Instructional Design and Powerful Learning

Abstract

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.

Towards an understanding of instructional design heuristics: an exploratory Delphi study

“…This heuristic supports the findings of Rowland and DiVasto (2001) who stated that analysis is one of the '''big ideas' that designers use when engaging in design work. The 14 experts in the Rowland and DiVasto study all agreed that the instructional design process includes ''thorough analysis, for example, of learners, task, and setting'' (p. 14).…”

“…The heuristic, ''Ask yourself, 'Is instruction the solution to this problem?''' also supports Rowland and DiVasto's (2001) findings that designers use needs analyses to determine ''when instruction was the right answer'' (p. 15). This heuristic is supported by the general ID literature (Gustafson and Branch 2002).…”

Examining Instructional Design Principles Applied by Experienced Designers in Practice

“…Results reported by Rowland and DiVasto () support our finding that analysis is one of the “big ideas” that designers use in design work. The 14 experts in the Rowland and DiVasto study all agreed that the instructional design “process includes thorough analysis, for example, of learners, task, and setting” (p. 14).…”

“…Similar to the results of this study, experts in the Rowland and DiVasto study () agreed that design was one of the most important features of an instructional design project. Project goals, outcomes, and/or deliverables are widely discussed in the instructional design literature (Rowland, ).…”

“…The principle, “Ask yourself, ‘Is instruction the solution to this problem?’” is also supported by Rowland and DiVasto (), whose instructional designers’ analyses “determined when instruction was the right answer” (p. 15). Designers generally ask this question during the needs analysis phase.…”