My Instructional Model

My Instructional Model

Instructional Design! Why should I use one? I am a teacher, a really good one. I know my subject, I have been teaching it for a long time, I am a master of it. These could be the thoughts or may be the voice of a typical teacher, but in today's world, the profession of teaching has evolved big folds. Traditionally, the role of the teacher is to deliver content and in doing so, he builds rapport with his students which help him deliver the knowledge. For a better understanding of a novel concept, an instructional design would present a better resolution. In the real world, it is not the content you deliver as an instructor, it all matters how you deliver the knowledge to your students.

As compared to a teacher’s lesson plan, an instructional design can be defined as the creation of instructional materials, modules or lessons. Instructional design is a technology for the development of learning experiences and environments which promote the acquisition of specific knowledge and skill by students (Merrill, Drake, Lacy & Pratt, 1996). In general terms, the instructional design process consists of determining the needs of the learners, defining the end goals and objectives of instruction, designing and planning assessment tasks, and designing teaching and learning activities to ensure the quality of instruction.

In my previous class of Instructional Design, I came across multiple learning theories and different instructional design systems. Among many instructional designs being used in the educational world today, the ADDIE ID model has been my favorite. ADDIE is one of the leading ID systems being used in the industry. After reviewing the article “Newby, Stepich, Lehman, and Russell (PIE Model) and ADDIE “ by Gutierez (2013), I found that the era of eLearning could be benefitted better with this model of instructional design. The PIE ID primarily was designed in the year 2000 for teachers, especially to implement technology in their classrooms. This model focuses “on classroom instruction created and delivered by the same individual…with an emphasis on using media and technology to assist them” (Gustafson and Branch, 2002). The use of instructional media is stressed in this model in order to assist in student-centered learning.

As compared to ADDIE’s model which is comprised of five phases; Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation & Evaluation, the PIE model is identified by three main segments, which are Plan, Implement, and Evaluate. The Analysis, Design, and Development phases of ADDIE could be compared with PIE’s planning phase. In this phase, the ID designer plans and prepares the lesson/course, which includes reviewing of all the resources and analyzing the environment of learning. Whereas, Implementation and Evaluation phases could be considered the same in the two models. The Implementation phase is used to build up the learning experiences and combines methods/media. Teachers evaluate student learning and overall effectiveness of their lesson in the Evaluation phase. The PIE model has “general rules that it can be adapted to fit each situation, rather than a rigid procedure that must be followed in the same way every time” (Newby, 2001). The great thing about this model is that although it introduces each phase in a particular order, they do not force a particular process, which makes it very useful for teachers, as they can adjust their instruction according to the interaction they receive from the students.

With a comprehensive shift to the student-centered learning, the use of technology has undermined the work of Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory of learning. Social constructivism theory places emphasis on the collaborative nature of learning, with the underlying assumption that knowledge is constructed through the interaction of others. Research on the online environment shows that interaction among students and between the instructor and students is critically important for student satisfaction and retention (Thompson, 2017). As a result, Ludwig-Hardman and Dunlap (2003) state that some students in distance learning programs and courses report feelings of isolation, lack of self-direction, and management, and eventually decrease in motivation levels. It is very much possible that improper application of the PIE’s ID model in lesson development may promote isolation in the student-centered learning paradigm.

In conclusion, I would say that the use of the PIE model in my ID system with more blended instructions. This model would definitely be pleasing to my client since it offers the same advantages as the ADDIE’s model and it synchronizes technology in knowledge delivery. Technology use definitely helps the learners to gain knowledge with the completion of a lesson. The inventiveness of technology use in the PIE model makes the learners stay focused throughout the course with the same zeal and apprehension and that’s what every client is yearning for.

References:

Gustafson, K. L., & Branch, R. M. (2002). Survey of instructional development models (4th ed.). Syracuse, NY: Eric Clearinghouse on Information.

Gutierrez, G. (2013, July 13). Newby, Stepich, Lehman, and Russell (PIE Model) and ADDIE.

Newby, T. J., Stepich, D. A., Lehman, J. D., & Russell, J. D. (2000). Educational Technology for Teaching and Learning (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

Youngman, T. (2017, April 6). ADDIE's great but give other instructional design models a look. In CAVIO Learning: Corporate Strategy and Learning Center. Retrieved September 22, 2018, from https://www.caveolearning.com/blog/addies-great-but-give-other-instructional-design-models-a-look