Is There a Right or Wrong When it Comes to Choosing Instructional Design Strategies?

With so many instructional design strategies to choose from, it can be difficult to select one. Some strategies are better for certain content, learning styles, and group dynamics, while some are better for others. Selecting the best strategy to use when structuring your instructional activities can be a daunting task and it is one that is crucial to the success of your instruction.  According to Brown and Green, needs, task, and learner analysis are key to selecting the best activities for any instructional design (2020). They state that you should “think beyond what has worked for you personally and consider what will work for your target audience” (Brown & Green, 2020, p. 138). While this concept is certainly obvious when you think about it… it is an important reminder that we need to keep our learners in mind when planning activities. As an art teacher, I am proud of my presentations with images, videos, and minimal text. However, I need to make sure, as Brown and Green remind us, that I present information in other ways as well.

The Essentials of Instructional Design focuses primarily on adult instruction, but I couldn’t help but view it through the lens of a middle school teacher. Chapter 8 covers multiple learning environments, teaching styles, and activities that can help with planning successful instruction. I was excited to read about the “community-centered” environments which focus on “people learning from one another” (Brown & Green, 2020, p. 140). Apparently, “in this environment, the connections between the instructional setting and world outside that setting are used to give the content greater meaning and place it in a more global context” (Brown & Green, 2020, p. 140). Since I teach art, my classroom has an open and inviting atmosphere that fosters conversation and communication between students. Another similar environment is the open-ended learning environment, which according to Brown and Green, is “especially useful in promoting divergent thinking” (Brown & Green, 2020, p. 141). Hill and Land state that “open-ended learning environments (OELEs) afford and support exploration and experimentation; problem solving, critical thinking, and multiple perspectives” (1998). I hope that I am creating a classroom environment where students are able to teach one another and explore the content in a meaningful way. According to Hill and Land open-ended learning environments take advantage of students' prior knowledge to help them make connections and retain new information (1998). I would like my classroom to be a community-centered and open-ended environment where these types of learning experiences happen organically.

I currently have little experience with adult learners, but the strategies I use with students work with adults as well. Whether you’re planning instruction for students or adults, it’s important to focus the activities on the learning styles and preferences of your participants. Keeping learners engaged is perhaps the most important aspect of any instructional experience. There are numerous strategies that can be used to deliver instruction and I have been a participant in a number of them. Strategies like “think-pair-share,” “fishbowl,” and “jigsaw” stress me out as a participant and I tend to avoid using them with students. On the other hand, I really like filling out graphic organizers, charts, and posters. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post however, it is important to remember that not all of our students and adult learners will benefit from the same things we do, so it’s crucial for me to keep this in mind and make sure not to exclude any strategies that could benefit my students or adult participants.

While reading The Essentials of Instructional Design, I came across a strategy I was unfamiliar with called “just-in-time teaching.” Brown and Green describe this strategy as adaptive. They say that with it, “instruction is provided based on the immediate needs expressed or indicated by students during a lesson or work period” (Brown & Green, 2020, p. 145). To me, this is what teaching is all about, paying attention to our students and teaching them based on what they need at the time. Fortunately, art is a content that lends itself to this style of instruction rather easily, and I believe I already do a good bit of this in my classroom. Another strategy I like to use with students comes from my rather recent inclusion of more digital experiences. Padlet is a fantastic website that allows students to post content on an open platform. I have used Padlets with students a number of times and it’s a great way to have them share content quickly. When they complete digital art projects they post their work to the appropriate Padlet. The Padlet allows them to view everyone elses work and makes it easy for me to grade. According to Bethany Petty’s blog, Padlet added a commenting feature back in 2016. While I have not used this feature personally, I am hoping to utilize it with my advanced students next year. Since Padlet has been such a great resource for my middle school students, it is something that I am planning to incorporate into my future adult training as well. If you are interested in seeing how my students have used this great resource, check out the links below.

Digital Collage Padlet	GIF Padlet	Digital Notan Design Padlet

If you would like to know even more about setting up a Padlet and how to use it to create unique learning experiences, you can also check out the video below:

References

Brown, A., & Green, T. (2020). The essentials of instructional design: connecting fundamental prinicples with process and practice. Routledge

Hill, J. R., & Land, S. M. (1998). Open-ended learning environments: a theoretical framework and model for design. https://ezproxy.montevallo.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED423839&site=ehost-live