Design
-Determine need
-Analyze audience
-Establish goals

Evaluation
-Review goals and objectives
-Develop evaluation strategy
-Collect and analyze data

The Design Stage

-Determine the need for instruction - To begin, determine the need for instruction by considering what external data verify the need, what factors led to the instructional need, and what past experiences indicate that the instruction being planned can effectively meet this need.

-Analyze your audience - To better understand the distant learners and their needs, consider their ages, cultural backgrounds, past experiences, interests and educational levels. Assess their familiarity with the various instructional methods and delivery systems being considered, determine how they will apply the knowledge gained in the course, and note whether the class will consist of a broad mix of students or discrete subgroups with different characteristics (e.g. urban/rural, undergraduate/graduate). When possible, the instructor should visit distant sites and interview prospective students, both individually and in small groups. This personalized attention will also show students that the instructor is more than an anonymous presence, linked by electronic technology. Colleagues who have worked with the target population can also offer advice.

-Establish instructional goals/objectives - Based on the nature of the problem as well as student needs and characteristics, establish instructional goals and objectives. Goals are broad statements of instructional intent, while objectives are specific steps leading to goal attainment.

The Development Stage

-Create a content outline - Based on the instructional problems, the audience analysis, instructional goals and objectives, and an understanding of the desired course content, create an outline of the content to be covered.

-Review existing materials - Next, the instructor should review existing materials. Instructional materials should not be used solely because they are readily available or have been effective in a traditional classroom setting (see Beare, 1989). This is especially true if pre-packaged materials, such as telecourses, are being considered. Whereas many pre-packaged instructional tools are developed and marketed to reach students with similar backgrounds and experiences, they may have little relevance for distant learners who come to the course with widely varied and non-traditional experiential backgrounds. If pre-packaged materials are to be used, consider developing “wrap around” introductions, conclusions, and summaries that specifically relate the learning materials to the instructional context of the distant student.

-Organize and develop content - Perhaps the greatest challenge facing the distance educator is creating student-relevant examples. Content, for the most part, is taught using examples that relate the content to a context understood by the students. The best examples are "transparent", allowing the learners to focus on the content being presented. If examples are irrelevant, learning is impeded. This is a special challenge in rural and multicultural settings where the teacher’s realm of experience and related content examples may be foreign to distant learners. To address this problem, discuss potential content examples with a sampling of the target audience.

-Select/develop materials and methods - The development of instructional materials and selection of delivery methods will often require integrating print, voice, video, and data technology in concert with face-to-face communication. The challenge here is to integrate delivery components, based on identifiable learner needs, content requirements, and technical constraints. For example, it does little good to rely on delivery technology that is unavailable to some class members. Make sure the same delivery systems are available to all distant learners to avoid the need to create parallel learning experiences.

The Evaluation Stage

-Review goals and objectives - One purpose of evaluation is to determine if the instructional methods and materials are accomplishing the established goals and objectives. Implementation of instruction represents the first real test of what has been developed. Try to pre-test instruction on a small scale prior to implementation. If this is not possible, the first actual use will also serve as the "field test" for determining effectiveness.

-Develop an evaluation strategy - Plan how and when to evaluate the effectiveness of the instruction.

Formative evaluation can be used to revise instruction as the course is being developed and implemented. For example, the distance educator can give students pre-addressed and stamped postcards to complete and mail after each session. These "mini-evaluations" might focus on course strengths and weaknesses, technical or delivery concerns, and content areas in need of further coverage.

Summative evaluation is conducted after instruction is completed and provides a data base for course revision and future planning. Following course completion, consider a summative evaluation session in which students informally brainstorm ways to improve the course. Consider having a local facilitator run the evaluation session to encourage a more open discussion.

Within the context of formative and summative evaluation, data are collected through quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative evaluation relies on a breadth of response and is patterned after experimental research focused on the collection and manipulation of statistically relevant quantities of data.

In contrast, qualitative evaluation focuses on a depth of response, using more subjective methods such as interviews and observation to query a smaller number of respondents in greater depth. Qualitative approaches may be of special value because the diversity of distant learners may defy relevant statistical stratification and analysis. The best approach often combines quantitative measurement of student performance with open-ended interviewing and non-participant observation to collect and assess information about attitudes toward the course's effectiveness and the delivery technology.

-Collect and analyze evaluation data - Following implementation of your course/materials, collect the evaluation data. Careful analysis of these results will identify gaps or weaknesses in the instructional process. It is equally important to identify strengths and successes. Results of the evaluation analysis will provide a "springboard" from which to develop the revision plan.

The Revision Stage

There is room for improvement in even the most carefully developed distance delivered course, and the need for revision should be anticipated. In fact, there will likely be more confidence in a course that has been significantly revised than in one considered flawless the first time through.

Revision plans typically are a direct result of the evaluation process in tandem with feedback from colleagues and content specialists. The best source of revision ideas may be the instructor’s own reflection on course strengths and weaknesses. For this reason, revision should be planned as soon as possible after course completion.

Often, course revisions will be minor, such as breaking a large and unwieldy instructional unit into more manageable components, increasing assignment feedback, or improving student-to-student interaction. On other occasions, major revisions will be needed. Significant course changes should be field-tested prior to future course use.

Test revision ideas on small groups of distant learners, content specialists, and colleagues. Results of this process should be tempered by the knowledge that the characteristics of each distant class will vary and that revisions required for one learner group may be inappropriate for a different student population.

In Conclusion

While it is possible, even appropriate on occasion, to shorten the instructional development process, it should be done only after considering the needs of the learner, the requirements of the content, and the constraints facing both teacher and students. Adhering to sound principles of instructional development won’t overcome all obstacles one encountered en route to developing effective distance education programs. It will, however, provide a process and procedural framework for addressing the instructional challenges that will surely arise.

References

Beare, P.L. (1989). The comparative effectiveness of videotape, audiotape, and telelecture in delivering continuing teacher education. American Journal of Distance Education. 3(2), 57-66.

Brooksfield, S.D. (1990). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dick, W., & Carey, L. (1990). The systematic design of instruction (3rd ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and Company.

Gustafson, K.L. & Powell, G.C. (1991). Survey of instructional development models with an annotated ERIC bibliography (2nd ed.). Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources. (ED 335 027).

Willis, B. (1993). Distance education: A practical guide. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

For Further Information

This guide is one in a series developed by Barry Willis and the University of Idaho Engineering Outreach staff highlighting information detailed in Dr. Willis' books, Distance Education–Strategies and Tools and Distance Education–A Practical Guide. Other guides in this series include: