Thursday, October 9, 2014

RSA # 4 Instructional Design

http://www.learningdomain.com/MEdHOME2/BrainCognition/Instruc.Design.Smith.Ragan.pdf

According to Smith and Ragan (1999), Instructional design can be defined as “the systematic and reflective process of translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials, activities, information resources and evaluation” (p. 2). In other words, instructional design is taking the learning process and breaking it down into step-by-step parts for teachers to follow.  Smith and Ragan go on to say that there are 3 main questions that need to be answered when designing a lesson: 1.)Where are we going? (What are the goals of instruction?) 2.) How will we get there? (What are the instructional strategies?) 3.) How will we know when we have arrived? (What should the test look like?) (1999).  These main questions are essential to keeping a lesson focused and are important to ensure that learning is happening. 
This week’s current topic of learning is centered around the design of Duffy and McDonald’s Dynamic Instructional Design (DID) model.  In this model, there are six steps that need to be followed when creating a lesson.  Those steps are: know the learner, state the objectives, establish the learning environment, identify teaching and learning strategies, identify technologies, and the assessment (2011).  These steps outline the essential parts of a lesson that should be followed when implementing learning in a classroom. 
These instructional design steps can be used in creating lessons for a third grade class.  First of all, you will need to identify who the learners are.  If a teacher knows whom they are teaching, they can better adjust the lesson to their students’ strengths or weaknesses.  Next, learning objectives need to be determined.  Knowing where you want to go with a lesson will help keep the teachers on tract and the students focused.  Making sure you have the time and resources necessary to complete the task at hand can help establish the learning environment.  When identifying learning strategies, a teacher should focus on a learning method such as Problem-based Learning, Resource-Based Learning, or Inquiry Based Learning to help students gain knowledge in different ways.  Also, when designing a lesson for a classroom, choosing the right technology is important because they can help assist the learning strategy that was chosen.  Finally, and one of the most important parts of instructional design is the assessment.  Knowing how you will assess student learning will help you develop you activities. 
            No matter what type of classroom a teacher may be in, if great attention is given to designing lessons, high achievement is possible.   




Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2011).  Teaching and Learning with Technology (4th     ed.).        Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (1999). Instructional design (p. 3). New York, NY: Wiley.

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