Instructional Design Theories and Models
There are numerous instructional design theories and models. Which method(s) you choose will depend on your teaching style and course learning goals. Below you will find brief overviews of the most popular theories and models. You may find that a mixture of several different approaches best suits your teaching style. Additionally, Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is a methodology for defining step-by-step procedures for designing, developing and implementing instructional materials. There are numerous ISD models that have been developed, some of which are discussed below.
Behaviorism
John Watson and B.F. Skinner are associated with Behaviorism.Watson formally introduced this theory, which has its basis in the psychology of behavior. Skinner added to this the concept of operant conditioning. Behaviorists believe that humans and animals can be conditioned to respond in certain ways. Think of the famous Pavlov experiment where a dog was conditioned to expect a meal when a bell rang, and over time began to salivate when the bell rang, whether presented with food or not. Following this theory, behavior is a result of positive and/or negative reinforcements. Courses designed with a behaviorist slant typically present clear objectives, and the assessments are directly tied to the objectives. Student work focuses on drill and practice, and students receive positive or negative feedback regularly.
The Dick and Carey Model begins by determining instructional goals and learner characteristics. Then performance objectives are written. The development stage centers on matching and meeting the performance objectives. The Dick and Carey Model also plans for formative and summative evaluations.
The ADDIE Model is possibly the most generally applicable of the ISD models. The ADDIE Model consists of the following phases, or steps: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The ADDIE Model is flexible in that instructional designers can build a great deal of details into the five steps, or choose to keep the steps more general and evolving. See also: "Bringing ADDIE to Life: Instructional Design at Its Best," in the Journal of Educational Media and Hypermedia (2003) 12 (3), 227-241.
Constructivism
Whereas behaviorism focuses on the psychology of coditioning, constructivism places more emphasis on the processes of the mind.Constructivism focuses on collaborative learning, where learners have great, and sometimes complete, control over the course curricula. Learning is a process that builds on past knowledge and experience, and students are encouraged to form their own conclusions. Instructors serve more as guides in a constructivist environment, encouraging students to develop their own knowledge, unlike behaviorists, who try to direct students toward predefined preferred outcomes. Courses based in constructivism are often focused on dialogue, using tools such as chatrooms, discussion boards and small group work.
Concept Mapping is a process of visually mapping, or diagramming, concepts and/or ideas. Concept mapping can be useful for brainstorming, information design, and looking for connections between different concepts. A concept map starts out with the central idea in the center, and then related ideas, words, concepts, etc.. branch off from the original. Concept mapping can better be understood by looking at an example, which you can access by selecting this link.
Problem-Based Learning, as its name implies, emphasizes placing learners into a situation, usually simulating a real-world scenario, where they must come to some conclusion or solution. In PBL, the "problem" often does not have one set solution and means to achieve it. Rather, students are given an active role in learning, where they develop knowledge through working on the problem. Thereby, emphasis is placed on knowledge acquisition instead of the traditional testing of outcomes alone. This link provides more information on problem based learning.
Additionally, Bloom's Taxonomy can be helpful in establishing learning goals. Bloom's Taxonomy focuses on the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning. The Taxonomy divides the domains into behaviors and provides examples and keywords that can be used for creating objectives and assessments for the desired behaviors in each domain.