designing the instructional messages

Chapter 8:Designing the Instructional Message

By:Mawar Magenta

Questions To Consider(Before starting to design)

1) What is the best way to introduce the content to a learner?- Power Point Slides, Video, 2D or 3D Animation, etc.

2) What is the best way to implement your ‘Instructional Strategies’?- Lectures, Discussions, Case Studies, Lab/Studio, etc.

Questions To Consider(Before starting to design)

3) How can you cue your learner to the most important information?-Most important cues first. Less important later

4) Should you use pictures with your instruction?- Necessary or not to use the pictures to aid the

instruction

Points To Be Pondered Before Designing the Instructional Materiala) Defining Problem and Content;

-What are the contents of the instruction?

b) Defining Characteristic of Audience-What is the level of the audience?

Eg: Children, teenager, adult, high-ability, low-ability, etc.

c) Specifying the objectives-What is the target at the end of the lesson?

d) Designing the Instructional Strategies - In what way the instruction should be conveyed?

Preparations On Designing the Instructional Material

Develop Effective Instruction:- Structuring and presenting the materials that both

signal and engage the learner to the important points

1) Pre-instructional Strategy

- Techniques for preparing the learner for the

instruction.

2) Message Design For Text

- Strategies for signaling the

structure of the Text through words and

Typography.

3) Pictures & Graphic in Instruction

- Discussion of the use of the pictures and

graphics in the instructional

materials.

Designing the Instructional Material

Elements (Fleming1993)

1. Pre-instructional Strategiesa) Pre-test

- A set of questions/cues directly relevant to the instruction as to help learner identify & focus for the main ideas in the instruction.

b) Behavioral Objectives- The objectives the designer has developed or presents

them as goal statements describing the behavior the student must master.

1. Pre-instructional Strategies

c) Overviews- Similar to summary, written as a paragraph(s) of prose,

rather than a list of items

d) Advance Organizer- The kind of similar to overview but written at a higher

level of abstraction.

1. Pre-instructional Strategies (Hartley & Davies 1976)

STRATEGY FUNCTION LEARNER CONTENT STRUCTURE TASK ATTRIBUTES

1) PretestAlert student

to what is expected

Above average IQ, older, or

more mature learners

Length of the instruction is

relatively short & loosely

structured

Learners should have some

familiarity with the content if the

questions are to be meaningful

Table of Structures:


a) Pre-test Guidelines:i. A pre-instructional pretest should be relatively

short so as not to delay the start of the instruction

ii. Questions are open ended: Allowing for a spontaneous, unstructured response

iii. Pretest items are the general overall points of the instruction’s content

1. Pre-instructional Strategiesa) Pre-test Example

Chapter 2: Webpage Evaluation

1. What should a good webpage look like? 2. What type of information should you see on a good webpage? 3. What are some examples of things NOT to put on your

webpage? 4. If you could design your ideal webpage, what are some

features you would include?



2) Behavioral Objectives

Precisely inform the student of

what is expected

Middle ability students

Used to preface a

passage of fewer than

2,500 words

Works best with traditional methods

such as lectures


b) Behavioral Objectives Guidelines:i. Use a statement that clearly indicates the behavior

the student needs to master excluding the condition & criteria (Klauer 1984)

ii. Avoid being too detail but just be general to keep the list shorter, thus resulting mastery of the material convenient to achieve


b) Behavioral Objectives Guidelines:iii. Understandable & suitable writing style. Eg: “At the end of this unit, you will…” is better than:

“ At the termination of this unit, you will…”

iv. Objectives are less effective if it is more than 2,500 words (Klauer 1984)

1. Pre-instructional Strategiesb) Behavioral Objectives Example:



3) Overviews

Prepare the

learners for the

learning task

Lower-ability

Higher-ability

Little or no structure

Facts

Concepts


c) Overviews Guidelines:i. Three general approaches to an overview:- Provide a summary to a content.- Create a problem requesting the learner to solve by

referring to the unit- Describe how the content will help the learner

ii. An overview should be short; less than a page. A longer one will ruin everything!

