Historical Evolution of the Instructional Media (IM) and Instructional Design (ID) Fields
By mariastc
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Instructional Design and Instructional Media - Definitions
Instructional Design: A system of procedures for developing education and training materials in a consistent and reliable fashion. Instructional Media: The specific means via which instruction is presented to learners. -
Establishment of Museum Schools - IM
The birth of Instructional Media can be traced back to the beginning of the first decade of the 20th Century when school museums came into existence. The first one was established in St. Louis, Missouri in 1905. School museums were repositories for portable museum exhibitions and visual instruction aids such as stereograph photography, slides, films, and other educational materials. St.Louis website (https://www.stlmag.com/history/the-living-classroom/) -
Instructional Films - IM
The first catalog of instructional films published. Later in 1910, Rochester, New York was the first public school system to use films for instructional use. -
Thomas Edison proclaims that "Books will soon be obsolete in the schools." (IM)
Thomas Edison had such faith in the potential use of motion pictures in education that he proclaimed: "Books will soon be obsolete in the schools.... It is possible to teach every branch of knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in the next ten years" (cited in Saettler, 1968, p. 98). His prediction did not come to fruition. -
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Technological Advances - IM
Increased interest in Instructional Media happened in the later 20's and 30's after advances occurred in radio broadcasting, sound recordings, and sound motion pictures. -
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The Great Depression
The worldwide economic depression. -
Radio as a Medium - IM
In the early 30s, audiovisual (AV) enthusiasts thought radio would revolutionize education, but it ended up having little impact on instructional practices due to poor equipment and reception, scheduling problems and teachers' resistance to change. -
B.F. Skinner - Radical Behaviorism (ID)
In the 1930s, B. F. Skinner described his own position with the term radical behaviorism in an unpublished manuscript, and then in 1945 first referred in print to his views as such - it is that learning can be understood, explained and predicted entirely on the basis of observable events, - namely, the behavior of the learner along with its environmental antecedents (cues that signal the appropriateness of a behavior) and consequences. -
National Professional Organizations for Visual Instruction - IM
Three existing visual instruction organizations consolidated into one under the Department of Visual Instruction (DVI) which was a part of the National Education Association. This organization (originally created in 1923) is now called the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) and maintains a leadership role in the fireld of instructional design and technology. -
The Father of Behavioral Objective Movement - ID
Ralph Tyler wrote that "Each objective must be defined in terms which clarify the kind of behavior which the course should help to develop." He conducted a study that demonstrated that "objectives could be clarified by stating them in behavioral terms, and those objectives could serve as the basis for evaluating the effectiveness of instruction." -
Visual Instruction Textbooks - IM
Several textbooks on the topic of visual instruction were written, most importantly: <i>Visualizing the Curriculum</i> written by Charles F. Hoban, Sr., Charles F. Hoban, Jr., and Stanley B. Zissman (1937). -
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World War II - ID
The origins of Instructional design procedures have been traced to World War II. Psychologists and educators experienced in conducting experimental research developed training materials for the military service.Robert Gagne, Leslie Briggs, John Flanagan, and others, used their influence derived from research and theory on instruction, learning, and human behavior. -
Establishment of the Division of Visual Aids for War Training - IM
Oversaw production of 457 training films that reduced training time and increased attendance for U.S. citizens preparing to work in industry. -
Films, Filmstrips and other Audiovisual Equipment During World War II - IM
From mid-1943 through mid-1945, the US Army Air Force produced more than 400 training films and 600 filmstrips. There were over 4 million showings of films and filmstrips for military training purposes. Many other AV equipment was used to teach and train during the war including overhead projectors, slide projectors, audio equipment and simulators. -
Expanded Focus of the Audiovisual Movement - IM
Leaders in the AV instruction movement became interested in models focused on the communication process focusing on all elements of the process, not just the medium. The communication process involved a sender and a receiver of a message, and a channel/medium, through which that message is sent. All of these ideas regarding communication and the medium helped to expand the AV movement. -
Psychologists Created Innovative Training Procedures - ID
During the late 40's and throughout the 50's, psychologists started viewing training as a system. and developed a number of innovative analysis, design and evaluation procedures. Robert B. Miller developed detailed task analysis methodology while he worked on projects for the military. -
Television as a Medium (FCC and Ford Foundation)- IM
One of the most important factors to affect the AV movement in the 1950s was the increased interest of TV as a medium for delivering instruction. Factors that spurred the growth of instructional TV:
1. In 1952, the Federal Communications Commission set aside 242 TV channels for education purposes which led to rapid development of public "educational" TV stations.
2. The Ford Foundation spent more than $170 million on educational TV in the 50s and 60s -
The Programmed Instruction Movement - ID
B.F. Skinner's article, "The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching," began a minor revolution in the field of education.
