Instructional Design Practices Research Articles

Pre-school teachers' digital concept maps and instructional design practices

Concept mapping has been a useful and effective technique for representing and assessing science content knowledge. Technological advances have also allowed the creation of user-friendly digital concept map applications. However, there appears a need to examine pre-service teachers' digital concept mapping practices in relation to their instructional design practices i.e. lesson planning. Hence, this study investigated the quality of pre-service pre-school teachers' (n = 26) digital concept maps in reference to the quality of their lesson plans. The quality of the digital concept maps was assessed based on an examination of the quality of a) structure, b) content, and c) their overall quality. Furthermore, it examined teachers' preferences and reflections on digital concept maps in relation to physical (i.e. paper-and-pencil) concept maps. Mixed methods were used including qualitative analysis and statistical correlations of the quality scores of the lesson plans and concept maps. Findings revealed no significant correlation between the quality of digital concept maps and the quality of lesson plans, while the consistency of the focus between the two correlated significantly with the quality of the digital concept maps. The number of concepts, propositions and cross-links as well as conceptual hierarchy were found as indicators of the overall quality of the digital concept maps. A comparison between digital and physical concept maps revealed that teachers' views and arguments varied between the two. The findings of the study speak to the relevance and applicability of digital concept maps for teacher training programmes.

Augmenting Academic Efficiency: The Integration of Assessments Within the Addie Model for Pedagogical Development

This paper explores the integration of assessments within the ADDIE model for pedagogical development, emphasizing its crucial role in enhancing learning experiences. Through a meticulous literature review, theoretical frameworks, practical implementations, and outcomes of assessment integration are examined. Assessments, spanning formative, summative, and authentic types, are shown to be integral to each phase of the ADDIE model, promoting customized interventions, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making. While challenges such as resource constraints and expertise gaps exist, strategies including professional development and technology integration offer pathways to overcome them. Furthermore, actively involving learners in the assessment process, providing timely feedback, and aligning assessments with learner interests can enhance motivation and engagement, fostering intrinsic motivation and self-directed learning. This study underscores the importance of integrating assessments into the ADDIE Model, advocating for learner-centered approaches and instructional design practices.

Analysis and Research of Illustration Teaching Design in Applied Universities under Digital Environment

With the continuous development of digital technology, the field of education is also facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. The purpose of this study is to explore the practice and application of illustration instructional design in applied colleges and universities under the digital environment. Firstly, through in-depth analysis of the impact of digital environment on education and the trend of digital education in applied colleges and universities, the importance and role of digital technology in teaching is highlighted. Then, combining with the characteristics and needs of illustration teaching, this paper puts forward the theoretical and practical framework of illustration instructional design adapted to the digital environment, and emphasizes that instructional design should be closely combined with practice and pay attention to the cultivation of students' practical application ability. Further, through the analysis of specific cases, the paper discusses the reform and construction of illustration course under the digital environment, including the optimization of course content, the development and utilization of digital teaching resources, etc. Finally, the relevant cases are evaluated, and the practical experience and enlightenment of illustration instructional design in the digital environment are summarized. The research results show that illustration instructional design under the digital environment should pay attention to innovation and practice, and actively use digital technology to provide students with more diversified learning experience, so as to cultivate their innovative ability and practical ability.

Contemporary Education Role of Instructional Design

This study focuses on Instructional Design (ID) as a critical methodology in structuring effective educational experiences, aligning educational technologies with pedagogical theories to optimize learning. It investigated the barriers to its implementation, including institutional resistance, the lack of specific training for instructional designers, and challenges in creating engaging educational materials. The goal was to explore ID practices, their advantages and disadvantages, and to clarify the role of the instructional design professional in education. The methodology consisted of a qualitative literature review, analyzing relevant literature to understand the implications of ID in education. The results indicate that, despite the challenges, ID has significant potential to promote more personalized and student-centered learning. However, its effectiveness depends on overcoming obstacles related to its adoption and on the proper training of instructional designers. It concludes that a collaborative approach among educators, designers, and institutions is essential for the successful implementation of ID, emphasizing the need for ongoing research to identify innovative strategies that address the challenges of modern education.

