Instructional Design Guidelines

The following guidelines on instructional design are to be followed during the Analysis phase:

• 1. The instructional premise shall be based on Knowles’ andragogy.

  2. The learning outcomes shall be defined as per Bloom’s taxonomy.

  3. The learning units shall be designed as per Gagne’s instructional events.

  4. The content presentation shall be based on Merrill’s CDT.

  5. The performance measurements shall be based on Kirkpatrick’s learning analytics.

  6. For each course, a Course Content Outline (CCO) shall be created comprising a numbered list of all learning objects (LOs)—in the order of increasing knowledge/ skill buildup—and their associated learning objectives; one LO shall map to one learning objective, at the correct Bloom’s level, and each LO shall be codified with a number. For example, the third LO shall have the number “03”, the twenty-first LO shall have the number “21”, and so on.

  7. The learning objects from the CCO shall be grouped and structured into a Course Content Structure (CCS)—also known as Course Map—as follows:

     1. Course (as the zeroth level), which is the final work-product of a content development project

     2. Module (as the first level), which is the first-level component grouping of a course and is optional

     3. Lesson (as the second level), which is a complete learning unit, containing multiple learning objects and practice activities

     4. Topic (as the third and last level), which is a learning object, mapping to a learning objective

  8. The CCS shall consider the following metrics:

• • 1. Minimum of two modules in a course

    2. Minimum of two lessons in a module

    3. Minimum of two topics and maximum of eight topics in a lesson

    4. Minimum of one screen and maximum of three screens in a topic

• 9. The CCS shall be the script for the course menu.

  10. Instructor-Led Training (ILT) courses shall have the following essential deliverables: instructor guides, (also called trainer guide or facilitator handbook), presentation slides (also called transparencies deck or overhead slides), and student guide (also called trainee guide or participant workbook).

  11. Computer-Based Training (CBT) courses shall have the storyboard as the principal deliverable, with the following essential sections: on-screen text, layered text (pop-up text, extra information), graphics description, and integration notes. Audio-based courses shall have an audio script section, either within the storyboard or collated in a separate audio storyboard.

  12. Blended Training (BLT) courses shall have the theoretical content as CBT and procedural content as ILT. For additional information, refer to BLT Notes.

  13. The scripting templates for storyboarding, audio scripting, guides production, and slides production shall be designed with the following considerations:

• • 1. All pages are to have appropriate headers and footers, such that any loose deliverable can be tracked back to the course, and any loose page can be tracked back to the deliverable.

    2. All pages are to be print-optimized, with only gray tones (≤50%).

    3. Storyboards and audio scripts are to have sections for explicitly identifying the names of all the developers and reviewers.

    4. Guides and slides are to have the appropriate copyright notices.

    5. Slide master colors and fonts are to be print-optimized.

    6. Guides are to be PDF friendly.

• 14. Sans serif fonts shall be used in online reading materials (CBT/PPT) and serif fonts shall be used in printed reading materials (ILT).

  15. The following font types shall be preferred:

• • 1. For titles in storyboards, Verdana bold, (≤10 pt, ≠11+ pt)

    2. For body text in storyboards, Verdana normal (≤10 pt, ≠11+ pt)

    3. For titles in guides, Arial bold (≥12 pt, ≤16 pt) or Times New Roman bold (≥14 pt, ≤18 pt)

    4. For body text in guides, Arial normal (≥10 pt, ≤14 pt) or Times New Roman normal (≥12 pt, ≤16 pt)

    5. For titles in slides, Arial Black for titles (≥24 pt, ≤32 pt)

    6. For body text in slides, Arial bold for body text (≥16 pt, ≤20 pt)

• 16. The following font colors shall be used in the scripts:

• • 1. Black, for titles and body text (RGB 0-0-0)

    2. Blue, for hyperlinked text (RGB 51-51-255)

    3. Green, for instruction text (RGB 0-128-0)

    4. Orange, for glossarized OST key words (RGB 253-153-51)

• 17. Italicized and underlined text shall never be used in online reading materials.

