A Tale of Two Models

"It was the best of designs, it was the worst of designs." As if instructional design isn't already as mind-boggling as a Dicken's novel, there exists yet another acronym in the world of ID to add to the all popular ADDIE model for developing and implementing instruction. The ILDF, or Integrative Learning Design Framework, is supposedly "a systematic yet flexible process for designing and developing online learning." In reality, it's merely an ADDIE with a numerical twist.

Now for a little math...

Unlike its ADDIE predecessor or the even more concrete Kemp model from Designing Effective Instruction, the IDLF claims to be geared more towards e-learning and is broken down in to 3 simple actions: explore, enact, and evaluate. Although these components are essentially a contraction of 5 letters (ADDIE) into 3 (EEE), where A=E1, D+D+I=E2 and E=E3, what does separate IDLF from other design models are 2 important elements: the lit review and you. The IDLF stresses the importance reviewing the literature to make informed decisions and factoring your own personal experience and knowledge into the equation, two elements I think are often overlooked in traditional models.

Acronyms aside, these two instructional models, and ID models in general, have some very similar strategies to guide the designer in solving education's greatest riddle: what do I teach, and how do I teach it? I'm not sure if it is bloggically correct to reference two completely unrelated literary classics within the same post, but I'll go ahead anyways and list these ten standard guidelines for ID.

The Ten Commandments of ID

1. Thou shalt have some idea of thy instructional goals and outcomes


2. Thou shalt not make for thyself instruction without objectives


3. Thou shalt not take instructional strategies lightly


4. Remember thy learners and keep it appropriate


5. Honor thy context and setting


6. Thou shalt choose pedagogical models wisely


7. Thou shalt not commit to design without revision


8. Thou shalt steal data for formative and summative evaluation


9. Thou shalt bear continuous feedback for improving instruction


10. Thou shalt develop instructional materials with all this in mind