Chapter 9

Developing Instructional Materials

CAROLYN JENKINS-HAIGLER
 Background
The hallmark of individualized instruction is that many of the
instruction events typically carried out by the instructor with a
group of students are now presented to the individual student
through instructional materials. The authors recommend that
you produce self-instructional materials in your first attempt
at instructional design, that is, the materials should permit the
student to learn the new information and skills without any
intervention from an instructor or fellow students.
 Objectives
 Describe factors that may cause revisions in media selections and
delivery systems for given instruction.
 Name and describe the components of an instructional package.
 List four categories of criteria for judging the appropriateness of
existing instructional materials.
 Describe the designer’s role in materials development and
instructional delivery.
 Name appropriate rough draft materials for various final media.
 Given an instructional strategy, describe the procedures for
developing instructional materials.
 Develop instructional material based on a given instructional
strategy.
 The Delivery System and Media
Selections

 Availability of existing instructional materials.

o Existing materials could be substituted for planned materials on a
scale ranging from a single motivational sequence in one lesson,
to an entire course or curriculum.
 Production and implementation constraints
o Media formats and delivery systems that look expensive are
expensive.
 Amount of instructor facilitation
o The first steps in adoption of a new technology are usually attempts to
replicate the features of the old technology classroom.
o When discussion and feedback are provided by the instructor, initial
materials development costs are lower however, per-student costs are
high and the course cannot be scaled up in size without hiring
additional instructors.
 Components of an
Instructional Package
 Instructional Materials
o contain the content -either written, mediated, or facilitated
by an instructor.

 Assessment
o Pretest and Posttest that have been planned to be
implemented.
 Course management information
o Instructors manual- how to use the instructional material,
test, and so on.
 Assessments
 All instructional material should be accompanied by
objective tests or by product or performance assessments.
These may include a pretest and/or a posttest.
 Course Management
Information
 There is often a general description of the total package, typically called the
instructor’s
 manual, which provides the instructor with an overview of the materials. It
might include the
 following:
 tests and other information considered important for implementing the
course.
 student guidance templates
 automated class listing
 student tracking
 online testing
 project monitoring
 grade book
 a variety of communication and messaging mechanisms
 Special attention should be paid to the ease with which course management
information can be
 used by the instructor or course manager.
Instructional Materials
 They contain the content – either written, mediated or facilitated
by an instructor (the content includes materials for the major
objectives, the terminal objective, and any materials for
enhancing memory and transfer).

 Instructional materials refer to any preexisting materials that are

being incorporated, as well as to those that will be specifically
developed for the objectives.

 The materials may also include information that the learners

will use to guide their progress through the instruction.
 Selecting Existing
Instructional Materials
 Goal-centered
o congruence between the content in the materials and your
terminal and performance objectives.
o adequacy of content coverage and completeness
o authority
o accuracy
o currency
o objectivity
 Selecting Existing Instructional
Materials Continued

Learner-centered appropriateness of if the existing materials for the

target group
o Vocabulary and language
o developmental, motivation, and interest levels
o backgrounds and experiences
o special language or needs
 Learning-centered appropriateness of the materials in terms of
 instructional strategies
 Context centered Appropriateness of the materials for the
instructional and performance context
 The Designer’s Role in
Material Development and
Instructional Delivery
 The designer the materials developer the instructor
 Individualized instruction Their role in instructional delivery is passive,
but their role
 As a facilitator is very active
 Instructors select and adapt materials to suit their instructional strategy
more increased role in delivering instruction
 Heavily dependent on instructor
 Designer the instructor
 The best way is to meet with and learn from the developer
 Designer should conduct the on-site learner and context analyses
themselves
 Developing Instructional
Materials for Formative
Evaluation
 Rough draft materials
 Rapid prototypes
o Go light on the early analysis steps of an instructional design
model
o Develop prototype instructional materials rapidly
o Use quick interactive cycles of formative evaluation
o Revise to shape the final form of the materials.
o Simultaneous design and development
 Material development tools and resources
 Beginning the Development Process