Book Review: Instructional story design: Develop stories that train

In Instructional story design: Develop stories that train, Greene proves the benefits of using stories in training and demonstrates how to do that successfully. With practical instruction and examples, Instructional story design leads the reader through developing stories, working with subject matter experts (SMEs), and producing story-based training. Greene illustrates his expertise in story design by using story to instruct his design methods throughout the book. The reader follows a fictitious instructional designer, Dayna, as she grapples with, learns to, and triumphs in using stories in her elearning projects. She works with SMEs, clients, stakeholders, and managers and follows instructional design (ID) practices while developing meaningful stories to connect with her learners and convey the training. Through Dayna’s struggles and victories, the reader learns how to create audience personas, build relatable characters, and focus on the action and conflict of the story as it relates to training objectives. Greene further describes how to produce stories using common technology tools, champion stories to convince doubting stakeholders, and overcome common pitfalls.

Review of “The dimensions of an instructional design knowledge base: Theory, research, and practice”

This review assesses the book titled "The instructional design knowledge base: Theory, research, and practice" authored by Richey, Klein, and Tracy, highlighting its emphasis on foundational knowledge, extensive theory base, and application to current Instructional Design (ID) practices. The book offers a comprehensive overview of ID theories from various disciplines, making it valuable for scholars, graduate students, educators, and practitioners in the field. It also guides decision-making and includes suggestions for future research, making it beneficial for researchers aiming to contribute to the field of ID.

Online education and learning management system usage in a South African Economic and management faculty during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the rapid move of Higher Education from face-to-face to online formats worldwide; initially referred to as emergency remote teaching. As Higher Education transitions into a “new normal” of online and blended education, how educators had transitioned to online spaces at an historically Black and disadvantaged university in South Africa was explored; more specifically, how educators were using the Sakai learning management system (LMS)/virtual learning environment (VLE). This study investigated the instructional design and educational-soundness of online pedagogical practices. To this end, forty-eight (48) online undergraduate course sites from an Ecnomic and Management Sciences faculty were reviewed from nine departments and programmes, according to socio-constructivist and Universal Design of Learning (UDL) principles. It was found that Sakai LMS/VLE tool usage was skewed towards administrative, evaluative and management functions over pedagogical functions: communication (83%), evaluation (83%), content (71%), monitoring (67%), and collaboration (52%). While most courses included varied types of learning activities, they were dominated by traditional and passive approaches, and less inter/active approaches: acquisition (89%), practice (71%), production (64%), discussion (35%), collaboration (31%), and investigation (8%). The results from this study will guide future staff development initiatives to improve LMS/VLE instructional design and online educational practice. Future research includes qualitative exploration of both staff and student experiences. Implications for equity, social justice and transformation in South African Higher Education, and related contexts, are emphasised.

How do they define design failure? An investigation of design failure in instructional design practice from the practitioners’ perspective

How do they define design failure? An investigation of design failure in instructional design practice from the practitioners’ perspective

Are We Still Struggling with Accessibility? A Case Study Reflecting on Potential Transformations

This project aims to share reflections and potential transformations for instructional design practice around accessibility. Prompted by a situation involving an instructional design unit at a large state university as a case study, the two goals are to understand how accessibility concerns are treated when confronted with a lack of time and resources; as well as find appropriate actions to take to transform how accessibility and equity is achieved within our sphere of influence.

The impact of brief mindfulness meditation on anxiety, cognitive load, and teamwork in emergency simulation training: A randomized controlled trial

BackgroundEmergency simulation training may impose a heavy psychological burden on health professions students (HPS), evoking anxiety, and overwhelming their cognitive load. Mindfulness may have a positive impact on HPS’ anxiety, cognitive load, and teamwork during simulation training. The effects of integration of a brief pre-briefing mindfulness meditation (MM) practice into emergency simulation training, on anxiety, cognitive load, and teamwork remain understudied. MethodsFrom November 2021 to June 2022, 70 undergraduate HPS participated in this pilot randomized controlled study. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG, n = 24) that completed a brief in-person mindfulness meditation training program (MMTP) (2 h/week during 4 weeks) or a control group (CG, n = 46). Each group was comprised of teams (2 medical students and 1–2 nursing students). Measures of anxiety, mindfulness, cognitive load, and teamwork were collected at 4-time points: baseline, after the completion of the brief MMTP (for the EG only), at the first simulation assessment within one month later, and the second (6-month follow-up) simulation assessment. Student's t and Wilcoxon Mann-Whiney tests were used to compare the groups' measures and changes over time. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to assess anxiety and mindfulness scores' changes over time among EG participants. Results52 participants completed all time-point assessments. EG participants recorded better state-anxiety, cognitive load, and teamwork scores than the CG participants in both simulation assessments. However, no statistically significant differences were recorded between the EG and the CG in trait-anxiety and mindfulness at the 6-month follow-up assessment. ConclusionBrief pre-briefing MM practice mitigates HPS' state-anxiety, and promotes cognitive load, and teamwork during emergency simulation training. Simulation instructors should consider MM practice in the emergency healthcare simulation instructional design.

