Educational Theory and Instructional Design
Running Head: Educational Theory & Instructional Design
The Intersection of Educational Theory
and the Science of Instructional Design: An Annotated bibliography
Paul Desmarais
Boise State University
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Educational Theory and Instructional Design
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Introduction
Presently there is a great deal of emphasis creating instruction based on the educational
theories that have resulted from extensive research into how human beings, children in
particular, learn. Nearly every text holds forth on the necessity of tying pedagogy to a
defensible, definitive theory. What exactly are the benefits of this approach and why has
the rhetoric surrounding theory based education become so strident? Equally important,
what are these theories and exactly how different are they? More importantly, how do
they influence the design of instruction in schools, today? As Wilson (1997) puts it, there
has always been a relationship between theory and design, or between science and
technology. His point being, that just as people create theories, those theories help shape
what people do. The logical outcome of that idea is that in order to be most effective
instructional design must map to the fullest possible degree, the underlying theories that
shaped the design approach. Or, theory and design must intersect if the instruction is to
be successful.
References
Dick, W, Carey, L. and Carey, J.O. (2005) The Systematic Design of Instruction.
Pearson, Boston.
The authors of this text, are explicit in their willingness to borrow from the various
schools of thought, instructional theories, and methodologies in their pursuit of a wholly
systematic approach to instructional design. This entirely pragmatic approach would
seemingly preclude them from any discussion of examining the intersection of theory and
instructional design, but the authors are more than willing to create those alignments
when the situation warrants and supports it. Rather than follow such a course
dogmatically, Dick, Carey, & Carey walk a fine line between serving the learner, the
designer, the assessor, and other stakeholders in the educational ménage.
Issroff, K. & Scanlon, E. (2002) Educational Technology: The Influence of Theory.
Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 6.
While this article is of mostly tangential value to the topic of the intersection of theory
and instructional design, the crisp, clean presentation of the ideas it discusses make it a
valuable contributor to the core understanding of the role education technology plays in
the process or creating instruction out of the whole cloth of educational theory. Also, by
placing the arguments in context of Human Computer Interactions and Artificial
Intelligence in Education, making connections between the theoretical basis of the
discussion and the implementation role of the instructional designer is significantly
easier.
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Jonassen, D, Davidson, M, Collins, M, Campbell, J, and Haag, B. B. (1995)
Constructivism and Computer-Mediated Communication in Distance Education.
American Journal of Distance Education. 9, 2, 7-26.
With the field of distance learning being one of the fastest growing in terms of research
and employment opportunities, studying the nature of theory-design alignments in
distance education is critical to understanding the implications of both performing and
not performing those alignments. The author makes several excellent point in discussing
the opportunities for creating authentic, student centered learning environments by means
of any one of several different methods.
Petraglia, J. (1998) The Real World on a Short Leash: The (Mis)Application of
Constructivism to the Design of Educational Technology. Education Technology
Research and Development, 46, 3, 53-65.
If it weren't for the turgid prose, this article would be a must read. Buried in amongst the
redundancies and over stated, self-aggrandizing jargon, were pearls of great worth. In
spite of the impenetrability of the writing, the knowledge the article contains make the
mental slog worth the trip. The author discusses at length some of the pitfalls and
problems of the very important and rarely discussed ideas of preaunthentication, and the
rhetorical nature of motivating learners. The presentation of the theory, practice,
problems and pitfalls of rushing headlong into a design scenario or an over enthusiastic
embracing of an instructional concept is honest, objective, and scholarly. Especially
relevant is the notion that authenticity of inherently subjective, so when discussing the
concept of authentic learning environments, the question "For whom are these tasks
authentic?" needed to be asked.
