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Category: 1. Some Basics

1.1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction
What does a designer of instruction do? What is a design? Where does the design process at the micro level begin and end? Is there a special language of design? What is a ‘learning experience?’ How does a designer know when she or he has success?

1.2 What does a designer of instruction do?

1.3 What is design?

1.4 Where does the ‘design process’ begin and end?

1.5 Is there a special language of design?

1.6 What is a ‘learning experience’?

1.7 What tells a designer that she or he has had success?

1.8 Case study no. 1: The design of an educational encounter

1.9 A  reminder

1.10 Some tips chapter 1

1.4 Where does the ‘design process’ begin and end?

The activities involved in designing a course or lesson are illustrated in Fig. 1. By name, they will be quite familiar to those of you who know and have used the so-called ‘systems approach’ at the micro level. Activity 4 in the activity cycle (Fig. 1) is the one which interests us most in this book. Continue reading 1.4 Where does the ‘design process’ begin and end?

1.6 What is a ‘learning experience’?

Tyler (1949) has provided a useful definition for designers working at the micro level:

‘A learning experience refers to the interaction between the learner and the external conditions in the environment to which he can react. Learning takes place through the active behaviour of the student; it is what he does that he learns not what the teacher does.’

This definition has many implications for the design of instruction. We will come back to it again, directly or indirectly, more than once.

 

1.7 What tells a designer that she or he has had success?

Four words can be used in rating the quality of the learning experience generated by the design of a course or lesson. These words are: ‘effective’, ‘valued’, ‘liked’ and ‘efficient’. They have been mentioned earlier, in the foreword. A learning experience is:

  • effective when the learning goal is met
  • valued when the learner found her or his learning time and activity worthwhile
  • liked when the learning experience has been enjoyed and has motivated the learner for more
  • efficient when the time and energy spent in learning what had to be learned is minimum.

To what degree a course or lesson is rated highly by the learners will depend upon the skill of the teacher (if one is involved), the quality of the materials and, not least, the quality of the design which generates the learning experience.

In this book, Emax Vmax Lmax E’max will be used as the shorthand form of ‘maximally effective’, ‘maximally valued’, ‘maximally liked’ and ‘maximally efficient’.

1.8 Case study no. 1: The design of an educational encounter

Here is our first case study. It describes the designing of an educational visit to a doctor and to a patient at home. The substance of the story is from an article (Earl, Everwijn and de Melker, 1980) in Medical Education. It will introduce you step by step to the activities illustrated in Fig. 1. In this way you will have a better idea of where the learning experience design step fits into the whole picture of activities at the micro level of design decision-making. Continue reading 1.8 Case study no. 1: The design of an educational encounter