Learning Design

LEARNING DESIGN MODELS

TPACK

TPACK, or technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. This overlap reminds us that, as teachers, we design lessons based on how students can best learn our specific course material. It is a theory that was developed to explain the set of knowledge that teachers need to teach their students a subject, teach effectively, and use technology. We’ll get into more details in just a minute, but let’s look at where this started.

https://youtu.be/EmRw_wARuMk 

ADDIE

The ADDIE model is the generic process traditionally used by instructional designers and training developers. The five phases which is Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. It is also to represent a dynamic, flexible guideline for building effective training and performance support tools.

The ADDIE Model

ADDIE is an acronym for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. This model guides you through the process of creating effective educational courses and materials for your audience. While there are variations of this model in the industry, the concepts are the same. As a professional, this model is more than just an acronym. It is a blue print for success.

The ADDIE model is the blue print for instructional designers.

The Analysis is the most important step in the process. It helps you to determine the basis for all future decisions. A mistake that many beginners make is not conducting a proper analysis at the beginning. It is this analysis that helps you identify your audience, limitations or opportunities, or other important points that will be useful in the design process.

The Design process is the brainstorming step. This is where you use the information obtain in the Analysis phase to create a program or course that meets the needs of your customer or audience. There are many forms of the design process and it can be very tedious at times. Testing your concepts in the design phase will save you time and money.

The Development phase focuses on building the outcome of the design phase. This process consumes much of the time spent in creating a sound educational program or course. It includes various steps such as initial drafts, reviews, re-writes, and testing. For larger corporations, this phase can involve numerous individuals to include subject matter experts (SME), graphic artists, and technical experts. For elearning courses, this phase could require additional assistance for managing server space and technology.

The Implementation phase includes more processes than simply presenting the materials developed. While the concepts and materials have been tested throughout the process, the implementation phase can uncover topics that require further development or re-design work. The processes for this phase vary based on the size of the organization, the complexity of the program or course, and the distribution of the materials. This includes such concepts as test pilots, train-the-trainer sessions, and other delivery methods to present the materials.

The Evaluation phase plays an important role in the beginning and at the end of the process. Evaluation objectives reflect much of the discoveries found in the Analysis process. These discoveries include the objectives and expectations of the learner. When looking at the process, you must avoid the thought that it is structured in a chronological order. Rather, the ADDIE Model is a continuous circle with overlapping boundaries. Of all of the process phases, the evaluation phase is the lest understood .

ADDIE PHASE 2 – DESIGN

Getting To Know ADDIE: Part 2 - Design

In the previous installment we took our first look at the ADDIE model. We learned its general characteristics, considered its advantages and disadvantages, and also discussed at length the first stage of the ADDIE methodology - Analysis. In this installment we will tell you about Design, the second stage of the ADDIE methodology. All the requisite data is gathered during the analysis stage. Once we have learned what the course’s target audience is, set the goals we aim to achieve, and determined the best way to deliver the information, it is time to set about laying out the structure of the course. This is precisely what happens during the second stage.

D Is For Design

The second ADDIE stage is Design. The goal of this stage is to create the structure of the course. It can take the form of something as simple as a storyboard accompanied by some sketches, or as elaborate as a detailed plan, full of descriptions and schematics. Whatever form it takes, the layout of a course usually includes the descriptions of the main topics the course will cover and goals it sets out to achieve, as well as short descriptions of pages’ contents and a general idea of what the navigation and the user interface will look like. At the conclusion of this stage you should have on your hands a handy document you will use during the development stage, one that will contain the answers to the most questions course developers may have.

The Design phase aims to accomplish three main goals:

Deciding on the format of the course.

At this stage the developer has to decide how to best impart the knowledge to the target audience. Should they use the tried and true frontal teaching method, prepare a manual learners will be able to study at their own pace, create an electronic course on a computer, or resort to blended learning? This decision should be made based on the preliminary analysis of the target audience and its characteristics, preferences, and habits. If the target audience is comprised of people with little technical skill who do not routinely deal with computers, the elements of the course should be as simple as possible. If you plan to use interactive elements, it is recommended to try them out first. Invite a few participants belonging to the target audience and run them through a short course with some interactive elements to see if they would be able to grasp the concept. Another option you have is to combine an electronic course with frontal teaching, replacing technically complex elements of the electronic course with simpler frontal practices and tests. This technique is called blended learning, and in situations like this it can simplify the task of imparting knowledge to your learners and increase the effectiveness of your course.

