Traditional Components of an Instructional Package

A traditional instructional package contains all the materials to tell learners what they need to know, show them what to do or how to use that information, allow them to practice what they have learned, and follow up with learners to give them feedback on how well they have learned. A traditional instructional package suitable for onsite (classroom) use has four distinct components according to a classic discussion of that topic by Dick and Carey (1990):

1. Learner directions or guide sheets are instructions for learners. They explain how to use the instructional package. In print-based media they sometimes take the form of a student manual and are important for individualized instruction. They are usually unnecessary when instruction is delivered in a group setting, since the instructor can provide learner directions orally. However, most instructors want to provide group participants with an organized manual, and that manual is a method of providing directions to learners. In electronically based media, the same purpose is served by instructions provided to learners.
2. Instructional materials contain the actual contents of instruction, including text and visual aids. They provide learners with the information they need to achieve the performance objectives. In electronically based media, they comprise lessons or all instructional “pages” or “frames.”
3. Tests are student evaluation tools. The term “test” is used in a broad sense. Types of tests include preinstructional assessments (pretests) to determine what learners know before they participate in planned learning experiences. Other types include self-check and instructor-check activities during instruction to determine how well learners are achieving enabling performance objectives (progress tests), and postinstructional assessments to determine how well learners have achieved the terminal performance objectives by the end of the planned learning experience (posttests). Further examples include job-based assessments (on-the-job performance tests) to determine how well learners are applying on the job what they learned in the instructional setting. Tests may be administered online, onsite, or in blended format.
4. Instructor directions or guide sheets are the instructors' counterparts of learner directions or guide sheets. They are procedural guides to aid instructors in delivering instruction or in supporting learners as they individually apply themselves to planned learning tasks. Examples range from one-page instructor guide sheets or content and procedure outlines or lesson plans to voluminous trainers' guides, trainers' manuals, or tutors' guides. Instructor directions or guide sheets are usually unnecessary in electronically based media, unless learners progress through instruction in groups, or instructors sit next to learners as they progress through computer-guided instruction.

Differences of Opinion about Components of an Instructional Package

Authorities on instructional design sometimes differ in their opinions about what should be included in an instructional package. One reason for this difference of opinion is that the authorities do not agree on one philosophy of learning and instructing (see, for instance, a description of the theories in Reigeluth 1999a, 1999b, and 2008). The instructional designers' underlying philosophies can have a major impact on how instruction is prepared, as numerous examples of widely diverse lesson plan formats show.

Preparing Instructional Materials for Individualized Use

Usually, instructional designers should prepare materials for individualized use first and then modify them for group use. One reason to take this approach is that instruction designed for individualized use, with minimal instructor guidance, can save valuable instructor time. This time can then be devoted to those learners needing special help. A second reason: since group-paced instruction drags along at the pace of the slowest learner, it may keep most learners from excelling. A third reason to begin with learner-centered, individually paced instruction is that it usually requires more complete learner instructions than group-paced instruction, making modification for group use relatively simple. A fourth reason is that individualized instruction encourages learners to accept responsibility for their own instruction. This is not always true in group settings, in which learners too often play passive roles, while an instructor plays an active role as transmitter of information. A fifth reason is that online learning is often individually focused, and much instruction is moving to an online format.

Individual Learning Activities

Individual learning activities are geared to individualized instruction and informal learning. Compared to the wealth of writings available on group learning activities, relatively little has been written about preparing individual learning activities on or off the job. There are, however, time-honored sources to which instructional designers may refer when they undertake preparing individual learning activities or helping people structure their own learning projects (Houle 1961; Knowles 1975; Tough 1979). Another approach is to provide learners with strategies for “pulling” instruction out of unwilling co-workers or supervisors too busy to provide it. Some learning management systems (LMSs) allow learners to choose from a broad range of learning activities to build competencies, measured by behavioral indicators, to populate their Individual Development Plans. Some learning activities are on-the-job; some are social or peer-based; and, some are planned learning experiences such as online or onsite learning (see Rothwell and Graber 2010).

