-student, or self-assessment. Feedback is formative and provides students with the safety and security of knowing they can take risks and try new things without fear of failure.

    

    We teachers have to start thinking and teaching differently. We have to be facilitators, not lecturers. We have to learn to use and embrace these new technologies, and be willing to step back and consider the changes that are coming in education. 

    

    

References

    Brown A. & Green T. D. (2016). The essentials of instructional design : connecting fundamental principles with process and practice (Third). Routledge. 

    Pijanowski, L. (2018, March 3). 8 Principles of Deeper Learning. Edutopia. Retrieved November 2, 2023, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-principles-deeper-learning

    Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (2005). Instructional design / Patricia L. Smith, Tillman J. Ragan. (3rd ed.). J. Wiley & Sons.