Developing the education strategy.

The education strategy is comprised of lectures, discussions, tasks, tests, projects, and supplementary materials meant to help the learners better understand the course material. All of these fulfill the four main goals of the education strategy:

Preliminary activity. The main goal of preliminary activity is to let the learners know what topics will be covered in a particular section of the course and motivate them by explaining the advantages of possessing the knowledge and skills that will be imparted to them during the education process. Motivating the learners will make them more patient, and also more interested in completing their education. At this stage it is beneficial to tell the learners about the goals of the course, as it will help them understand the global structure of the course, and also how they would be able to apply the obtained knowledge after completing the course.

Presentation of material.Make an effort to keep your course concise and avoid unnecessary details. Leave everything unrelated to the skills the course aims to teach on the cutting floor. Make sure to include a few examples to help learners understand the material better.

Practice.-It is vital to enable the learners to practice what they are being taught. The amount of practice a learner gets while taking the course and after completing it directly corresponds to how quickly and well he or she obtains the requisite skills. Providing timely feedback on the completed tasks is equally important - it helps the learners better understand the material and hone their skills.

Post-activity.- After the learners have completed the course, it is beneficial to hold a meeting with them to discuss the results. This is a good opportunity to summarize the main idea of the course and its goals, which will help the learners to better retain and remember the knowledge obtained while taking the course, and start applying it in their everyday jobs. This is also a chance for the learners to ask questions about some specific topics covered in the course they did not understand very well.

Evaluating results.- During the Analysis stage you are meant to define the results the learners have to achieve for the course to be considered a success. Depending on the specific goals of the course, it is important to decide on the correct way to determine whether the learners have reached the stated goals of the course to gauge the effectiveness of the course. It is important to choose a way of rating the learners that clearly shows whether they have acquired the knowledge the course was meant to impart, and if the obtained skills meet the requirements set for the course. The information you have gathered about the course’s target audience will come in handy during this stage, as it can greatly impact your choice of the method for grading the learners’ results. The learners’ age and their technical proficiency will determine what tasks you will set before them to test their knowledge, as well as the phrasing of the questions. To pick the correct type of test, it is important to consider the goals set before the learners. If the course is meant to primarily broaden their knowledge, a standard test consisting of Multiple Choice and True/False questions will suffice. However, if the course is meant, for example, to teach the learners to use Microsoft Office proficiently, it would be better to have the learners complete real-life tasks in Word or Excel (or teaching emulators of these programs), as in this case it is paramount to test the practical skills acquired by the learners. Keep in mind though that the final scoring is not a goal in itself. It is important to monitor the learners’ progress throughout the duration of the course to make sure that they are able to grasp the main concepts and ideas of the course.

In conclusion

A carefully constructed plan makes building the course much easier for every member of the team. The more effort and care you put into this stage, the less time you will waste on do-overs during development. Measure twice, cut once, as they say. After the Design stage is completed, the creation of the course begins, and so the next installment of our series will tell you about the third ADDIE stage - Development.

Getting To Know ADDIE: Development 

Having scoped out the target audience, settled on what knowledge the course aims to impart, and composed a plan during the Design stage, we are prepared to move on to Development; a key stage of the ADDIE process, though not the last one. If during the previous stages we were chiefly concerned with analyzing the requirements and planning the education process, now we are getting down to business and beginning to work on the course proper.

The Development stage can be divided into three main phases:

Creating a prototype.

Developing the course.

Development.

Quality assurance.

Conducting a test run.

1. Creating a prototype.

Usually, a prototype is created to demonstrate the general concept of the course to the higher-ups or clients and getting their approval for moving forward with the course development. A prototype need not be large; a couple of pages usually suffices for demonstration purposes. Ideally, every page in the prototype should have a different structure. For example, one page can contain an illustration and some text, another an interactive task, and the third one contain nothing but text. This way you can cover most use cases and demonstrate what the majority of the pages in the course will look like.

