Instructional Design Theory

Abstract

Educators tend to rely on various theories to guide their design. While learning theories focus on the learners and how they learn, instructional design theories assist educators by providing explanations for interpreting data on learning and help make predictions related to learner performance. Instructional design models derived from instructional design theories convey guiding principles for analysing, producing and revising intentional learning contexts. This chapter begins with definitions of instructional design and three common assumptions, and clarifies the distinction between learning theories and instructional theories. It then discusses instructional design theories and models based on the basic idea that an instructional design theory works best when it is matched to a highly and positively correlated situation. The chapter concludes with key themes to shape recent online learning environments and offers directions for future research in open and distance education.