Abstract
The effectiveness of any instructional programme or instructional material depends upon an appropriate planning or designing, what is called in professional parlance, “Instructional Design”. In general, instructional design is relatively a young discipline (Usha, 2003). In its literal meaning, instruction means a set of events that facilitate learning. On the other hand the word design is a generic term, which means “a creative model”. Instructional design includes several processes such as the use of knowledge, observation, and creativity to plan and create situations that enhance learning opportunities of the individuals. However, to accomplish the aforementioned processes, the instruction has to be planned to be effective and designed in some systematic approach. Learning theories have significant bearing on instructional design, as there is a logical development from learning to instruction (Usha, 2003). Instructional design optimizes learning outcomes while learning theories are the backbone of any instructional design. Instructional design is the articulation or the manifestation of the learning theories, and its main aim is to optimize learning by using the known theories of learning (Usha, 2003).
TopGeneral Theories Of Learning
This section examines three general categories of learning namely, behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism. These three categories of learning have implications for instructional design. A brief introduction to the three categories of learning is given in Table 1.