In addition to the prototype, it is customary to provide a short summary of your course plan. The summary should be short (one, two pages at most), but having read it, a person in charge of approving the plan should have an adequate understanding of how the finished course will look like. Based on the prototype and the summary, they should be able to make the decision to either give you a go-ahead to proceed with the development of the course, or request that changes be made to the plan first. It would not hurt to supply the document containing the education strategy developed during the Design stage as well. Should the person in charge have questions or concerns after reading the plan summary and reviewing the prototype, this document may give them the answers they seek. Once the higher-ups are satisfied with the direction you have chosen, you can greenlight the Instructional Designers and proceed to the creation of the course.

2a. Developing the course.

During the Design stage, while creating the education strategy, you should have settled on what types of material you will use. Having taken the feedback from the higher-ups or clients into account, it is time to start developing the course.

Here are a few considerations you should keep in mind during development:

No one is thrilled by having to read pages upon pages of dry text.

Spice your course up with media content. Anything from illustrations to videos to graphs and tables will make your course look better and help the learners to acquire information on the visual level. Interactive tasks will make the course more engaging and give the learners some hands-on practice related to the topics being learned.

Make an effort to present the information in a logical order.

Introduce new topics only after the learners have had a chance to grasp the basics and understand all underlying concepts.

Regardless of how far you proceed into the development stage, always keep in mind the main educational goals the course aims to achieve.

Do not disregard the data collected during the Analysis stage; it is there to help you achieve those goals.

2b. Quality assurance.

You will do well to make a habit of constantly testing the course as it is being developed. Quality assurance professionals look at the produced content through the eyes of the end user, spotting both typos and technical errors. A fresh look is always beneficial, and it helps to reveal issues that may not be apparent to the Instructional Designers.

To make sure that quality assurance does not hinder the development of the course, it is customary to divide the course into sections or modules, so that once a section is completed, it is passed to the QA or directly to the customer for evaluation, while the development team begins working on the next one. By the time the second section is finished, you should have already received the feedback about the first one, so that you can fix any shortcomings in the first section while the second is being reviewed. Thus, working on individual separate modules helps you to both develop rapidly and keep the course quality high.

3. Conducting a test run.

Another way to ensure that your course meets the required standards, in addition to the creation of a prototype, is to have a number of learners complete the finished sections of the course. Their feedback is recorded and changes are made to the course based on it, and then the corrected sections are returned to the learners for another pass. The iterations continue until all the kinks are worked out.

It is also important to measure the time it takes the learners to complete the course and see how it measures up to the goals set before the course. If the average completion time is significantly longer than planned, consider revising individual pages and/or sections, or even removing pages containing non-essential information outright.

Having finished developing the course, it is a good idea to once again submit it for review to higher-ups/clients for additional feedback.

In Conclusion

If you did not slack during the Analysis and Design stages, Development would be a great deal easier. To reduce the number of iterations, listen carefully to all feedback and use it to improve the course and resolve all discovered issues before sending the course sections for another review. It is important to keep the higher-ups happy, so that they would leave you to your work, and you would not have to spend the valuable development time arguing. In the next  instalment  we will talk about Implementation, and, in parting, let me wish you  patience, which is essential during development.

Getting To Know ADDIE: Part 4 - Implementation

The fourth stage of the ADDIE model is Implementation. The beginning of implementation marks the first time the target audience interacts with your course in earnest, the moment of truth, in which the knowledge contained in the course’s materials is absorbed by the learners.

Getting To Know ADDIE: Implementation

Once the Development stage (the one we spoke about in the previous installment) is finished, it is time to proceed to the next one - namely, Implementation. During this stage, the materials created during development are introduced to the target audience and the learning process starts.

The application of materials can take different forms:

Learners acquire knowledge autonomously by taking an electronic course and trying to understand the material with no outside help.

Knowledge transfer is facilitated by an instructor or a group of instructors using the developed materials as a basis for teaching. They deliver the information to learners and make sure that the main concepts of the course are well understood.

Learners study a part of the course autonomously, while the rest is explained by an instructor, who also controls the acquisition and retention of knowledge from the parts of the course the learners studied with no assistance.

The data gathered during the Analysis stage can help you decide what form would work best in your circumstances. Take into account the type of knowledge the course imparts (theoretical knowledge or practical skills) and the characteristics of the target audience (computer proficiency, occupation, motivation level, discipline, and age), as well as the existing infrastructure of the company where training is being carried out.

