How to Apply Instructional Design Models in Your Work

Instructional design is a new field in software engineering. It’s been around for decades but has only recently started to gain traction as a discipline and be used by software professionals in their day-to-day work. Today, instructional designers are increasingly needed by companies large and small. Today nearly anyone using software can expect to be asked to provide feedback on the user interface of an application or website at some point during their professional life. The world has gone digital, and even the most mundane tasks are now often done on computers. As such, users must have positive experiences with software applications. Instructional designers use models to ensure that every user has a positive experiences with your software applications. In this post, you will learn about different types of models and how they are used in instruction design practice so that you can implement them when working on your next project.

What is Instructional Design?

Instructional design is the process of creating user interfaces that provide guidance and assistance for users. This process can be used to create applications like online training systems, online help systems, online learning management systems, or any other type of software. Instructional designers help non-technical users use technology by creating clear instructions and helpful visual metaphors. To do this, they rely on models to explain how to use technology and create user interfaces that don’t overwhelm users with too much information. Instructional designers are responsible for the success of any user experience and the overall usability of the software they design. If your website is confusing to use, then no one will be able to successfully accomplish their tasks. Instructional design models can be used to create user interfaces that are easy to understand and navigate. While they are primarily used for software, many models are transferrable to other types of applications.

 

Types of Instructional Design Models

There are many different types of models used in instructional design. We’ll explore three of the most common types below and explain the pros and cons of each. - Guided Discovery - Guided discovery is a model used to create tutorials that teach new users how to use technology. Users are guided through the process of learning how to use a software application, with clear instructions and visual metaphors. - Problem-Based Learning - Problem-based learning is a model that guides users to discover how to solve a problem on their own. Problem-based learning is great for creating online training systems where users are guided to solve a problem without being told exactly what the problem is. - Constructivism - Constructivism is a model that guides users toward creating something new. Using constructivism, instructional designers can guide users to create something new together, like creating a video playing a song or creating a social media post. - Related Work - Instructional design models are by nature comparative, so it’s important to also look at other models in addition to the ones you’re using. Instructional design is an emerging field, which means there isn’t a lot of research on best practices yet. Therefore, you’ll often find that models are used interchangeably depending on the instructor and the course being taught.

 

How to Apply Instructional Design Models in Your Work

Instructional design models are not meant to be applied haphazardly. They are meant to be used carefully and thoughtfully to ensure that you are creating user interfaces that are easy to understand and navigate. There are three main steps to applying an instructional design model: - Define user personas - Before you start designing personas, it’s important to first understand what a user is like in your software application. This can be done through user interviews, surveys, or other research methods. Once you understand your users, you can create a set of user personas that represent each user type. - Plan navigation - Once you know who your users are and what they need, you can start designing navigation that guides users through the experience. This can be done through wireframes, storyboards, or another design approach. Navigation should be designed so that it is easy to navigate, with predictable paths throughout the experience. - Build the experience - Once you’ve designed the experience, you can start creating the experience. This can be done using development tools like HTML/JavaScript/CSS or using a design-builder tool.

 

Which In-Depth Instructional Design Model Should You Use?

There are a number of different kinds of instructional design models. As such, you’ll often see authors recommend using multiple models in one course. In-depth methods are typically more difficult and time-consuming to learn, so it’s important to pick the one that is right for you. If you’re new to the field, it’s recommended that you start with a guided discovery model, such as the SMART method. This model guides users through a tutorial and models the user’s experience throughout the tutorial. Once you’ve mastered this model, you can move on to problem-based learning models.

 

A word on terminology

As with any field that is just starting to become more popular, there are a number of new terms being used in instructional design. This is especially true when it comes to models and terminology, so it’s important to understand the terms and their meaning before you start work. More often than not, the terms are used interchangeably and are not actually the correct term. Here are a few common ones to watch out for. - Model - A model is a concept that explains how something works or how to accomplish something. - Metaphor - A metaphor is a word or image that describes something that is not really there. - Model/Metaphor - A model/metaphor is a model that uses a metaphor to explain how it works. - Instructional Design - Instructional design is the practice of creating user interfaces that provide guidance and assistance for users. - User Interface - A user interface is the visual representation of a software application. - Newbie - A newbie is someone who is new to a field or subject. - UI Design - UI design is the visual design of an application. - RTI - RTI stands for response time, which is the amount of time it takes for a user to receive a response from a system. These terms are often used interchangeably and are not actually the correct terms. It’s important to understand their meanings and how they are used so you can use them correctly. This will help to ensure your documentation is easy for users to understand and navigate.