Module 2: Summary

This week you reviewed Instructional Systems Design (ISD) models which are essential tools that help instructional designers create effective courses, knowing how to apply learning theories to course design is equally important. There are three learning theories typically addressed within the scope of effective instructional design. These theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Each learning theory has its strengths and weaknesses; therefore, to choose the theory that suits the needs of a specific course, you should take multiple aspects of learning into consideration, including your goals, learners, and situations.

Next week you will review the analysis phase which is an essential part of instructional design. After all, without conducting a needs analysis, you have no way of knowing the reason for creating the course. Needs analysis discovers the target audience for the course as well as the true purpose for creating it. Based on data collected during this phase, you will be able to determine the approach you need to take in designing the course. You will also be able to decide on media and delivery method based on the findings. Moreover, the analysis phase will help you figure out what content should be included in the lesson, whether the training is for beginners or more advanced learners, or whether it is just refreshment or a job aid. In addition to answering all these questions, the analysis phase helps to find out if the training is really a viable solution. Oftentimes, instructional designers conduct a thorough needs analysis just to realize that there is a performance issue, which cannot be solved by a training course. Alternatively, some instructional designers do not conduct needs analysis at all. This approach can be detrimental to designing an effective solution to a problem. In real life, clients underestimate the value of needs analysis; therefore, they do not dedicate the budget for this phase.