1. Instructional Design & Learning Design
…what, how and why we might care

2. Intentions
What is instructional design? …learning design? What’s the difference?
How do we approach either/both of these activities?
Why does it matter?

3. Instructional Design From Wikipedia…
… the practice of maximizing the effectiveness, efficiency and appeal of instruction and other learning experiences.

4. What is instruction and why would I design it?

5. Instruction: Key ideas
Instruction is a key feature of formal education
Instruction implies telling, direction, authority; information flows from experts to novices
Instruction is meant to produce some response from students…we hope this leads to ‘learning’ …though we mightn’t be sure what ‘learning’ is
‘teaching’, but may be described as tutoring, mentoring, facilitation, moderation, guidance, coaching, training, or even indoctrination. 
.  In each of these activities, the emphasis is on what the instructor/teacher/tutor does to produce some change in the student or learner.
Notably, the focus in ‘instruction’ is on transfer of knowledge and the idea that what an instructor knows can be transferred to a student.  However, more contemporary views of learning, particularly constructivist and situated views, suggest that learning is personal, idiosyncratic and context dependent.  These arguments call the notion of ‘instruction’ and therefore instructional design into question. 

6. Instructional Design
A (formal) systematic approach to creating instructional situations
Systems imply structure (and control)
May be limiting/restrictive
*Intended* to support learning, but may not always realise that goal
Considers the needs of a variety of stakeholders, including institutions

7. ID: Three broad steps
Identifying the outcomes of the instruction …and the needs of the stakeholders
Developing the instruction process
Evaluating the effectiveness of the instruction process …and improving the design

8. ADDIE Analysis Design Development Implementation Evaluation
Analysis – understand the needs of stakeholders, the context of the instruction, the nature of the content and other factors which inform/affect design decisions
Design – Plan processes, situations, tasks and other ‘events’ which seek to promote the goals of the paper/course
Development – Bring the design to life through the creation or selection, sequencing and presentation of ‘content’
Implementation – Put the design into action in conjunction with the instructional materials, teaching, learner support and other aspects of ‘instruction’
Evaluation – determine the effectiveness of the design, collect information which informs improvement
Highly systemic approach…structured and highly controlled…Ultimately the focus is on educational delivery

10. What about ‘learning design’?
**if instruction represents a form of delivery,
and
**if we are beyond (mere) delivery,
then
we have reached a stage where we are beyond instruction
(Sims, 2006)

11. Side by side… Instructional design
Focus on ‘instruction’, often as ‘transmission
Delivering content
Design centres on selection and sequencing of content
Designs may be broad, systemic, e.g. whole courses
Learning Design
Focus on ‘learning’, usually as ‘activity’
Promoting Activity
Design centres on what people do
Designs are often local, situated, e.g. units, tasks, projects

12. Shifting the focus to learning
Instruction and learning are not exclusive of one another
Learning design can/does take place within instructional design
Designing courses involves trades-offs…esp. when ‘content is king’…but its important to keep learning ‘in the frame’

13. Learning Design Focus on ‘learning’: Learner attributes
Learner experience
Learning Situations
Learner activity
‘Teaching’ as something other than ‘transmission’

14. Some key questions How do people learn?
What activities are involved in learning?
How is learning (helped, supported, facilitated, enhanced)?
How do we know learning has taken place?
How do we design ‘for learning’?

15. Conceptualise ‘learning’ within a course
The overall system
Pedagogy, from theory to practice
Context
Learners and what they do
A learning process (course design)
Breaking down the process
Focus on task, activity (task design)

17. Process timeline

18. Other representations (conceptual)

19. What are we asking learners to do?

20. Learner activity within the design
Contact time Traditionally ‘in class’ time, but also time spent in contact with teaching/support staff
Directed activity The things learners are asked to do (e.g. ‘respond to this question in the online forum’)
Independent activity The things learners do on their own in order to meet the requirements of the course (e.g. consult a librarian about APA referencing conventions)

21. Task Design What are the intentions of the task?
What do learners need to do to meet those intentions?
What are learners being asked to do as part of the task? (and why would they?)
What infrastructure supports the intended activity:
Roles?
Rules, process and procedure?
Tools?

22. …according to CADeL.. Problem-centered: … solving real-world problems.
Activation: … existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge.
Demonstration: … the instruction demonstrates what is to be learned and when new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner.
Application: … learners are required to apply their new knowledge or skill to solve problems.
Integration: … learners are encouraged to integrate (transfer) the new knowledge or skill into their everyday life.

23. What does a learning task look like?

24. Pitfalls Ignoring the front end…do your analysis
Having no idea what ‘learning’ means to the students who have to complete the paper/programme
Asking learners to take anything but the shortest route between here and there
Losing sight of what learners are being asked to do (and how long it takes to do it)