Reigeluth, C. and Carr-Chellman A. (in press) Instructional-Design Theories and
Models: Volume III, Building a Common Knowledge Base. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
For dedicated theorists and designers alike, who feel that aligning instruction to the
underpinning theories is critical for learner success, this article was a bucket of cold
water in the face. The authors make a case that, rather than adopt the solutions which are
research based to produce the best learner outcomes, the process may have to reverse
engineered in order to conform to the assessment model currently in place. To be fair, the
author does not support the idea, but merely points out the harsh and probably
unwelcome idea. The rationale appears to be that it would be better to accept the
assessment model as definitive, and design instruction that will allow students to perform
their best in that model, than to have them under perform on the tests. The ability to
successfully compete classroom tasks is given priority over what might be called deep
learning.
Savery, J.R. and Duffy, T.M. (2001) Problem Based Learning: an Instructional
Model and its Constructivist Framework. Center for Research on Learning and
Technology Technical Report, 16-01.
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The authors offered extensive data to present problem based learning and explain its
constructivist roots as well as the paths by which this type of instruction not only benefits
learners, but also how it might be implemented in a variety of contexts. The material is a
valuable overview of problem based learning in general, with the ties to its theoretical
roots clearly and cleanly explained.
Skinner, B.F. (1950) Are Theories of Learning Necessary? Psychological Review. 57,
193-216.
Going back to the source is a necessity when discussing instructional design. While
Skinner predates instructional design as a discipline, his principles of stimulus response,
or S-R instructional design models held sway for over fifty years, and in many cases,
these models are still being used in schools all around the world. Skinner is a staunch
supporter of theory, so long as theory doesn't ignore inconvenient or contradictory data.
Once a theorist or theoretical community begins to do so, Skinner opines, both the theory
and overlying practice are degraded. Skinner also has issues with theory when it takes a
narrow view of interpreting data. If data can be interpreted two ways, then it must be
considered from both perspectives in order to be valid. His outrage at what he feels is
shoddy science and even shoddier theory practically vibrates off the page, even though
the man's been dead for some time.
Tam, M. (2000) Constructivism, Instructional Design and Technology: Implications
for Transforming Distance Learning. Education Technology & Society, 3(2).
This author produced what might be considered a primer for the researcher first delving
into the connections between theory and design. While her focus area is constructivism,
the clear outlines of the material allow for extrapolating the presentation methodology to
construct a similar outline for use with cognitivist, behaviorist, or objectivist theoretical
frame works.
Thorndike, E.L. (1910) The Contribution of Psychology to Education. The Journal
of Educational Psychology. 1, 5-12.
Understanding the thinking of one of behaviorisms founding fathers makes the article an
important one. Thorndike's views on psychology's role in education is presented in
clearly behaviorist terms, but also Thorndike also writes as a scientist. The view that the
research in psychology would have a positive effect on education as a refining factor is
an interesting perspective. The view sees the resulting improvements as tangential as
opposed to direct, but important none the less.
Wilson, B. G. (1997) Thoughts on Theory in Educational Technology. Educational
Technology, Special issue on Theory, January/ February, 22-27.
In this journal article, the author discusses the importance of both the theorist and the
practitioner as partners in the production of quality instruction. Theories help keep
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practice following an essentially self-corrective course, and their interdependent
relationship is essential for the health of both. Neither the theorist nor the practitioner are
superior or subordinate in the author's view, they are equals in keeping the process of
education technology from wandering off course into the dangers of elitism,
superficiality, provincialism, anti-intellectualism, ivory tower syndrome, and muddled
thinking.
Wilson, B.G. & Myers, K. M. (2000) Situated Cognition in Theoretical and Practical
Context. In Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments. (pp. 57-88)New
Jersey; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
The authors make highly persuasive arguments in favor of the theory of situated
cognition. Their perspectives are aligned with other researchers exploring the same or
similar topics, like distributed cognition and contextualized learning. The elements are
well defined and explained plainly, but fully, which makes the article an excellent quick
reference when reading other articles on related topics. The idea that all cognition is
situated, that there is no such thing as nonsituated cognition is something that takes some
getting used to, but the reasoning and research seem sound, if, in my opinion, mildly
overzealous. Many similar ideas exist encapsulated within the family of constructivism.
Still, the plethora of concrete exmaples and the relatively easy reading prose make the
article informative and accessible.