ISD Model

I feel that the ISD model can be a very effective way to design and reflect on your instruction. I think it is a very complete model that outlines the steps someone should go through when planning instruction.

People often leave out the “Analysis” phase of their planning. This is unfortunate because it is important to think about why you are planning the things you are, and to really look at who you are planning them for. If you follow the ISD model you are forced to look at the learners’ needs, content you are basing the instruction on, the task the learners will be performing, and the resources available for these task. All of which are very important.

I think the “Instructional Methods” section of the ISD model can be a good way to expand your instruction and keep it interesting. This section of the ISD model gives a number of methods of instruction like: demonstration, discussion, instructional games, and discovery learning. I feel it is important to engage learners in a number of ways- and this model allows for that.

I also like the “Formative Evaluation” section of the ISD model. As discussed in many of the Discussion Board threads, most of us do this unconsciously. Sometimes it may be so unconscious, that we really aren’t thinking about it enough. I think it is essential that one reflects on their instruction and looks for ways to improve learning. This portion of the ISD model encourages you to do that.

In my own teaching, I feel I do need to be more conscious of my formative evaluation and focusing on my objective. It is important to think about what your learning goal is and to ask yourself if the task you are engaging the learners in really accomplishes that goal. I need to ask myself that question more often. I believe I do utilize other aspects of the Analysis phase on a regular basis. For example, my team does pretest on each math objective we are preparing to teach, and we adjust our teaching based on the pre-test results.

For the Design Phase, I base my lessons on the NCSCOS and try to incorporate a variety of methods of instruction. How I plan instruction using a variety of instructional methods can be seen in a science lesson I recently did on Simple Machines. For this lesson we read about the six simple machines, discussed them, went on a scavenger hunt around the school looking for examples of simple machines, participated in an online game where students found simple machines in different rooms and learned how they worked, and played a matching game on the Smartboard. I could see the concepts “clicking” for different students in the different activities. By using a variety of methods for teaching about simple machines, I was able to help more learners understand the concept.

In the same science lesson, I used formative evaluation last year to improve my lesson this year. I found that the scavenger hunt was a little chaotic and unfocused when the whole class went on the hunt together. This year, I asked my assistant to help with the lesson and she took half of the class while I took the other. I found that separating the class allowed the students to focus more on the task of finding simple machines in real life. Last year, I also had the students play the simple machines online game together on a Smartboard. I found that not many of the students were engaged in the lesson (typically only the few getting to touch the Smartboad at any given moment were engaged). So this year, I checked out the laptop cart, and students were allowed to navigate through the game at their own pace. By walking around and watching them, I could check for each student’s understanding of simple machines.

As a teacher in a public school, summative evaluation is always present. I find that it is a great way to see changes that may need to be made in instruction. If I find all students are missing questions on a test on the same topic, I know I need to improve my instruction of that topic.

Overall, I find the ISD model to be a wonderful reference for someone wanting to get the most out of their instructional design. It is a great way to organize and reflect on what you are doing.