July | 2012 | interopia

Have you ever heard of ADDIE? It’s an instructional design model. In other words, you can use this acronym to help you design any type of education, whether it be an elementary school class, a foreign language class, occupational training, or another type. It stands for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate. As you can see from the diagram below, it is a cycle, repeating over and over as the course being designed is modified and refined.

ADDIE Instructional Design Model

Today let’s talk about the first two phases of the model, Analyze and Design.

First, before any designing can begin, we have to gather information about the specific situation we are designing for. This is the Analyze phase. We need data to work with, as we cannot begin designing with a blank slate. The information gives us a direction, and sets boundaries, for our course. What information do we look for? According to Hodell (2011), we must first determine whether there is a need for the training. If there’s no need, we shouldn’t do the training. Once a need is found, we must determine the root cause of the problem that necessitated the training. Next, we decide on the goals of training. These goals should be in line with the goals of the organization we are working for, but they need to be realistic. Another step is determining what further information needs to be gathered and how to go about getting it. We also need to make a note of how training will be structured, how it will be delivered, and when it should be revised.

One very important part of the Analyze phase is population analysis. This means gathering as much information as possible about prospective students. On the surface this means demographic data, such as age, gender, ethnicity, work experience, education, etc. This information can be used to determine the cultural environment of the classroom. When making the population profile, we also discover the students’ skill levels in various areas, which will help us set the difficulty level of the course as well as its prerequisites. Digging deeper, a population analysis should find out students’ attitudes, values, and opinions. Instructional designers can learn a lot about what should be included in their projects by listening to potential students’ insights.

After all this data is gathered, the stage is set for the Design phase to begin. Hodell argues that this phase is the heart of the entire ADDIE model, with the other phases depending on it. Design takes place after the Analyze phase but before the Develop and Implement stages. During this phase we detail every part of the project: rationale, target population, objectives, evaluation strategy, participant prerequisites, facilitator prerequisites, and more. We should be able to write a concise, general description of the project. We also produce other deliverables, such as rough drafts of course materials and handouts. We will take these documents into the next phase, Develop.

Studying the phases of the ADDIE model has given me some ideas for improving my own teaching. While I have yet to design a full course, I often do have to design individual lessons, based on textbook material. Therefore this is an opportunity to use the ADDIE model. However, because I teach at a language center, I usually have a different group of students in every class, rather than the same 20 students everyday. Therefore, it is often a surprise to see who shows up to a particular class. Needless to say, I don’t have the opportunity to practice the Analyze phase in these circumstances. One way my school could improve would be to provide teachers, through e-mail, with a list of students enrolled in each of my future classes, including detailed information about the skill levels of each. If I knew the past test scores and teacher comments of my students before I went in to teach, I would have a better idea about whether my lesson will be too easy or too difficult for them.

Are you interested in instructional design yourself now? The best way to learn Instructional Systems development is to take a class on it. If this isn’t possible, you can also utilize the vast resources of the Web to educate yourself. But you don’t have to do it alone. You can use the Internet to collaborate with experts and learners alike. For instance, you can register at Instructional Design Central’s forums to discuss the discipline with others.

Hodell, C. (2011). Isd from the ground up: A no-nonsense approach to instructional design (3rd ed.). United States of America: American Society for Training & Development.