Elements of Analysis and Design of Instructional Units

Some common items explored in the Analysis and Design process are:

• Purpose of the course/gaps it addresses/problems it solves
• How much time the learners are anticipated to spend in the training/course
• Audience analysis:
  • current level of skills/knowledge; homogenous in terms of level or mixed levels?
  • attitudes and motivations
  • any special considerations such as learning or physical disabilities, non-native English speakers, different time zones (for synchronous learning events)
  • access to necessary technology
• Time, money, and resources/staff available for development and delivery
• Refining of learning objectives and assessments used to determine successful completion
• Selection of delivery format: will the course be asynchronous instructor-led, asynchronous self-paced, include some synchronous elements, be in an entirely synchronous ‘webinar’ format? Which Learning Management System or other platform(s) will be used?
• Instructional strategies/approaches you plan to use
• Tools and media you’ll use
• Estimated development time
• Technical support requirements before training goes live and after training goes live
• Overall course structure and scope (often in outline form)
• Detailed outlines of each unit/module
• A planned process for program evaluation to verify quality and guide improvement
• A plan for ongoing ownership and maintenance of the program

Media Decisions and the Design Stage

One of the wildcards in your design process is making effective and appropriate media decisions. In the face-to-face classroom, the range of available tools is familiar to you. For online-enhanced or entirely online courses, a whole other range of tools (streaming video, virtual reality, animations, synchronous voice and videoconferencing, online communication and collaboration tools) opens up design options.

How much of the technology you need to master yourself depends upon the resources and commitment of your organization and whether you are working as an individual or as a team. If your organization is just getting started or has limited resources, you may have to go it alone, prioritizing the most essential technical skills and taking the initiative to acquire them. While this will require time, energy, and commitment, it’s not an impossible task. Many e-learning development tools have evolved to be more user-friendly for the non-developer, and most offer free trials to download and play with. There are also intensive classes, excellent books, and software programs with powerful and easy-to-understand tutorials. Not surprisingly, much of this training is available online. Here are some examples demonstrating the variety of self-study options:

• A great tech blog managed by Tom Kuhlmann at Articulate called Rapid E-Learning
• A list of 75 multimedia development tools for Rapid E-learning
• Adobe’s Design Center is a great place to start for all things Adobe
• Lynda.com – Online software training

Segmenting/Chunking Content

There’s been an increasing move toward modularized training, along the lines of the Lynda.com model. This makes sense. Adult learners are often busy, and they want highly targeted learning experiences. A person who is already a PowerPoint user and just wants to learn more about creating great graphics doesn’t want to sit through an 8-hour “PowerPoint 101” course. There’s also now evidence that this “chunking” approach promotes retention of content. Since 2000, studies show that learners can pay attention for about 20 minutes before they need a “refresher.” (See Salman Khan’s 2012 Time article, “Why Lectures are Ineffective” and  Jonathan Haber’s 2020 EdSurge article, “Remote Learning Begs the Question: Must Learning Be So Long?” ). Even in academia, as opposed to a business environment, it’s often preferable to divide content into smaller, modular chunks where possible.

As you begin the design phase, consider how your content can be ‘discretized’, as opposed to being presented in a long continuous arc, so that participants can access the material in manageably-sized pieces. Chunking is especially important to allow for individualized learning paths if your target audience has diverse existing skill levels or abilities.

Activity Debrief

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