Learning Design
February 20th, 2008 by 
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Gustave Flaubert is credited with the expression, “Perfection is the enemy of the good.” I’m convinced that at his heart, Gustave must have been a frustrated instructional designer.
ASTD has been on a steady push to increase the recognition of the Workplace Learning and Performance profession. One of their efforts is a professional certification called the CPLP (Certified Professional in Learning and Performance). To help candidates prepare for the CPLP, ASTD published an excellent source library called, the ASTD Learning System.
In that absolutely essential library (have I convinced you to get it yet?), ASTD lists the following instructional system design (ISD) models:
- ADDIE
- Gagne’s Nine Events of Learning
- Rapid Instructional Design (Thiagarajan)
- Dick and Carey Systems Approach to Instructional Design
- Seels and Glasgow ISD Model II (see note)
- Smith and Ragan Systematic Instructional Design Model
- Accelerated Learning
Of all of these models, Rapid Instruction Design by Thiagi is the only model that even comes close to reality. Why? Because according to this model it is the alternative when, “designers are working with tight deadlines, limited budgets, and constantly shifting content.” Which sounds like reality to me!
In fact, look at Wikipedia’s entry on Design. The last part of their first sentence is telling, “and other creative endeavors.” Design is a creative process. Most creative processes have constraints but those serve only as guide posts. For example, if Fort Knox commissioned an artist to create a symbol to represent the U.S. Bullion Depository, I seriously doubt that they would allow that artist to create a solid gold emblem weighing several tons. Does the depository contain enough resources to do that? Sure, Fort Knox has about 5,000 tons of gold. But, I don’t think that I would be “out on a limb” saying that they would prefer to keep their gold in its non-artist shape. More reasonably, I doubt the U.S. Mint would allow an artist a lifetime to create such a emblem. In essence, creativity is often constrained, and often those constraints add to, rather than detract from, the creative processes. But, it is still creativity.
Instructional design should be considered a creative process. Stop trying to dictate the steps in the process. Doing so creates instructional products that are as likely to excel as a paint-by-numbers picture is likely to appear in the Louvre, the Tate, or MoMA. All things have to be considered in a design, and everyone of them can be successfully ignored by the right design. Audience, Budget, Time, Media, Delivery Methods are all just parts of a design. The beauty (or lack of) is in the final design. Allow instruction design to express the art of learning. Sure, instructional designers should be well-versed in the theories that form the foundation of their craft, but equally well-versed in tossing those theories out when the learner is the focus rather than just an input to a paint-by-numbers process.
After all, I hear more conversation and hear more recall on most Dilbert cartoons than I do for most formally designed courses.
(My Note from above)
I don’t really know why it is Seels and Glasgow’s ISD Model II. I can only surmise that Model I was a tragic failure. Or perhaps Seels and Glasgow were psychics! Psychics? Yes, real honest-to-goodness ESP-kinda folks. How? In Designing Learning, Volume 1 of the ASTD Learning System pg. 37, here is the quote.
“As noted by Seels and Glasgow (1998), according to the Smith and Ragan ISD model (2004), …”
There you have it. In 1998, Seels and Glasgow were already reacting to a model that Smith and Ragan had yet to produce. Proof positive of real psychic ability. Something far more suspicious than Roswell ever well be!
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