1. Pre-instructional Strategiesc) Overviews Example:



4) Advance Organizer

Conceptual framework

needed to clarify content for

learner

Above –average ability, maturity,

and sophistication

Should have a dominant structure

Factual information

1. Pre-instructional Strategiesd) Advance Organizers Guidelines:

i. Use general terms which are easy to understand & remember.

ii. Ideas presented inclusive all the content covered.

iii. Use Expository Organizers if the learner is unfamiliar with the content. (Relevant knowledge of the learner which relate to the content)

1. Pre-instructional Strategiesd) Advance Organizers Example:

2. Message Design For Text(Chambliss & Calfee 1989)Three essential Text Design Elements to good text instruction:

a) A set of distinctive words or typography- Eg: The headings in the book signal The Chapters while

italic/underlined/bold type signal keywords

b) Coherence of the Text- Logical, orderly, and consistent relation of text which helps

learner to recall the information.

c) Match of the Content and Learner’s Background- Which will make sense for the learner to comprehend the

content of the information.-

* See Figure 1

Figure

1:Text

Layout

Criteria For Good Text Layout

Criteria of good layout for text units are:a) Suitable Headings & Sub-Headingb) Suitable white spacec) Coherence of the Textd) Good & relevant Typographical Variations


1. Suitable Headings & Sub-Heading- Heading should represent the content

2. Suitable white space- Correct white space will add mood to read &

easier in memorizing


3. Coherence of the Text- Logical, orderly, and consistent relation of text which

helps learner to recall the information.- Different contents grouped together in different

paragraphs

4. Good & relevant Typographical Variations- Signaling the structure of the information by varying the

type; boldface, italics, underline or font size, etc.- Suitable & uniform type font, not more than 3 types of

font.- Suitable colour usage

Figure 2: Good Layout

Figure 3: Bad Layout

2. Message Design For Text

(Meyer 1985)Explicit Signals: Pointer Words- Words which alert the learners to what to expect on the following sentence, paragraph and chapter

Text Structure Example Signaling Words

1) Lists

“Research shows that clothing affects several kinds of judgments people make. First is credibility. Second is likability. Third is dominance. Fourth is kindness and last but not least is empathy.”

First, second, third, etc. ; subsequent; another

Combination: Pointer Words (Meyer 1985) &

Content Structures (Armbruster 1986)


2) Comparisons or Contrasts

“In 2015 educators and commentators discussed the future of learning and what new teaching methodologies that could integrate technology into the classroom in the most productive way. However, in some quarters the decision-makers got a little ahead of themselves and underestimated the value of teachers in acting as guides, curators and motivators in the classroom.”

But, in comparison, however, while, to

differentiate, a distinguishing




3) Temporal Sequence

“Preparations to attend an interview are; First you must make sure you dress properly as people will judge book by it’s cover always. Second, be punctual to the interview venue. Advisably, be early as like 20 minutes so that you can be calm and ready for the interview.”

Beginning with, after, next, first, second, etc.




4) Cause & Effect

“Sophisticated feedback devices such as head-mounted stereoscopic displays, gloves and suits with embedded sensors could transmit information to a computer about a user’s movements, thereby making it possible for students not only to observe virtual worlds, but to interact with them too.”

Consequently, as a result, if/then, the

reason, thereby, one explanation, etc




5) Definition & Example

“In an active classroom environment the role of a teacher is often that of a facilitator, supporting pupils as they learn and develop skills in, for example; assessing evidence, negotiation, making informed decisions, solving problems, working independently and working with others.”

For example, include, another, etc.



3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction Eg 1:Computer System A computer system is one that is able to take a set of inputs, process them and create a set of outputs. This is done by a combination of hardware and software. The computer system has one or more inputs to provide data. This data is then processed in some way. The outcome of the processing is sent to an output or it may be stored until some event happens to cause it to be output. For processing to take place, there needs to be a set of instructions of what needs to be done. This set of instructions is called a program. This system is called a stored-program computer.

3. Pictures & Graphics In InstructionFigure 4: A flow chart showing the concept of the Computer System

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction

The‘Diagram’, makes the understanding of what is ‘Computer System’ easier & better, right?

Conclusion: Visual images aid & enhance the understanding of Text Content.

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction

There are 5 types of Graphic Instruction:

a) Decorationb) Representationc) Organizationd) Interpretatione) Transformation

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction The Function of Pictures•Decoration * The picture has a minimum

function as an image related to the texts.

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction The Function of Pictures•Representation * The picture has a simple

function to a simple content.

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction The Function of Pictures•Organization * A set of pictures function as

instruction/manual kit .

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction The Function of Pictures• Interpretation

* The picture functions to explain complicated cycles to make

comprehension easier.

3. Pictures & Graphics In Instruction The Function of Pictures

•Transformation* The picture functions as a mnemonic

Factors of Usage of Graphic

1. Enhance Learning- Add interest & comprehension to the learners

2. Availability- Which types of graphic available for your usage:

Original Art, Clip Art & Photographs

3. Cost of Reproducing- Eg: Storage for large number of digital graphic/ pictures,

printing cost for digital graphics/ photos, cost of paper materials, etc.

Reference:

• Textbook “DESIGNING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION” fifth edition; 2007 by Gary R. Morrison, Steven M. Ross, Jerrold E. Kemp & Howard K. Kalman

Thank You!

designing the instructional messages

Education