Glossary of Instructional Design Terminology

 

Assessment - a measure of individual learning for various purposes, including a determination of readiness for learning, monitoring progress, and measuring achievement after instruction.

ARCS Acronym for Keller's theory of motivation (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction).

Attitude - An internal state that influences an individual's choices or decisions to act under certain circumstances.  Attitudes represent a tendency to respond in a particular way.

Chunk of instruction - All the instruction required to teach one objective or a combination of two or more objectives.

Cluster analysis - A technique used with goals in the verbal information domain to identify the specific information needed to achieve the goal and the ways that information can best be organized or grouped.

Concept - A set of objects, events, symbols, situations, etc., that can be grouped together on the basis of one or more shared characteristics, and given a common identifying label or symbol.  Concept learning refers to the capacity to identify members of the concept category.

Competency - a knowledge, skill or attitude that enables one to effectively perform the activities of a given occupation or function to the standards expected in employment. 

Cost benefit analysis - a comparison of the economic benefits of the program to the actual and opportunity costs of the program.  Related Term:  Trade-off analysis.

Criterion-referenced test items - Items designed to measure performance on an explicit set of objectives; also known as objective-referenced test items.

Delivery system - a means of organizing, presenting, or distributing instruction, typically employing a variety of media, methods and materials.

Domain of learning - A major type of learning outcome that can be distinguished from other domains by the type of learning performance required, the type of mental processing required, and the relevant conditions of learning.

Entry behavior test item - Criterion-referenced test items designed to measure skills identified as necessary prerequisites to beginning a specific course of instruction.  Items are typically included in a pretest.

Entry behaviors - Specific competencies or skills a learner must have mastered before entering a given instructional activity.

Evaluation - the process of determining the adequacy, value, outcomes and impact of instruction and learning..

Feedback - Information provided to learners about the correctness of their responses to practice questions in the instruction.

Field trial - The third stage in formative evaluation, referring to the evaluation of the program or product in the setting in which it is intended to be used.  Also, the second phase of summative evaluation.

Formative evaluation - gathering information on the adequacy of an instructional product or program and using this information as a basis for further development

General learner characteristics - The general, relatively stable (not influenced by instruction) traits describing the learners in a given target population.

Goal - A broad, general statement of instructional intent, expressed in terms of what learners will be able to do.

Hierarchical analysis - A technique used with goals in the intellectual skills domain to identify the critical subordinate skills needed to achieve the goal, and their interrelationships.

Individualized instruction - The use, by students, of systematically designed learning activities and materials specifically chosen to suit their individual interests, abilities, and experience.  Such instruction is usually self-paced.

Instruction - a planned process that facilitates learning.

Instructional context - the physical and psychological environment in which instruction is delivered or in which transfer occurs.  Related Term:  Learning environment.

Instructional analysis - The procedures applied to an instructional goal in order to identify the relevant skills and their subordinate skills and information required for a student to achieve the goal.

Instructional design - systematic instructional planning including needs assessment, development, evaluation, implementation and maintenance of materials and programs. 

Instructional design theory - a set of scientific principles relating to instructional methods, learner characteristics, learning environments, and outcomes. 

Instructional goal - a general statement of learner outcomes, related to an identified problem and needs assessment, and achievable through instruction

Instructional materials - Print or other mediated instruction used by a student to achieve an instructional goal.

Instructional products - content-related items such as books, job aids, student and instructor guides, and web pages.

Instructional strategy - a general approach to selecting and sequencing learning activities. 

Instructor's manual - The collection of written materials given to instructors to facilitate their se of the instructional materials.  The manual should include:  an overview of the materials, tests with answers, and any supplementary information thought to be useful to the instructors.

Learner analysis - The determination of pertinent characteristics of members of the target population.  Often includes prior knowledge and attitudes toward the content to be taught, as well as attitudes toward the organization and work environment.

Learning - a relatively stable change in knowledge or behavior as a result of experience

Learning context - The actual physical location (or locations) in which the instruction that is under development will be used.

Learning style - an individual's preferred means of acquiring knowledge and skills. 

Media - the means by which instruction is presented to the learner. 

Message - a meaningful unit of communication that may take alternative forms, including written, visual or oral. 

Module - An instructional package with a single integrated theme that provides the information needed to develop mastery of specified knowledge and skills, and serves as one component of a total course or curriculum.

Multi-media - the integration of various forms of media for instructional purposes.  Typically involving computer graphics, animation, video, sound, and text.

Need - A discrepancy between what should be and the current status of a situation.

Needs assessment - a systematic process for determining goals, identifying discrepancies between optimal and actual performance, and establishing priorities for action.

Objective - A statement of what the learners will be expected to do when they have completed a specified course of instruction, stated in terms of observable performances.  Also known as:  performance objective; behavioral objective, instructional objective.

One-to-one evaluation - The first stage in formative evaluation, referring to direct interaction between the designer and individual tryout student.

Performance improvement - the process of designing or selecting interventions directed toward a change in behavior, typically on the job.  Related Terms:  performance technology, human performance technology.

Performance statement - a detailed explanation of activities comprising a competency statement.

Posttest - A criterion-referenced test designed to measure performance on objectives taught during a unit of instruction; given after the instruction.  Typically does not include items on entry behaviors.

Preinstructional activities - Techniques used to provide the following three events prior to delivering instructional content: (1) get the learners' attention, (2) advise them of the prerequisite skills for the unit, and (3) tell them what they will be able to do after the instruction.

Pretest - A criterion-referenced test designed to measure performance on objectives to be taught during a unit of instruction and/or performance on entry behaviors; given before instruction begins.

Skill - An ability to perform an action or group of actions; involves overt performance.

Small-group evaluation - The second stage of formative evaluation, referring to the use of a small number of tryout students who study an instructional program without intervention from the designer and are tested to assess the effectiveness of the instruction.

Stakeholders - people with a vested interest in project outcomes.

Strategic plan - a process for allocating resources to achieve long-range organizational goals.

Subject matter expert - a content specialist who advises or assists the designer. 

Subordinate skill - A skill that must be achieved in order to learn a higher level skill.  Also known as sub skill, prerequisite, enabling skill.

Summative evaluation - systematically gathering information on the adequacy and outcomes of an instructional intervention and using this information to make decisions about utilization

System A set of interrelated parts working together toward a defined goal.

Terminal objective - An objective the learners will be expected to accomplish when they have completed a course of instruction, made up of subordinate objectives.  Often, a more specific statement of the instructional goal.

Training - A prespecified and planned experience that enables a person to do something which he or she couldn't do before.

Transfer - the application of knowledge and skills acquired in training to another environment, typically a work setting.