Basic Issues and Guidelines of Instructional Design

When you are preparing a learning material, following are the basic things to keep in view:

•        Audience Analysis: Determine the current ability of the learners

•        Method of teaching& Media Selection

•        Topic & Objective of learning

•        Introduction and commencement

•        Recollection and assessment of prior knowledge

•        Break down topic into smaller subtopics

•        Subject Presentation: Examples/Scenarios, Language and Style,

•        Assessment

•        Feedback

Audience Analysis: When you are writing something, you must know for whom you are writing.  You have to prepare the content, keeping in view your audience.  Audience analysis includes various things some of which are mentioned below:

• Age
• Educational Qualification
• Region & Native language
• Familiarity with the language of instruction
• Prior knowledge of subject  

Points to remember:

Ø      In some instances, the language of instruction may not be the native language of the audience.  Hence, do not use idioms popular among the native speakers.  Otherwise, the audience may not follow the instruction or may take some other meaning.

Ø      In Technical writing as well as instructional designing, the usage of idioms is highly discouraged.

Method and Medium of teaching: The writer should know the medium and method of communications as he is supposed to prepare his content for various mediums such as textbook, e-book, audiocassette, videocassette, and website.

Topic & Objective of learning:  It is the duty of an instructional designer to enable audience to know what and what for they are learning all about.

Introduction and commencement: After explaining Objective of Learning, give a brief introduction.  Commence your topic with either an interesting illustration or a though provoking question.

Recollection and assessment of prior knowledge: Make your readers to recollect his prior knowledge and assess themselves about how far they are acquainted with the topic.  To get the desired results, ask them thought provoking questions and make them to think of the topic.

Break down topic into smaller subtopics: Break down main topic into smaller sub-topics.

Presentation with examples: After breaking down main topic into smaller sub-topics, explain each sub-topic in detail with illustrations and examples.

FAQ’s: After the completion of a task, mention FAQs. It enables the audience to understand the topic in more effective and detailed manner.  While preparing FAQs, stress more on misconceptions and prepare questions related to misconceptions.

Assessment and Feedback: After the completion of topic, enable the readers to assess themselves by providing various exercises.  Also provide them with feedback by providing them with answers for given questions.  Assessment helps the reader to know his level of understanding and builds confidence among readers.  As a part of assessment, stress more on misconceptions.

You can assess your reader with following types of Assessment:

•        Short Answer Question

•        Fill-in-the-blanks

•        Multiple Choice

•        Match

•        Sequence

•        Open ended

•        Simulation

Self evaluation: Motivate your audience to have timely self evaluation after the completion of every topic.   

Guidelines to Instructional Designers:

• Follow Learners’ Centric Approach
• Clarification of Misconceptions
• Usage of idioms

Follow Learners’ Centric Approach: In olden days, teaching used to teachers’ centric.  In course of time, educationalists realized the importance of making it learners’ centric.  Encourage the engagement of learners so that they learn with an enthusiasm.

When you prepare content for either training or educational purpose, follow the learner’s centric approach. 

Ø      Make them involved in the learning process by asking them frequent questions related to the subject. Give a list of questions after the completion of every topic in order to enable the learners to assess themselves.  

Ø      Ask them their personal experiences related to the concept.  For example, if you are teaching about the concept ‘Inflation’, ask them to remember the prices of various day-to-day commodities when they were children.

Clarification of Misconceptions:  When you are supposed to conduct a training or educational program on a particular concept, you must know the misconceptions your audience had about the concept. While explaining about the concept, you must stress more up on misconceptions.  You also mention them in FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

While assessing the prior as well as acquired knowledge of your audience, observe how far they are away from misconceptions by asking more number of and challenging questions on misconceptions.

Usage of Idioms: Usually, idioms make text live and readable. However, it is not advisable for instructional designers to use idioms.  Idioms are usually popular among the native speakers.  In some instances, the language of instruction may not be the native language of the audience and audience may not follow the instruction or may take some other meaning. Hence, the usage of idioms is highly discouraged.

   
Note: Same thing is applicable to technical writing too)  

Written by: S.Chandrashekara Reddy

Mail ID: chandrashekarareddys@gmail.com