Skinner's ideas regarding the requirements for increasing human learning and the desired characteristics of effective instructional materials (programmed instructional materials) should:
Present instruction in small steps,
require active responses to frequent questions,
provide immediate feedback,
and allow for learner self-pacing. -
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Instructional Technology - Early Definitions 60's and 70's
Instructional Technology was viewed as a process in the 60s and 70s. In 1963, it was defined as "the design and use of messages which control the learning process" and included planning, production, selection, utilization and management. Early definitions focused more on learning, rather than instruction. In 1977, the definition expanded greatly and did add emphasis on a systematic design process and mentioned the analysis phase of the planning process. -
Robert Mager's Concept of Instructional Objectives (ID)
Robert Mager wrote <i>Preparing Educational (Instructional) Objectives</i>. He developed the concept of instructional objectives: they must include descriptions of desired performance, conditions required for performance, and criterion to measure performance. -
Instructional Design Models - Definition
In the early to mid-1960s, concepts were being developed in areas as task analysis, objective specification, and criterion-referenced testing and linked together to form a process, or model for systematically designing instructional materials. They provide guidelines to create and teach so as to accomplish instructional goals. Examples are are ADDIE, SAM and Pebble-in-the-Pond design models. -
Robert M. Gagne's Contributions to ID
Gagne wrote <i>The Conditions of Learning</i> in which he described 5 types of learning outcomes with detailed descriptions of conditions for each type of learning outcome.
He also described the 9 events of instruction (teaching activities) essential to attaining learning outcomes.
His descriptions of types of learning outcomes and events of instruction are still cornerstones of instructional design practices. -
Formative and Summative Evaluation after Sputnik - ID
Instruction materials developed after the launch of Sputnik (1957) to promote math and science education in the US were not effective. Michael Scriven pointed out that instructional materials should be tested on learners prior to launching the materials in their final form to to evaluate their effectiveness. He coined it formative evaluation and contrasted it with summative evaluation which is testing after materials are in their final form. -
Cognitivism Information Processing Theory
Cognitive theories stress the acquisition of knowledge and internal mental structures. They focus on the conceptualization of the student's learning processes and address the issues of how information is received, organized, stored, and retrieved by the mind. Richard Atkinson and Richard Shrifflin proposed a multistage, multistore theory of memory that is generally regarded as the basis for Information Processing Theory. -
Journal of Instructional Development - ID
A new journal first published in the 1970s which chronicled the developments of the Instructional Design field. -
ADDIE Instructional Design Model
ADDIE was adopted by the military for its clear delineation of steps for creating training materials: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. It's clear and regimented but many were frustrated with it's inflexibility and flaws. -
Computers for Instructional Purposes - IM
Even though computers were used as early as 1950s, interest in using computers for instructional purposes became popular after the personal computer became available to the general public. By 1983, computers were use by more than 40% of all elementary schools and more than 75% of secondary schools in the US. It was said that by 1990, one computer per child would be common in schools in the US. -
Constructivism Educational Theory
As the new kid on the block, Constructivism has become the foundation for the majority of teaching methods that have taken hold in recent years (e.g: problem-based learning, authentic instruction, computer-supported collaborative learning). Constructivists believe that the mind filters input from the world to produce its own unique reality, building personal interpretations of the world based on individual experiences and interactions. -
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Advances in Technology - IM and ID
Since the 2000s, rapid advances in computers, mobile devices and the Internet have increased interest in the use of this media in instructional technology.
1. Use of the internet as a means to present to learners – e-learning (online learning) provided at a low cost.
2. Social media to share skills and acquire knowledge.
3. Increased use of mobile devices for training.
4. Increased interactive and instructional capabilities and a way to provide information in a wide variety of forms. -
Educational Technology - The AECT Definition Statement
"Educational Technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." Important new key terms: Ethical, facilitate learning, improve performance, technological processes and resources. -
Successive Approximation Model (SAM Instructional Design Model)
SAM is a process model for design and development, but not a design model per se. It is either a two-phase or three-phase concept that consists of circles of activity that flow left to right and address needs for effective, creative design and for getting projects delivered withing time and budgetary constraints with contributions from specifically chosen individuals involved from the beginning and review and evaluation phases prior to roll-out. Created by Michael W. Allen. -
Pebble-in-the-Pond Model for Instructional Design
A metaphorical model for instructional design.
1. The pebble (problem to be solved) is the trigger for the instructional design process.
2. Progression - how to solve the problem.
3. Component Skills - demonstrations or applications
4. Enhancing Strategies - learner experiences and peer interaction. 5. Finalize Design
6. Evaluation
Created by M. David Merrill. -
Instructional Design and Technology - Textbook Definition by Robert A. Reiser
Our textbook definition in brief: "[ID&T] encompasses the analysis of learning and performance problems, and the design, development, implementation, evaluation and management of instructional and non-instructional processes and resources intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings, particularly educational institutions and the workplace."
