Glossary of Instructional Design Terminology
Credits: The following glossary of terms are taken from various publications including the following:
Dick, W. & Carey, L. (1996). The systematic design of instruction (3rd ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company.
Richey, R.C., Fields, D. C., Foxon, M. (2001). Instructional design competencies: The standards (3rd ed.). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University.Seels, B. B. & Richey, R. C. (1994). Instructional technology: The definition and domains of the field. Washington, DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Advanced capabilities - those knowledge, skills, and judgements demonstrated by experienced and expert designers. Applied to both competencies and performance statements.
Assessment - a measure of individual learning for various purposes, including a determination of readiness for learning, monitoring progress, and measuring achievement after instruction.
ARCS Acronym for Keller's theory of motivation (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction).
Attitude - An internal state that influences an individual's choices or decisions to act under certain circumstances. Attitudes represent a tendency to respond in a particular way.
Behavior - an action that is an overt, observable, measurable performance.
Behavioral objective - See objective.
Benchmarking - the process of comparing curricula and other organizational information with best practice programs.
Business case - the business-related reason for which a training or performance intervention is needed.
Candidate media -Those media that can present the desired information, without regard to which may be the most effective. The distinction is from "noncandidate media." A book, for example, cannot present sound, and thus would be an inappropriate choice for delivering instruction for certain objectives.
Chunk of instruction - All the instruction required to teach one objective or a combination of two or more objectives.
Cluster analysis - A technique used with goals in the verbal inforamtion domain to identify the specific information needed to achieve the goal and the ways that information can best be organized or grouped.
Complex goal - A goal that involves more than one domain of learning.
Concept - A set of objects, events, symbols, situations, etc., that can be grouped together on the basis of one or more shared characteristics, and given a common identifying label or symbol. Concept learning refers to the capacity to identify members of the concept category.
Congruence analysis - Analyzing the congruence between: (1) an organization's stated needs and goals and those addressed in candidate instruction; an organization's target learners' entry behavior and characteristics of those for which candidate materials are intended; and an organization's resources and those required for obtaining and implementing candidate instruction. Conducted during the expert judgment phase of summative evaluation.
Consultant - an individual or organization retrained to work on a project because of specific expertise. May be internal to one's organization or external. Related Term: Contractor.
Competency - a knowledge, skill or attitude that enables one to effectively perform the activities of a given occupation or function to the standards expected in employment. Related Term: Competence.
Confirmative evaluation - the process of determining whether over time learners have maintained their level of competence, the instructional materials remain effective, and the organizational problems have been solved. Confirmative evaluation occurs after formative and summative evaluation (Seels and Richey, 1994, p. 126).
Content stability - The degree to which information to be learned is likely to remain current.
Cost benefit analysis - a comparison of the economic benefits of the program to the actual and opportunity costs of the program. Related Term: Trade-off analysis.
Criticality - the extent to which a behavior or activity is viewed as essential to a designer's job.
Criterion - A standard against which a performance or product is measured.
Criterion-referenced test items - Items designed to measure performance on an explicit set of objectives; also known as objective-referenced test items.
Cross-functional teams - teams in which instructional designers work with specialists from other fields, such as organizational development, and multi-media development and engineering.
Curriculum - a large body of organized and sequential instruction, consisting of programs and courses. May also refer to the aggregate of modules or courses directed toward a common goal of a given organization, or a collection of required readings.
Customer - a person or organization for which a service is performed. May be internal to one's organization or external. Related Term: Client.
Delivery system - a means of organizing, presenting, or distributing instruction, typically employing a variety of media, methods and materials.
Design evaluation chart - A method of organizing design information to facilitate its evaluation. The chart relates skills, objectives, and associated test items, allowing easy comparison among the components of the instructional design.
Discrimination - Distinguishing one stimulus from another and responding differently to the various stimuli.
Domain - a cluster of related competencies. Other uses: a subject matter area.
Domain of learning - A major type of learning outcome that can be distinguished from other domains by the type of learning performance required, the type of mental processing required, and the relevant conditions of learning.
E-learning specialist - a person with expertise in the delivery of content via all electronic media, including the Internet, intranets, satellite broadcast, multi-media, audio/video tape, interactive TV, and CD-ROM.
Embedded attitude question - Question asked of learners about the instruction at the time they first encounter it.
Emerging technologies - new techniques, tools and equipment used in designing or delivering instruction, including virtual reality, electronic performance support systems, and multi-user object-oriented domains.
Entry behavior test item - Criterion-referenced test items designed to measure skills identified as necessary prerequisites to beginning a specific course of instruction. Items are typically included in a pretest.
Entry behaviors - Specific competencies or skills a learner must have mastered before entering a given instructional activity.
Essential capabilities - those knowledge, skills, and judgements that all designers should be able to demonstrate. Applied to both competencies and performance statements.
Evaluation - the process of determining the adequacy, value, outcomes and impact of instruction and learning (adapted from Seels and Richey, 1994, p. 128).
Expert judgment evaluation - Judgments of the quality of instructional materials made by content experts, learner specialists, or design specialists. The first phase of summative evaluation.
