Designing instruction for complex learning: 4C/ID in higher education

Abstract

Objectives-based instructional design approaches break down tasks into specific learning objectives and prescribe that instructors should choose the optimal instructional method for teaching each respective objective until all objectives have been taught. This approach is appropriate for many tasks where there is little relation between the objectives, but less effective for teaching complex professional tasks that require the integration of knowledge, skills, and attitudes and the coordination of different skills. For the latter, a task-centred approach that starts designing instruction from whole, real-life tasks, is more appropriate. This article describes one task-centred instructional design model, namely the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model and illustrates its application by reflecting on three educational programs in higher education designed with 4C/ID. The first case presents a design for a course that focuses on the development of mobile apps at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The second case illustrates the integration of information problem-solving skills at Iselinge University of Professional Teacher Education, a teacher training institute in the Netherlands. The third case is an example from general practice education at the KU Leuven, Belgium. Future developments and issues concerning the implementation of taskcentred educational programmes are discussed.

Embedded Information Problem-Solving Instruction to Foster Learning from Digital Sources: Longitudinal Effects on Task Performance

“…In this study, students obtained good learning outcomes and increased the frequency of the use of some of their IPS constituent skills and regulation activities. More recently, [52] investigated student teachers' IPS skills through embedded whole-task instruction in a 20-week course and reported that the instruction succeeded in developing cognitive strategies to tackle an information problem.…”

“…Long-term instruction for learning has been considered as instruction that lasts over a quarter of the academic year [53], or even as an instructional course that may take place over two or three weeks [54]. In the specific field of IPS, long-term instruction has been related to a curriculum-wide approach [6,30,52]. Most IPS intervention studies apply short-term instruction and these studies report that some of the improvements in IPS skills reached by the participants disappeared after completing the course [10].…”

Geneticus Investigatio: a technology-enhanced learning environment for scaffolding complex learning in genetics

“…Once a learner has solved a breeding scenario, he/she reflects and plans to solve the new context through the transfer of their learning. In GI, the learning activities have been designed based on the components of instructional design for complex learning (Frerejean et al, 2019, Kirschner & Van Merriënboer, 2008, Van Merriënboer, 1997, i.e. learning task, supportive information, procedural information, and part-task practice have been operationalised as follows.…”

Provoking a Conversation Around Students’ and Supervisors’ Expectations Regarding Workplace Learning

“…Examples of task-centred models are cognitive apprenticeship (Brown, Collins, & Duguid, 1989), elaboration theory (Reigeluth, 1999), first principles of instruction (Merrill, 2002) and the four-component instructional design model (4C/ID model) ( van Merriënboer, 1997). The 4C/ID model is characterised by a strong research base and a spreading popularity, as evidenced by the increasing number of publications in various contexts, such as medical education (Maggio, Cate, Irby, & O'Brien, 2015), communications training (Susilo, van Merriënboer, van Dalen, Claramita, & Scherpbier, 2013), technical training (Sarfo & Elen, 2007), information problem-solving (Wopereis, Frerejean, & Brand-Gruwel, 2015), and teacher training (Kreutz, Leuders, & Hellmann, 2019). The accompanying Ten Steps approach ( van Merriënboer & Kirschner, 2018) provides guidelines for analysing real-life tasks in order to uncover the different types of knowledge and skills needed in daily practice (cognitive task analysis) and guidelines for designing a blueprint for an educational programme comprising four components: learning tasks, supportive information, procedural information and part-task practice.…”