Exploring academic librarians' perception of OER through the lens of technology acceptance model

Academic librarians' professional skills make them an ideal candidate to work with faculty in the exploration, adoption, promotion, and preservation of open educational resources (OER). This study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain and predict librarians' attitudes towards OER and their intentions towards utilization in instructional design practices and teaching pedagogies. A total of 213 academic librarians participated in the mixed-methods design study. The results reveal that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and self-efficacy (SE) as it relates to OER accounted for 51 % of the variance in librarians' attitude (AT) towards OER. Moreover, librarians' AT and SE towards OER accounted for 55 % of the variance in their Intentions (IN) to leverage OER. These results support the use of TAM to support likelihood of users to utilize OER. Furthermore, participants' responses on open-ended questions reflected a variety of experiences and opinions, expressed concerns and challenges of promoting OER. In conclusion, in accordance with previous studies, state the necessity of librarians to possess the knowledge, skills, and appreciation of these resources to increase their likelihood of adoption. There is an undeniable need for continual education and support regarding the implementation of OER.

Digital Sequential Scaffolding during Experimentation in Chemistry Education—Scrutinizing Influences and Effects on Learning

Sequential scaffolding during experimentation can support students in acquiring knowledge and experimentation skills. This study aims to explore students’ understanding and perception of digital sequential scaffolds in chemistry education, investigate predictors of this understanding and perception, and examine the effects on learning outcomes and processes. A total of 183 secondary school students conducted hands-on experiments on redox reactions using digital sequential scaffolds. This study collects data through questionnaires and analyzes prior knowledge, self-perceived experimentation competence, chemistry-related self-concept, and interest as predictors. This research also examines the influence of students’ understanding and perception on cognitive and motivational learning outcomes. The findings show that learners experienced digital sequential scaffolds as helpful and were motivated by them to conduct hands-on experiments. Results also reveal that only students’ prior experience with sequential scaffolds and prior self-perceived experimentation competence significantly predict their understanding of the concept and usage of the digital sequential scaffolds. Regarding motivation, outcomes show that perceived benefit and motivation regarding experimentation predict the motivational outcomes. Overall, our findings contribute to understanding sequential scaffolding in chemistry education and inform instructional design practices.

The Development and Validation of an Instrument to Collaborative Teaching Assessment under the Impact of COVID-19 through the SECI Model

Information and communications technology (ICT) has bridged the gap between students and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. As COVID-19 brings pandemic pedagogy to transnational higher education (TNHE), the emergent response of Chinese universities to this disruption to education has been to update practices to tackle the pedagogical and contextual differences in transnational education. However, few studies have examined the impact of the pandemic on TNHE through the lens of the socialization, externalization, combination and internalization (SECI) model and investigated the extent to which teaching faculty can co-construct knowledge in collaborative teaching with the assistance of ICT. This study uses the theoretical framework of the SECI model to explore whether collaborative teaching was effective in TNHE during COVID-19. A quantitative questionnaire is conducted to examine the joint knowledge production by adding information technology utilization to the four knowledge-creation and knowledge-conversion processes. Finally, the study explores a SECI knowledge-creation model with technology integration for discussing collaborative teaching quality during COVID-19. The results imply that collaborative teaching management can be linked to the multidimensions of knowledge generation and transfer. It also recommends that pedagogical knowledge and technological expertise can enhance instructional design and teaching practices from the knowledge perspective and achieve sustainable development in THNE.

The Everydayness of Instructional Design and the Pursuit of Quality in Online Courses

This article reports research into the everydayness of instructional design (meaning designers’ daily routines, run-of-the-mill interactions with colleagues, and other, prosaic forms of social contact), and how everydayness relates to their pursuit of quality in online course design. These issues were investigated through an ethnographic case study, centered on a team of instructional designers at a university in the United States. Designers were observed spending significant amounts of time engaged in practices of course refinement, meaning mundane, workaday tasks like revising, updating, fine-tuning, or fixing the courses to which they were assigned. Refining practices were interrelated with, but also experienced as distinct from, the specialized processes of instructional design or innovation that the designers also applied. Refining played a meaningful role in designers’ pursuit of course quality, both to help them achieve quality, as well as to understand what the ideal of quality meant in specific instances. The article concludes by exploring what implications these findings have for the study and practice of instructional design in the context of online course development.

