Jerry Kemp, then from San Jose State University, was an early advocate of the need for a systematic process for needs assessment, design, production, and evaluation – the basic elements of his instructional design model. Mager taught us to write objectives with criteria based on behaviors that are observable and measurable under predetermined conditions. Gagne enlarged upon the conditions for learning. Many educators added dimensions to the design model and some even conducted research to validate their findings. One of the most significant of these is the Keller model.  His research found that clear objectives, their importance to the overall goal, and achievable by the learner were fundamental to success. If I were asked to create a model, it would combine all of these.

 

Some companies employ teachers on a part time basis and call them instructional designers.  Others, like NetG, advertise for educators with a very specific level of training related to both curriculum design and interactive multimedia production. We need the involvement of teachers and specialists.  The teacher’s have daily contact with the realities of education institutions. The specialists can break new ground and prepare us for standards based diagnostic and prescriptive learning.