This chapter is devoted to the second D of the 5Ds model, design. In the design stage, four instructional design concepts are covered, including conducting the instructional analysis for online course instruction, writing the performance objectives, classifying the objectives based on the learning domains, and developing the objective-based assessment. The author's story presented in this chapter is used as an illustrative visual aid of the instructional analysis and learning hierarchy concepts.
TopOverview
As presented in the previous chapters, the 5Ds model employs the ISD approach to design online course instruction. In general, the ISD is a student-centered approach that intends to produce effective instruction. Reiser and Dick (1998) defined effective instruction as “instruction that enables students to acquire specified skills, knowledge, and attitudes, and an instruction that students enjoy” (p.3). The 5Ds model focuses mainly on online learning and emphasizes that online course instruction should be effective, enjoyable, and successful. For effective and enjoyable online courses, online instructors should design their online course instruction before they start posting instructional materials on the course website. In the previous chapter, in the Define Stage, the overall goal of the online course and the course learning objectives were defined and stated. Also, the online learning environment of the course was defined, the requirements for online learning were specified, and the support system was described and explained. The Design Stage builds on the Define Stage by breaking down the learning objectives into tasks and sub-tasks (skills and subordinate skills), writing the performance objectives for each task and sub-task, classifying the performance objectives based on the learning domains, and developing objective-based assessment instruments to measure students’ performance on the online course objectives.
TopLearning Objectives
Upon completion of the model learning module of the 2nd stage of the 5Ds model, Design, you will be able to:
- 2.1.
Conduct an instructional analysis for the online course
- 2.2.
Write the online course performance objectives
- 2.3.
Classify the objectives based on the learning domains
- 2.4.
Develop an objective-based assessment
Conduct an Instructional Analysis
The primary purpose of the instructional analysis is to identify the sub-steps (subordinate skills) that are required for the major steps (learning objectives). It also provides a blueprint for building a learning hierarchy or other suitable learning structure for the instruction in which the overall goal of the course is placed on the top, and the sub-steps are the steppingstones to reach it. In their description of the cognitive strategies of the instructional analysis, Dick, Carey, & Carey (2015) used the comparison between the instructional designer who builds the structure of the instructional analysis for intellectual skills with the civil engineer in laying out a section of farmland for housing development (pp. 45-46). I think that his is a suitable comparison that is keenly utilized in this context. However, I usually use the analogy of a fancy building for a well-designed instruction in general and compare the work of the instructional designer/instructor, who is usually responsible for the ultimate status of the instruction, with the architect who plans and creatively gets the building erected and stay stand.
Use the backward design to conduct an instructional analysis for the online course. Start with the course goal placed on the top.