  18. Course, module, lesson, and button names shall be bolded.

  19. The content pages shall be designed to be text-only, graphics-only, or both.

  20. The content pages shall cover only the topical (“need to know”) content; the accessories shall cover any extra information (“nice to know”).

  21. The total page content shall be packaged into several teaching layers—on-screen text (OST), pop-ups, and extra information—so that the screen is not text-intensive; some of the teaching responsibility may be transferred to the graphic on the screen.

  22. Conceptual content shall be taught in content pages and procedural content shall be taught in demonstrations.

  23. Conceptual content shall be practiced in knowledge checks and procedural content shall be practiced in guided simulations.

  24. Conceptual content shall be assessed in post-assessments and procedural content shall be assessed in unguided simulations.

  25. Demonstrations (and simulations) shall be sized at ≥6 steps and ≤18 steps.

  26. Step-lists for demonstrations and simulations shall be designed with the following components:

• • 1. Opening step, which is a blank slide with a central message

    2. Instruction steps, which are descriptive statements (in case of demonstrations) or imperative statements (in case of simulations)

    3. Closing step, which is a blank slide with a central message

• 27. Practice activities—also known as lesson quiz or knowledge check—shall typically have the following kinds of questions:

• • 1. Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs), which include MCSS, MCMS, and MSS question templates—with text and/ or graphics

    2. Matching-List Questions (MLQs), which include DDML, TEML, and DADML question templates—with text and/ or graphics

    3. Guided Simulations (GSIMs), with text and graphics

• 28. Practice activities shall have immediate feedbacks for correct and incorrect user responses. If required, hints, retrials, and topic reviews may be enabled.

  29. Assessments shall follow one of the following methodologies:

• • 1. Criterion-Referenced Testing (CRT), which is intended to measure how well a learner has learned a specific body of knowledge or skill. The results are presented in absolute values, points, or percentages. Here, the passing “cut-off” score is a key determinant.

    2. Norm-Referenced Testing (NRT), which is used to compare learners to each other, in terms of percentiles or grades.

    3. Standards-Referenced Testing (SRT), which is a variation of the CRT, the SRT describes what candidates should know and be able to do in different subjects at various grade levels. For this, a reference is made to customer-specific performance standards that define how much of the content standards learners should know to reach the “basic” or “proficient” or “advanced” level in the subject area.

• 30. Assessments—be it pre-assessment or post-assessment—shall typically have the following kinds of questions:

• • 1. Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs), which include MCSS, and MCMS question templates—with text and/ or graphics

    2. Unguided Simulations (USIMs), with text and graphics

• 31. Assessment questions that use database validation shall be of the MCQ type, preferably MCSS; those requiring SME validation shall have open-ended questions, typically essay-type (text entry).

  32. Assessment questions shall not have a feedback provided upon attempting each question; there shall only be a results page that provides a consolidated feedback.

  33. Course accessories shall be selected as per learner requirements and designed with the following considerations:

• • 1. Content Glossary, which has key words from the content listed along with their corresponding descriptions

    2. Learning Resources, which is a repository of customizable/ printable course content (entire topical content—both textual and visual—of a course) and job-aids (templates, procedures, guidelines, checklists)

    3. Page Comments, which enables the learner to submit email queries to the course SME

    4. Discussion Forum, which enables the learner to share their knowledge and application experiences via online discussion threads

    5. Content Menu, which provides a bird’s-eye view of the entire course structure and enables access to any part of the course from a single location

    6. Interface Help, which provides a tutorial of how to use the various interface functionalities

    7. Bookmarks List, which enables saving of favorite pages for later review

    8. Progress Indicator, which enables monitoring of the extent of progress made in the course

    9. Points Counter, which displays the total rewards accumulated for positive performance in the practice sections

    10. Duration Timer, which enables tracking of the total time spent in the course

    11. Feedback Form, which enables the learner to submit their feedback on the satisfaction derived from the learning experience

    12. Program Exit, which enables closure of the program interface with/out bookmarking

• 34. The prototype shall adequately evidence the course design and functionalities, leaving no room for speculation, re-interpretation, or scope modification.

Did you find this resource page useful?

Post your comment here.