Almost any experience can be transformed into an individualized learning activity, provided that (1) outcomes are specified in advance, (2) the outcomes can be compared to pre-established performance objectives, and (3) the experience meets certain requirements from the standpoint of the learner or the instructor. It should furnish the learner with new information or skills, give the learner an opportunity to observe others applying a skill, allow a learner to demonstrate knowledge or skill, or afford an instructor a chance to assess how well the learner has acquired information or skills. Examples of individualized learning activities may include:

• Reading a book
• Interviewing others
• Reviewing documents
• Addressing a group on a new topic
• Finding a problem
• Researching a subject
• Watching a videotape
• Observing others
• Demonstrating a skill
• Performing a new job
• Starting something new
• Solving a problem

Numerous others are possible. Even off the job, informal life experiences such as serving as a community volunteer, civic or church leader, parent, or spouse can become learning experiences and may serve job-related instructional purposes. One idea is to begin with a competency model and then, for each behavior or output listed to demonstrate the competency, provide a range of approaches to build the competency—such as watch an article, read a book, attend a workshop, visit a website, find a mentor who has an excellent reputation for that competency, take a field trip to a center of excellence well-known for showing the competency at its best, and so forth (Rothwell, Graber, Dubois, Zaballero, Haynes, Alkhalaf, and Sager 2015).

To prepare individual learning activities, first decide how much instructor involvement will be necessary during the learning experience. If instructor involvement is necessary, supplement learner materials with instructor directions, guide sheets, or “tutor aids” so learners can be provided with instructor help as needed. For instance, instructor directions are important to support learners progressing through planned learning experiences in off-the-job, in-house learning centers.

However, if instructor support is unnecessary, then use contract learning to guide individualized learning experiences. Contract learning is defined, according to one classic source, as “an alternative way of structuring a learning experience: it replaces a content plan with a process plan. Instead of specifying how a body of content will be transmitted (content plan), it specifies how a body of content will be acquired by the learner (process plan)” (Knowles 1986, 39–40). To be effective, according to Knowles (1986, 38), a learning contract should specify:

• The knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to be acquired by the learner (learning objectives).
• How these objectives are to be accomplished (learning resources and strategies).
• The target date for their accomplishment.
• What evidence will be presented to demonstrate that the objectives have been accomplished?
• How this evidence will be judged or validated.

Group Learning Activities

Group learning activities are perhaps most frequently associated with experiential instructional methods in classroom settings. While results of research studies on the relative effectiveness of group learning activities in classroom instruction have proved largely inconclusive, some group learning activities are better suited than others for meeting types of performance objectives. The choice of what learning activity to use should stem from the match between the performance objective and the activity.

Numerous group learning activities can be identified. One enterprising author at one time catalogued and described over 350 (Huczynski 1983). In the classic book Approaches to Training and Development, Laird (1985) points out that some group learning activities are superior to others for giving learners the chance to become involved in, and committed to, the learning process.

In the following paragraphs, we will provide brief descriptions of many common group learning activities, simple guidelines for developing them, notes about conditions when they are appropriate to use, and sources of additional information about them.

A panel discussion is an assembly of knowledgeable people who meet with learners to deliver short presentations or answer questions about issues with which the panelists are familiar. A panel discussion is appropriate for helping learners with verbal information; it is inappropriate for providing instruction on cognitive strategies or for changing attitudes.

To prepare a panel discussion, identify knowledgeable people who can speak on the issue and contribute toward achievement of the predefined performance objectives. Provide the panelists with a list of questions, or ask the participants to do so. Then identify an individual who can serve as panel leader to introduce panelists, pose questions to them, and keep the discussion on track.

A case study is a narrative description of a situation in which learners are asked to identify or solve a problem. It is appropriate for instruction focused on cognitive strategy. Much has been written about it.

To prepare a case study, first identify its purpose, the performance objectives it should support, and the targeted learners. Then conduct research inside and outside the organization. Try to find existing case studies that have already been prepared and field-tested by others. Look for those in books and articles on the web. If existing case studies cannot be located, then interview experienced workers in the organization to find examples of real situations demonstrating problems pertinent to the planned learning experience and supportive of its performance objectives. Use the interview guide appearing in Exhibit 12.2 to help structure questions that will produce the skeletal basis for a case study.

As a last resort, prepare a fictitious case to serve the intended purpose. Use settings and characters compatible with the organization in which the instruction will be delivered. Then present the draft case to supervisors and workers for their review. Revise it according to their suggestions to make it realistic. Occasionally, this approach will help the reviewers remember actual situations suitable for case study treatment. Actual situations may then be substituted for the fictitious ones. (“Actual situations,” when labeled, have great credibility with learners. It is important, however, to conceal names to avoid embarrassing anyone.)

An action maze is “a printed description of an incident, for analysis, followed by a list of alternative actions” (Malasky 1984, 9.3). As learners suggest what actions to take, they are directed further in the action maze to find out the consequences of their decisions. This approach is effective for training people to troubleshoot problems and decide.