Depending on the chosen format, the Implementation stage will likely include the following main steps to a greater or lesser degree:

Training the instructors.

Preparing the learners.

Preparing the environment.

Let us take a more in-depth look at all three steps.

Training the instructors

It is not unusual for a person who was engaged with the development of an electronic course to be involved in its implementation and the delivery of knowledge to learners. However, it is by no means rare for the instructors to be uninvolved in the creation of the course he or she has to teach. In this event, it is necessary to adequately train the instructor and make sure that he or she has all the necessary information about the course before the learning process begins.

In general, the instructor has to have good understanding of the following:

The goal or goals of the course.

The course’s activities.

The course’s media content.

The course’s tests.

One implication of this is that all necessary materials must be prepared before the first lesson starts, so that the instructor will have the time to review them, absorb the mets-information, and obtain an adequate mastery of the information presented in the course. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to teach dozens of instructors at a time, who will then go on to teach the course in different branches or organizations. For this reason, the amount of time necessary to adequately teach an instructor or instructors can vary greatly depending on the circumstances.

Preparing the learners

The next step of the implementation process is to prepare the learners for the upcoming education process. First and foremost that means making sure that they are familiar with the tools and have the knowledge required for completing the course. Are the learners proficient in the use of programs they will use during the course? Are they aware of the course’s goals, and its schedule?

Sometimes it may be necessary to carry out preliminary education to create the necessary foundation for the teaching of the course’s materials. You may also need to explain how to use the media player software used in the delivery of the electronic course, or how many points will be awarded for the completion of the course’s tests and what is the required passing grade.

Preparing the environment

During this step it is necessary to ensure that the technical and organizational requirements of the course, formulated during the Development stage, are met, and to prepare the environment where the teaching will be conducted. Depending on the chosen format, the preparation may include the following:

Setting up a projector and a screen of adequate size.

Setting up the audio in the room/auditorium where the learning will take place.

Making sure that the computers that will be used for teaching have sound cards installed, connecting and testing the speakers/headphones.

Downloading and installing the necessary software and/or plugins (Java Virtual Machine, Flash, etc).

Supplying a whiteboard and marker pens.

Preparing the necessary printouts that will be distributed to the learners.

An adequately prepared environment helps both the learners and the instructors to concentrate on the learning process with a minimum of distractions.

In conclusion

Once the instructors have been taught, and the learners and the environment prepared, the learning process can begin. Keep in mind that implementation is a key stage of the ADDIE process, because it is during this stage the information contained in the course you created is transferred to the target audience. This makes it imperative that you pay attention to the feedback received from the learners taking the course, and address it.

It is a shame to make a single blunder during the implementation stage that can negatively impact knowledge acquisition, as well as the learners’ reaction towards the course. For example, failing to install a plugin necessary to view the course’s videos, or putting the learners in a noisy room can greatly affect the final result in a negative way. If you are responsible for the learning process in your company, pay extra attention during the Implementation stage. It would not hurt to accompany the instructors and learners before the learning process begins. This way, the quality of the learning process is least likely to be impacted

Getting To Know ADDIE: Part 5 - Evaluation

Wow, we’ve come a long way! Now, we are at the end of our journey, and all that is left to us is to examine the final stage of the ADDIE framework – Evaluation

Getting To Know ADDIE: Evaluation

We started our journey by studying the target audience, formulating the learning goals, and performing technical analysis. We then proceeded to choosing the format of the course and developing the educational strategy. The next step was creating a prototype and getting busy developing the course itself. In the previous installment we spoke about preparing the teachers, learners, and the environment.

Let us take a look at the individual steps comprising the final stage of the ADDIE framework, Evaluation.

Analysis phase

The Analysis Phase is also the part of the project where you identify the overall direction that the project will take through the creation of the project strategy documents. Gathering requirements is the main attraction of the Analysis Phase

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZdv5lrJs4U 

SAMR

The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model offers a method of seeing how computer technology might impact teaching and learning.  It also shows a progression that adopters of educational technology often follow as they progress through teaching and learning with technology. While one might argue over whether an activity can be defined as one level or another, the important concept to grasp here is the level of student engagement. One might well measure progression along these levels by looking at who is asking the important questions.  As one moves along the continuum, computer technology becomes more important in the classroom but at the same time becomes more invisibly woven into the demands of good teaching and learning.

