One of the greatest gifts each of us has is our intuition. This book is about the combination of intuition, creativity and logical thinking in solving one of the trickiest problems in the development of successful courses and lessons: the problem of making an optimum choice of design for the instruction that is to be given. Our own exposures to instruction tell us that the quality of designs (didactical strategies) can and does vary greatly. There are few learning experiences that all or most of the learners involved would rate as effective, valued, liked and also efficient. There are many alternative strategies from which to choose.
A didactical design must be chosen at the point in time that Tyler (1949) could have had in mind when he wrote: ……..As the teacher considers the desired objectives and reflects on the kind of experiences that can occur to him or that he has heard others are using, he begins to form in his mind a series of possibilities of things that might be done, activities that might be carried out, materials that might be used.’
Many interacting and sometimes unpredictable variables have to be taken into account if one’s choice of a didactical design is to be an optimum one. This is so whether the design sought after is for a unit of courseware in a computer-based course in Russian, a video that has to demonstrate techniques for stopping anterior and posterior nosebleeds, instruction on avoiding conflict between police and public in ticketing situations, or a visit to a museum in an analysis exercise over the style of Vincent Van Gogh. The road to finding an optimum design for a learning experience is always a fascinating one, albeit sometimes a long one.
Chapter 1 introduces you to some basics. It draws attention to the difference between didactical design decision-making at the macro (policy) level, the meso (curriculum) level and the micro (course and lesson) level. It suggests a definition for the term ‘design’ and explains the activities that design decision-making at the micro level involves. It introduces you to a special language of design, defines the term ‘learning experience’ and suggests a criterion by which the designer of a course or lesson can tell whether she or he has had success. These basics are essential for what follows in Chapters 2 to 5.
A design is first thought up and exists as a concept in the privacy of the designer’s mind. It is then worked out and given concrete form. Whenever possible the worked-out design must be tested (with the help of a representative group of learners) and any necessary revisions made before the course or lesson it steers is installed and operating in the learning curriculum.
In Chapter 2 attention focuses on the process of thinking up a design. It proposes four decision-making aids or referents that can be used to accelerate and optimize this process.
Chapter 3 explains how to give a plan, structure and strategy of instruction (a didactical design) its concrete form. It tells you how to work out a thought-up design.
Chapter 4 introduces you to eight critical faults that are often made in giving a thought-up design concrete form. These can be met during the developmental testing and revision of a worked-out design.
Chapter 5 draws attention to the role of the designer once a course or lesson is installed. It touches on the subject of ad hoc (on-the-spot) designing in response to unanticipated ,individual learner needs. It suggests four critical questions for use in an end evaluation of a design.
The Appendix summarizes the concepts and ideas that you will have been exposed to in the book. It also gives you some ‘design thinking’ to do, either as an individual reader or together with others who have also read the book.
Cases and questions are used from time to time in the text. These are to challenge your thinking as a reader and also to validate the ideas put forward about the use of intuition, creativity and logical thinking in designing courses and lessons. At the end of chapters 1 to 4 are a number of tips. These tips are drawn from practice and are relevant for design decision-making at the micro level. They have served me well over the years in my work as a course and lesson designer; I hope they will serve you too.
For Ineke, Caddi and Harriet. We learn only from those we love. Goethe
Tony Earl Utrecht, January 1987