To construct an action maze, begin as you would in preparing a case study. First, identify the purpose. Second, clarify how the action maze will help learners achieve performance objectives, providing them with new information or affording them an opportunity to try out their skills and receive feedback about what they know or do. Third, select a situation requiring decisions to reach a conclusion, such as a procedure comprising related tasks. Fourth, write up each step of the procedure to a decision point in which learners must choose what to do. Fifth, give participants two, three, or four choices only. Sixth, prepare a separate sheet describing what happened because of that decision and leading the learners to another decision point. Seventh, complete enough sheets to reflect the entire procedure, with or without “detours” made by novices. Eighth, request experienced workers to progress through the action maze to test how “realistic” it is. Ninth, revise the action maze based on the suggestions offered by experienced workers.

An in-basket exercise “is a variation of a case study. Each participant is provided with an in-basket, including correspondence, reports, memos, and phone messages, some of which may be important to the case or process under study, and some of which may be extraneous” (Malasky 1984, 9.13). It is a timed exercise intended to discover how well each participant can manage details and withstand stress. Use an in-basket exercise only for “office skills” and supervisory practices. Do not use it for technical training focusing on heavy equipment or application of shop-floor procedures.

To prepare an in-basket exercise, begin as preparation for a case study would begin. Identify the purpose. Then clarify how the exercise will help learners achieve performance objectives. Select or create memos, letters, or phone messages that require decision making and priority setting. Train experienced workers to observe participants and evaluate the quality of their decisions, providing feedback and coaching after the activity is completed.

A role play is a dramatic representation of a real situation. It is an umbrella term for a whole range of similar group-oriented experiential activities. A role play gives learners an opportunity to prepare for situations they may face, or have faced, on the job. This group learning activity is useful for helping participants demonstrate and practice what they have learned during instruction. However, participants sometimes find role plays artificial and have trouble feeling and acting as they say they would on the job.

Prepare a role play by writing a case study and then adding character descriptions to the case. Spell out exactly what learners should do during the role play. Use the framework for a role play in Exhibit 12.3 as the basis for preparing one. Fill in the blanks with information obtained from interviews with experienced workers. As in preparing case studies, base your role plays on actual situations confronted by workers. If that is not possible, then imagine realistic but fictitious situations.

A simulation is an artificial representation of real conditions. It may be computerized, or it may be prepared in print form. It should assess previous learning or demonstrate technical ability. Simulations are advantageous because they provide hands-on experience and are engaging to participants in a planned learning experience. But they have disadvantages. Among them: (1) they are usually expensive to develop, and (2) they may require an instructor to play the role of evaluator.

Prepare a simulation by preparing a case study and then creating detailed descriptions of characters in the simulation. Spell out the purpose and objectives first. Then set the parameters of the simulation: how long it will last, where the simulation is to be conducted, who will do what, and when the simulation should end. Allow participants a measure of freedom so this extended role play feels realistic. Test out the simulation before using it to make sure it works. Revise it so it has reasonably predictable outcomes that are pertinent to achieving the performance objectives of the learning experience.

The critical incident technique (CIT), sometimes called an incident process, is the production of a brief narrative description of a problem or situation. Often compared to the case study method, the CIT is appropriate for developing learners' troubleshooting, decision-making, and questioning skills. It has been used in assessing needs and in delivering instruction. For more information about the CIT, see the classic description by Flanagan (1954).

To prepare a critical incident description, interview experienced job incumbents performing the same work as the targeted trainees. Ask them to identify the most common or the most important (critical) problem situations (incidents) that they have heard about or experienced in the past. Then ask (1) how the situation was handled, (2) what results were obtained, (3) how the situation should be handled if it should come up again, and (4) what results should be obtained by using the recommended solution. From this information, create one- or two-sentence critical incidents based on real situations. Use the interview guide appearing in Exhibit 12.4 to help gather critical information.

Another approach to preparing descriptions of critical incidents is to ask experienced job incumbents or their supervisors to keep performance logs to identify common or serious problem situations encountered during work. Use the performance log to identify how often problem situations are encountered by job incumbents and obtain detailed advice on how to handle them from exemplary job incumbents or their supervisors. Find out (a) the circumstances of the problem, (b) how the situations are handled, (c) what happens because of that solution, (d) how the situation should be handled if it should come up again, and (e) what results should be obtained by using the recommended solution.