Applying Theory to Instructional Design: Part 1
Quality instructional designers should apply multiple theories and concepts based on valid research within and outside the field. Designers formally educated in instructional design (ID), can spend years learning these abstract concepts of how adults and children learn best, but can fail to implement them as practitioners. Some designers who landed this gig by chance, might use their experiences of mostly trial and error.
In this three part series, I plan to explain how to take learning theories and apply them to the work that we do. The following concepts may not all need to be used every time for every course, but each one or a combination of some will move the design and development of a course from basic to advanced. For each theory or concept, an example of a barista training will be used. In some cases, examples will deviate depending if the course is instructor-led or online.
As designers, we must also be aware of the law of readiness. This relates to the physical preparedness of the learner to receive new information. This could be the difference between hosting a training on the Tuesday after a long weekend, in the morning or afternoon, and the timeliness of the content with what is happening in the work environment. Many times, scheduling might be out of our control, and when that happens you need to be prepared to overcome these obstacles with activities that will physically prepare the learner to engage and absorb what you are presenting.
The last law, the law of exercise relates to strengthening connections through practice or weakening them through neglect. In short, will the new information become forgotten or not. Because behaviorism is based on effects to stimuli, it is emphasized that correct responses should be immediately rewarded so the learner will most likely remember the proper way to do something.
It’s also important for an instructional designer to use observations for task analysis during the beginning stages of a project. Performance relies heavily on the actions a person completes, so a designer should use this concept during the planning phase to collect and document the actions and steps performed related to a process. For example, a designer could observe the actions of a high performing barista within the work environment to capture what and how they are performing. This analysis will help when creating behavioral objectives.
Behavioral objectives, or observable and measurable statements define what the learner will know after instruction. They are the foundation to the scope of the course(s) and the practice activities done within. These statements should use an action verb to describe the behavior, and the verb should match the level of higher-order thinking to align with the type of engagement (see Bloom’s taxonomy). They can also include any tools or support that a learner may need. Finally, a constraint (if one exists) such as time or accuracy could be used. An example of a worthwhile objective could be something like this: The barista will correctly create every drink ordered within a 10-minute time frame.
So, you have these amazing objectives that you thoughtfully crafted, but now you need practice activities. It is important that these activities align with the objectives otherwise the learner will come away having acquired nothing. Practice is the best way to reach the goal of mastering the desired knowledge or skill. If we build on the objective example, a quality practice situation would be to have the learner create combinations of drinks for customers. If this training is done in person, you might use role playing. If done via online, a designer could create a drag and drop interaction where the learner drags ingredients onto a target.
Along with practice comes feedback. Feedback should be specific and relevant to the type of learner. Feedback should also be given immediately following an attempt or completion of a practice activity. For example, in an instructor-led situation the feedback could come from the person playing the customer. They could say something along the lines of “My drink has the perfect amount of cinnamon in it. Thank you for making it so quickly too!” or “I’m sorry, but could you make this again? You put cream in my coffee when I asked for it black.” Online learning could have similar feedback based how the learner completed the interaction.
Check out parts two and three to learn how to apply cognitive and social theories.
In this three part series, I plan to explain how to take learning theories and apply them to the work that we do. The following concepts may not all need to be used every time for every course, but each one or a combination of some will move the design and development of a course from basic to advanced. For each theory or concept, an example of a barista training will be used. In some cases, examples will deviate depending if the course is instructor-led or online.
BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORIES
To begin, lets define behaviorism as the study of actions that are observed based on requirements or as an effect of stimuli. The law of effect states that once a connection is made, the strength of that connection is dependent on what follows. I.e. will the learner be rewarded for a correct response or will they be penalized to decrease a behavior?As designers, we must also be aware of the law of readiness. This relates to the physical preparedness of the learner to receive new information. This could be the difference between hosting a training on the Tuesday after a long weekend, in the morning or afternoon, and the timeliness of the content with what is happening in the work environment. Many times, scheduling might be out of our control, and when that happens you need to be prepared to overcome these obstacles with activities that will physically prepare the learner to engage and absorb what you are presenting.
The last law, the law of exercise relates to strengthening connections through practice or weakening them through neglect. In short, will the new information become forgotten or not. Because behaviorism is based on effects to stimuli, it is emphasized that correct responses should be immediately rewarded so the learner will most likely remember the proper way to do something.
It’s also important for an instructional designer to use observations for task analysis during the beginning stages of a project. Performance relies heavily on the actions a person completes, so a designer should use this concept during the planning phase to collect and document the actions and steps performed related to a process. For example, a designer could observe the actions of a high performing barista within the work environment to capture what and how they are performing. This analysis will help when creating behavioral objectives.
Behavioral objectives, or observable and measurable statements define what the learner will know after instruction. They are the foundation to the scope of the course(s) and the practice activities done within. These statements should use an action verb to describe the behavior, and the verb should match the level of higher-order thinking to align with the type of engagement (see Bloom’s taxonomy). They can also include any tools or support that a learner may need. Finally, a constraint (if one exists) such as time or accuracy could be used. An example of a worthwhile objective could be something like this: The barista will correctly create every drink ordered within a 10-minute time frame.
So, you have these amazing objectives that you thoughtfully crafted, but now you need practice activities. It is important that these activities align with the objectives otherwise the learner will come away having acquired nothing. Practice is the best way to reach the goal of mastering the desired knowledge or skill. If we build on the objective example, a quality practice situation would be to have the learner create combinations of drinks for customers. If this training is done in person, you might use role playing. If done via online, a designer could create a drag and drop interaction where the learner drags ingredients onto a target.
Along with practice comes feedback. Feedback should be specific and relevant to the type of learner. Feedback should also be given immediately following an attempt or completion of a practice activity. For example, in an instructor-led situation the feedback could come from the person playing the customer. They could say something along the lines of “My drink has the perfect amount of cinnamon in it. Thank you for making it so quickly too!” or “I’m sorry, but could you make this again? You put cream in my coffee when I asked for it black.” Online learning could have similar feedback based how the learner completed the interaction.
Check out parts two and three to learn how to apply cognitive and social theories.
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