Instructional Design and Powerful LearningI (the fi rst author) have been teaching instructional design (ID) for a decade, and I often start by focusing students' attention on their own learningon what has been very eff ective, what has not, and why. In one exercise, I ask students to refl ect on the nature and causes of their very best and very worst learn ing experiences. In doing this exer cise, I've grown more and more curi ous about the fact that I have been unable in ten years to see a direct link between what any single stu dent identifi ed as a best learning experience and a designer or teacher's preparation of that experi ence using a formal method such as instructional systems development.In a recent semester, I used a simi lar activity with 25 graduate stu dents and asked them to refl ect on the most powerful learning experiences they had ever had. Th e experiences were varied, but again no link to formal designing could be made. What struck me most, and what prompted the present study, was the over whelming support given to a single factor-the importance of a personal relationship with a mentor. Th e fi eld of instructional design was founded at least in part on the belief that such personal relationships with a mentor or subject matter expert were costly and ineffi cient. Technology-based in struction was given equal footing, if not preference, and this has in creased with the proliferation of microcomputing and the construc tion of the Internet. For example, try to fi nd a current position advertise ment for an instructional designer that does not refer to authoring dis tance learning courseware.Skillfully executed, instructional design can result in eff ective and effi cient means to meet learning goals. However, more powerful learning ex periences seem to go beyond eff ective ness, efficiency, appeal, and even pre determined goals. This study sought to identify the key features of instruc tional design, to determine the nature of powerful learning experiences, and to explore how the two might relate. A survey of experts and a series of inter views with adult learners revealed overlap in some areas, for example, in the perceived importance of active en gagement in authentic situations, and clear diff erences in others, most sig nifi cantly the importance placed by learners on continual face-toface per sonal interaction with a mentor/ expert teacher. Speculations are off ered on what similar results from additional studies might imply with regard to de sign actions and choices, and questions for further research are posed."Instructional Design and Powerful Learning" by G. Rowland and T. DiVasto is reprinted from Performance Improvement Quarterly, 14(2), 2001Quarterly, 14(2), , pp. 7-36. doi:10.1111Quarterly, 14(2), /j.1937Quarterly, 14(2), -8327.2001 10 DOI: 10.1002/piqPerformance Improvement QuarterlyAre learners saying that techno logical solutions are inherently less powerful? Are our current concep tions of ID hindering designers who try to eff ect powerful learning? In this study, we essent...
Skillfully executed, instructional design can result in effective and efficient means to meet learning goals. However, more powerful learning experiences seem to go beyond effectiveness, efficiency, appeal, and even predetermined goals. This study sought to identify the key features of instructional design, to determine the nature of powerful learning experiences, and to explore how the two might relate. A survey of experts and a series of interviews with adult learners revealed overlap in some areas, for example, in the perceived importance of active engagement in authentic situations, and clear differences in others, most significantly the importance placed by learners on continual face‐to‐face personal interaction with a mentor/expert teacher. Speculations are offered on what similar results from additional studies might imply with regard to design actions and choices, and questions for further research are posed.
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