 Media production tends to be highly specialized for each different media

delivery system. Seldom will you, as an instructional designer, be
responsible for actual media production, with the possible exception of
small, in-house projects. At the same time, you will be working with
media production specialists, and it's a good idea to have a working
knowledge of what it is they do, to facilitate communication and
understand their problems and capabilities.
 There is no substitute for hands-on experience in this area, and we
encourage you to take advantage of course projects, internships, and other
opportunities to obtain some of that firsthand knowledge. In the
meantime, here are some brief descriptions of the major production
processes and the people that carry them out.
 Multimedia
 Print
 Steps in the
development of
 Creating
Instruction
instructional materials is time consuming and, likely, costly. It's much
more effective to find existing materials that may be able to be adopted or
amended to meet your needs.
 If
creating new materials is deemed necessary, a variety of tools can be used to
help plan and carry out the development process.
 Preproduction activities are implemented before materials are created, and often
include identification and scheduling the tasks, specifying the treatment,
establishing story boards, and writing scripts.
 Although instructional designers may not be directly involved in development,
familiarity with the steps facilitates communication with the people who have
the specific skills required during production.
 Prototyping and rapid prototyping have become embedded in the development
process over the years. These processes allow the production crew to try out and
verify the validity of ideas before committing time and funds to ideas that may
require costly changes later.
 STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING
CONTENT
 When developing content, provide contextualizing elements (collaboration, role play,
case studies)
 that permit for multiple and varied perspectives. Contextualizing also helps link ideas
to prior
 knowledge. Learners bring experience that is unique to their cultural and ethnic
backgrounds. In
 addition, motivation and decision making should be built in to the materials being
developed.
 Develop the materials so that the instructor is not built into the process. This permits
the greatest
 flexibility and encourages the development of materials that are focused on learner
needs. When
 developing or modifying instructional materials for the interpersonal domain, the
instructor should ask these questions:
1. What is my instructional strategy? This would include learner analysis, identification of
goals & objectives, sequencing of events, delivery modes (i.e., self-paced, instructor-led,
etc.) and assessment tools.
2. What budget do I have available? This would include not only the cost of developing or
 Instructional Elements
 Once you have a general plan in mind, you can begin developing and gathering the materials
for your
 instruction. Since you are developing instructional materials for the interpersonal domain,
you should
 look for materials that engage the learner in interpersonal activities. Instructional and
assessment
 activities should draw upon the following elements, depending upon the goals and objectives
of the
 course:
• peer-sharing
• group activities
• interpersonal interactions
• team games
• questionnaires, surveys, and activities which require gathering input from others
• cooperative learning
• leadership activities
• peer activities such as counseling and tutoring
 Identifying Skills to
Develop
 When developing the content you should assess the skills that are likely to
be
 developed by using the instructional materials that you have created or
selected.
 The material should be designed to develop these skills, depending upon the
 goals and objectives:

• listening skills
• person-to-person communication
• giving and receiving feedback
• leadership
• teamwork and cooperation
• conflict resolution
 Now that you have learned some strategies for developing the content, we are
 going to look at some strategies for media selection.
 Strategies for Selecting
Media
When developing your instructional materials you will need to consider your media
options. This section will provide you with some strategies to help you make the right
choice for your needs.
TYPES BENEFITS CONSIDERATIO EXAMPLES
NS
Permits independence in Can be expensive, File:Diffusiom-sim-
Simulation learning process, feedback important to game.png Visit
s contextualizes context, develop success (Diffusion Simulation
critical thinking Game)
Highly motivational, May require extensive File: Cash-game.png,
Training encourages teamwork, uses preparation, flexibility Visit (Thiagi’s Training
Games problem solving skills, important Games)
develops communication skills
Introduces real world Difficult with large File: Role-play.png Visit
Role situations, promotes groups, can require (Effective & Ineffective
Playing understanding of other extensive guidance to be Interpersonal
positions, emphasizes working effective Communication Role
together, provides Play)
opportunities to receive and
give feedback
 Strategies for Selecting Media
Continued

TYPES BENEFITS CONSIDERATION EXAMPLES

S
Great for large groups Technology requirements, File:Interpersonal-
provides for safe difficult to adapt lecture-sample.png
VIDEO observation can include Need discussion & practice Visit (Power on
real life situations can opportunities Non Verbal
develop critical thinking Communication)
Many available resources Technology requirements File: Seven –
WEB multiple perspectives quality varies greatly, challenges.png
SITES represented, can provide requires self-motivation, Visit (The Seven
for silent reflection need to provide interaction Challenges
opportunities Workbook)

Provides for rapid Good as a support tool, File:

JOB instruction, inexpensive, need practice opportunities Communication-
AIDS can use with any group, to ensure transfer job-aid.png Visit
provides opportunities for (Speak for
self-assessment Yourself)
Reference
 Summary
 Translating your analysis and design opens opportunities to be creative with
the instruction.
 Simply translating your analysis and strategies into prose can yield rather
dry and boring
 instruction. As a teacher and instructional designer, you need to consider
ways to add interesting
 and motivating approaches to the instruction. For example, consider the
various introductions to
 the units used in this course. We have used a variety of styles and
approaches to make the units
 interesting and appealing to the students. Making good instruction is part
science and part art,
 the trick is finding the right mix to challenge and engage your students.
 THE End

Carolyn Jenkins-
Haigler