Introduction to Instructional Design (Readings)

I have six readings associated with this topic.

The first reading is a chapter entitled "What is Instructional Design". I do not know what book it is from, but it appears to be the second chapter. The chapter was written by Kent L. Gustafson and Robert M. Branch. This reading essentially gave a definition for and outlined characteristics of instructional design. Since I am also enrolled in an instructional design class, this was more of a review of some of the things that we talked about on the first day of class.

The second reading is an article entitled "A Hard Look at ISD" from a magazine called Trainer. The article was written by Ron Zemke and Allison Rossett.  This article addressed the complaints and possible shortcomings of the instructional design process. I was a little surprised at this view as I am generally new to instructional design. I had no idea it was so hotly contested. At this point, I agree with the view that it is more a framework than a process. It seems to be the best way to use it.

The third reading is "ADDIE Model" from raleighway.com. The site showed a representation of the ADDIE model of instructional design. It also described in more detail what could be viewed as part of each of the different pieces. This is, again, sort of a review of things that I have already learned in my instructional design class.

The fourth reading is from a list called "Instructional Design Models" from www.instructionaldesign.org. It lists many different kinds of instructional design models in addition to the ADDIE model. I looked at three models from this list: Dick & Carey, Kemp Model, and Iterative Design. The examples still really remind me of the ADDIE model. The same general needs are met with minor differences in approach.

The fifth reading is an article from a journal called Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology. The article is titled "A Review of What Instructional Designers Do: Questions Answered and Questions Not Asked". It was written by Richard F. Kenny, Zuochen Zhang, Richard A. Schwier, and Katy Campbell. It looked at research directed at what instructional designers do. It really showed that ID models are just frameworks and that it's really all about finding what is the best match for the task at hand.

The sixth reading is the fifteenth chapter of a book called Handbook of Human Performance Technology. The chapter is titled "Instruction as an Intervention" and was written by  Michael Molenda and James D. Russell. This chapter basically outlined educational ideas from a business perspective. It was an interesting look and a good review of some key concepts.