Level	Definition	Examples	Functional Change
Substitution	Computer technology is used to perform the same task as was done before the use of computers.	Students take a quiz using a Google Form instead of using pencil and paper.	There is some functional benefit here in that paper is being saved, students and teacher can receive almost immediate feedback on student level of understanding of material.  This level starts to move along the teacher / student centric continuum. The impact of immediate feedback is that students may begin to become more engaged in learning.
Augmentation	Computer Technology offers an effective tool to perform common tasks.	Students are asked to write an essay around the theme "And This I Believe...". An audio recording of the essay is made along with an original musical soundtrack.  The recording will be played in front of an authentic audience such as parents, or college admission counselors.	There is significant functional change in the classroom.  While all students are learning similar writing skills, the reality of an authentic audience gives each student has a personal stake in the quality of the work.  Computer technology is necessary for this classroom to function allowing peer and teacher feedback, easy rewriting, and audio recording.  Questions about writing skills increasingly come from the students themselves.
Modification	This is the first step over the line between enhancing the traditional goings-on of the classroom and transforming the classroom. Common classroom tasks are being accomplished through the use of computer technology.	A classroom is asked to create a documentary video answering an essential question related to important concepts. Teams of students take on different subtopics and collaborate to create one final product.  Teams are expected to contact outside sources for information.	At this level, common classroom tasks and computer technology exist not as ends but as supports for student centered learning.  Students learn content and skills in support of important concepts as they pursue the challenge of creating a  professional quality video.  Collaboration becomes necessary and technology allows such communications to occur.  Questions and discussion are increasingly student generated

(SOURCES : GOOGLE IMAGE)

https://youtu.be/SC5ARwUkVQg 

The 5 E's

           

The 5 E's is an instructional model based on the constructivist approach to learning, which says that learners build or construct new ideas on top of their old ideas. The 5 E's can be used with students of all ages, including adults.

Each of the 5 E's describes a phase of learning, and each phase begins with the letter "E": Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. The 5 E's allows students and teachers to experience common activities, to use and build on prior knowledge and experience, to construct meaning, and to continually assess their understanding of a concept.

Engage: This phase of the 5 E's starts the process. An "engage" activity should do the following:

Make connections between past and present learning experiences

Anticipate activities and focus students' thinking on the learning outcomes of current activities. Students should become mentally engaged in the concept, process, or skill to be learned.

Explore: This phase of the 5 E's provides students with a common base of experiences. They identify and develop concepts, processes, and skills. During this phase, students actively explore their environment or manipulate materials.

Explain: This phase of the 5 E's helps students explain the concepts they have been exploring. They have opportunities to verbalize their conceptual understanding or to demonstrate new skills or behaviors. This phase also provides opportunities for teachers to introduce formal terms, definitions, and explanations for concepts, processes, skills, or behaviors.

Elaborate: This phase of the 5 E's extends students' conceptual understanding and allows them to practice skills and behaviors. Through new experiences, the learners develop deeper and broader understanding of major concepts, obtain more information about areas of interest, and refine their skills.

Evaluate: This phase of the 5 E's encourages learners to assess their understanding and abilities and lets teachers evaluate students' understanding of key concepts and skill development.

            Constructivism

           

           

Constructivism is a learning strategy that draws on students' existing knowledge, beliefs, and skills. With a constructivist approach, students synthesize new understanding from prior learning and new information.

The constructivist teacher sets up problems and monitors student exploration, guides student inquiry, and promotes new patterns of thinking. Working mostly with raw data, primary sources, and interactive material, constructivist teaching asks students to work with their own data and learn to direct their own explorations. Ultimately, students begin to think of learning as accumulated, evolving knowledge. Constructivist approaches work well with learners of all ages, including adults.

Student Role Vs Teacher Role

Roles of Students and Teachers

The developers of the 5E Model would educate teachers on how the phases should be implemented in the classroom and what that would look like in terms of roles for students and teachers. The following table highlights the roles of both students and teachers during each phase of the 5E model.