. Describe considerations in selecting an instructional delivery system. . Sequence and arrange content in lesson- level clusters. . Name the five

learning components of an instructional strategy and list the primary considerations within each. .

Plan the learning components of an instructional strategy, including pre-instructional activities, content presentation and learning guidance, learner participation, assessment, and follow- through activities, for a set of objectives for a particular group of learners. .

Specify learning components that are congruent with learners’ maturity and ability levels and the type of learning outcome. .

Select appropriate student groupings and media for the learning components of an instructional strategy. .

Consolidate media selections and confirm or select a delivery system.

In any kind of formal educational experience, there is

usually a general methodol-ogy that is used for managing and delivering the teaching and learning activities that we call instruction. This general methodology is referred to as the delivery system. Delivery systems and instructional strategies are not synonymous. A delivery sys-tem is only part of an overall instructional strategy, and novice instructional designers must guard against being seduced by flashy technologies and ending up ascribing far too much weight to how instruction is packaged and delivered at the expense of the careful planning of the teaching– learning activities that should be included in the instruction.

Selection of a Delivery System

• Traditional model— instructor with group of learners in classroom,

training cen-ter, or lab • Large- group lecture with small- group question and answer follow- up • Telecourse by broadcast, webcast, or two- way interactive

videoconference • Computer- based instruction • Can range from independent study to instructor- facilitated • Can range from textual drill and practice to fully interactive multimedia • Can include simulation, gaming, intelligent tutoring, and virtual reality • Internet or intranet web- based instruction • Can range from independent study to instructor- facilitated • Can range from textual drill and practice to fully interactive multimedia • Can range from a simple online syllabus to a comprehensive solution

organized within a learning portal that includes content, instruction, interaction, and assessment

Examples

Content Sequencing and Clustering

Content Sequence

Clustering Instruction

The first step in developing an instructional strategy

is identifying a teaching sequence and manageable groupings of content.

Content Sequence

The most useful tool in determining the answer to

this question is your instructional analysis. You would be-gin with the lower- level would begin with the lower-level skills, that is, those just above the line that separates the entry skills from the skills to be taught and then progress up through the hierarchy. At no point would you present information on a particular hierarchical skill prior to having done so for all related subordinate skills.

What sequence should you follow in presenting

content to the learner?

The next question in your instructional strategy

deals with the size of the cluster of material you will provide in your instruction. At one extreme of the continuum is the linear programmed- instruction approach, which tends to break all the information down into very small units and requires constant responding by the learner.

Clustering Instruction

1. The age level of your learners

2. The complexity of the material

3. The type of learning taking place

4. Whether the activity can be varied, thereby focusing attention on the task

5. The amount of time required to include all the events in the instructional strategy for each cluster of content presented

following five factors when determining the amount of

information to be presented

An instructional strategy describes the general

components of a set of instructional materials and the procedures that will be used with those materials to enable student mastery of learning outcomes.

Learning Components of Instructional Strategies

1. Gaining attention

2. Informing learner of the objective

3. Stimulating recall of prerequisite learning

4. Presenting the stimulus material

5. Providing learning guidance

6. Eliciting the performance

7. Providing feedback about performance correctness

8. Assessing the performance 9. Enhancing retention and transfer

external instructional activities that support

internal men-tal processes of learning:

1. Pre-instructional activities

2. Content presentation

3. Learner participation

4. Assessment

5. Follow- through activities

five major learning components

Prior to beginning formal instruction, you should

con-sider three factors. These factors include motivating the learners, informing them of what they will learn, and stimulating recall of relevant knowledge and skills that they already should know.

Pre-instructional activities

The next step is to determine exactly what

information, concepts, rules, and principles need to be presented to the learner. This is the basic explanation of what the unit is all about. Content presentation usually follows one of two general patterns— deductive or inductive. In the deductive pattern, a textbook, an instructor, or mediated materials show the learner how to distinguish the pieces of new learning and the structural relationships among the pieces in order to put them all together into a coherent whole.

Content presentation

One of the most powerful components in the

learning process is that of practice with feedback. You can enhance the learning process greatly by pro-viding learners with activities that are directly relevant to the objectives, giving learn-ers an opportunity to practice what you want them to be able to do.

Learner participation

Four basic criterion- referenced tests were described

in Chapter 7: entry skills tests, pretests, practice tests, and posttests. The general function of each was described as well as how to develop them. At this point you must decide exactly what your strategy as a designer will be for assessing what learners have accomplished. This strategy may differ significantly from that which is eventually chosen by an instruc-tor who uses your completed instruction.

Assessment

The final learning component in the instructional

strategy, follow- through, is a review of the entire strategy to determine whether learner memory and transfer needs have been addressed. These questions can be answered first by reviewing the performance context analysis, which should describe the conditions under which the learners will have to perform the instructional goal.

Follow- Through Activities

The learning components of a complete in-structional strategy

are summarized below in their typical chronological sequence.

A. Preinstructional activities

1. Gain attention and motivate learners

2. Describe objectives

3. Describe and promote recall of prerequisite skills

B. Content presentation

1. Content

2. Learning guidance

C. Learner participation

1. Practice

2. Feedback

Summary of Learning Components

D. Assessment

1. Entry skills test

2. Pretest

3. Posttest

E. Follow- through activities

1. Memory aids for retention

2. Transfer considerations

continued