A Systematic Review of Voice-based Intelligent Virtual Agents in EFL Education

Since its debut in the field of education nearly three decades ago, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been considered as a powerful tool to facilitate new paradigms for instructional design and innovative educational practice in the form of intelligent tutoring systems, chatbots, teaching robots and adaptive learning systems among others. Recent technological advances in the adjacent areas of natural language processing, machine learning and computer graphics focusing primarily on design features that can improve their human-like qualities of naturalness and believability as human interlocutors have also amplified new application opportunities for Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) or Animated Pedagogical Agents (APAs) within the area of Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning (ICALL). Although AI-powered IVAs hold the potential to enhance the learning process in nearly any knowledge domain and personalize automation in teaching by embodying different roles in the learning environment, strikingly few studies have empirically attempted to assess IVAs impact on L2 learners’ academic achievement when learning English as a Foreign (EFL) so far. This study addresses this issue via a systematic review of relevant interventionist IVA studies that were conducted in EFL settings and published within the 2015-2020 timeframe examining IVAs key affordances, major barriers in their adoption for language learning purposes, and the CALL research trends currently prevalent on the topic. Pedagogical implications for the effective implementation of IVA technology in L2 contexts are discussed and future research avenues in the area are highlighted.

Conceptualisation, measurement and preliminary validation of learners’ problem-based learning and peer assessment strategies in a technology-enabled context

This study attempted to conceptualise and measure learners’ perceptions of their collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment strategies in a technology-enabled context. Drawing on the extant literature, we integrate collaborative, problem-based and peer assessment learning strategies and propose a new model, the collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment (Co-PBLa-PA) conceptual framework, which forms the basis of a new psychometrically sound and conceptually based scale, the collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment strategies inventory (CO-PBLa-PA-SI). The development and validation of the CO-PBLa-PA-SI, based on the methodological and conceptual insights gained from prior research, involved identifying the following four scales: capacity to collaborate, readiness to engage, task-based interest and peer feedback usefulness. An item pool comprising of 16 items was established and verified by two panels of judges using a formalised card sorting procedure. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the instrument of a small-scale (N = 164) study. The CO-PBLa-PA-SI scale showed strong construct validity and reliability with a Cronbach’s coefficient alpha ranging from .828 to .880, which suggested strong internal consistency. The resultant instrument is intended as a tool to reliably measure learners’ perceptions of their collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment strategies in a technology-enabled context. Implications for practice or policy: A psychometrically validated scale could be used by a growing community of academicians, educators and instructional designers to assess learners’ collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment strategies when using interactive technologies; A systematically collected data set obtained from the CO-PBLa-PA-SI data may have practical implications in terms of informing teachers about appropriate instructional design practices for the enhancement of collaborative, problem-based and peer assessment learning strategies in technology-enabled settings.

Conclusion: A Trauma-Informed Instructional Design

Most instructional design practices are founded on relatively systematic, linear models which tend toward pseudoscientific determination of learning goals, measurable objectives and outcomes. However, this special issue’s contributors reveal design approaches that transcend lock-step models. Collectively, their accounts center practices that are humanity-centered, co-constructed, and adaptive to learner needs. In this vein, a move toward a trauma-informed practice of instructional design will focus on the importance of collaboration, communication, and care. Care involves listening to learner preferences, recognizing learning needs, anticipating potential barriers to learning, embedding targeted tools and supports, and remaining adaptive to the population served.

Thinking and Practice of Instructional Design on Life Education for College Students from Positive Psychological Perspective

Thinking and Practice of Instructional Design on Life Education for College Students from Positive Psychological Perspective

Conclusion: A Trauma-Informed Instructional Design

Most instructional design practices are founded on relatively systematic, linear models which tend toward pseudoscientific determination of learning goals, measurable objectives and outcomes. However, this special issue’s contributors reveal design approaches that transcend lock-step models. Collectively, their accounts center practices that are humanity-centered, co-constructed, and adaptive to learner needs. In this vein, a move toward a trauma-informed practice of instructional design will focus on the importance of collaboration, communication, and care. Care involves listening to learner preferences, recognizing learning needs, anticipating potential barriers to learning, embedding targeted tools and supports, and remaining adaptive to the population served.

Introduction to the Special Issue

This special issue of JAID begins to bridge the gap between the theories of social emotional learning/trauma informed learning with instructional design offering specific cases of design and development projects that illustrate the confluence of these two broad areas. We share these articles with our ID community in the hopes of creating principles for “compassionate instructional design” (Thomas et al., 2019) through a collection of practitioner cases and research articles on applied instructional design practices that are responsive to trauma-affected learners, and which highlight the complexities of the learning context of the learners being served.