Expert instructional designer - a person with a foundation of formal training in the field typically a graduate degree, substantial work experience, and the facility to anticipate design problems and quickly identify effective design solutions. Related Term: Experienced instructional designer.
Expert judgment evaluation - Judgments of the quality of instructional materials made by content experts, learner specialists, or design specialists. The first phase of summative evaluation.
Expertise - the level of knowledge and experience demonstrated by designers who are typically categorized as either novice, experienced, or expert.
Feedback - Information provided to learners about the correctness of their responses to practice questions in the instruction.
Field trial - The third stage in formative evaluation, referring to the evaluation of the program or product in the setting in which it is intended to be used. Also, the second phase of summative evaluation.
Formative evaluation - gathering information on the adequacy of an instructional product or program and using this information as a basis for further development (Seels and Richey, 1994, p. 128).
Fundamental research skills - those skills which are basic to scientific investigation, including the design of exploratory studies and field tests, instrument design and data collection techniques, and the interpretation and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
Fuzzy - A goal that is important, but abstract or intangible.
General learner characteristics - The general, relatively stable (not influenced by instruction) traits describing the learners in a given target population.
Goal - A broad, general statement of instructional intent, experssed in terms of what learners will be able to do.
Goal analysis - The technique used to analyze a goal to identify the sequence of operations and decisions required to achieve it.
Group-based instruction - The use of learning activities and materials designed to be used in a collective fashion with a group of learners; interactive, group-paced instruction.
Hierarchical analysis - A technique used with goals in the intellectual skills domain to identify the critical subordinate skils needed to achieve the goal, and their interrelationships. For each subordinate skill in the analysis, this involves asking, "What must the student know how to do in order to learn the specific subskills being considered?"
Individualized instruction - The use, by students, of systematically designed learning activities and materials specifically chosen to suit their individual interests, abilities, and experience. Such instruction is usually self-paced.
Individualization - tailoring instruction to meet the abilities, knowledge, skills, interests, motivation and goals of individual learners.
Instruction - a planned process that facilitates learning.
Instructional context - the physical and psychological environment in which instruction is delivered or in which transfer occurs. Related Term: Learning environment.
Instructional analysis - The procedures applied to an instructional goal in order to identify the relevant skills and their subordinate skills and information required for a student to achieve the goal.
Instructional design - systematic instructional planning including needs assessment, development, evaluation, implementation and maintenance of materials and programs. Related Term: Instructional systems design.
Instructional design theory - a set of scientific principles relating to instructional methods, learner characteristics, learning environments, and outcomes. Typically derived from or tested by empiracal research.
Instructional goal - a general statement of learner outcomes, related to an identified problem and needs assessment, and achievable through instruction (Dick and Carey, 1996, p. 23).
Instructional materials - Print or other mediated instruction used by a student to achieve an instructional goal.
Instructional objective - a detailed description of what learners will be able to do having completed a unit of instruction (Dick and Carey, 1996, p. 119). Related Terms: Learning outcome, behavioral objective, performance objective.
Instructional products - content-related items such as books, job aids, student and instructor guides, and web pages.
Instructional strategy - a general approach to selecting and sequencing learning activities. Related Term: Teaching methods.
Instructional Systems Design - an organized procedure for developing instructional materials programs, or curricula; includes the stpes of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating. Related Terms: Instructional design, instructional systems development.
Intellectual property - the technological or process knowledge and capabilities that an organization or an individual has developed. Typically protected by copyright.
Instructor's manual - The collection of written materials given to instructors to facilitate their se of the instructional materials. The manual should include: an overview of the materials, tests with answers, and any supplementary information thought to be useful to the instructors.
Intellectual skill - A skill that requires some unique cognitive activity; involves manipulating, cognitive symbols, as opposed to simply retrieving previously learned information.
Item analysis table - A means of presenting evaluation data that show the percentage of learner's reliance on memory during the performance of a complex task.
Learner analysis - The determination of pertinent characteristics of members of the target population. Often includes prior knowledge and attitudes toward the content to be taught, as well as attitudes toward the organization and work environment.
Learner performance data - Information about the degree to which learners achieved the objectives following a unit of instruction.
Learner profile data - descriptions of the learner characteristics pertinent to instruction, including factors such as age, skill level, education, and work experience. Related Terms: Target population characteristics.
Learner specialist - A person knowledgeable about a particular population of learners.
Learning - a relatively stable change in knowledge or behavior as a result of experience (Mayer, 1982, p. 1040).
Learning context - The actual physical location (or locations) in which the instruction that is under development will be used.
Learning style - an individual's preferred means of acquiring knowledge and skills. Related Terms: Cognitive style, multiple intelligences.
Mastery level - A prespecified level of task performance, with no gradations below it, that defines satisfactory achievement of an objective.
Media - the means by which instruction is presented to the learner. Typically classified in terms of the perceptual channels employed, such as visual or auditory media.
Message - a meaningful unit of communication that may take alternative forms, including written, visual or oral. Message may be instructional, informational, or motivational.
Model - A simplified representation of a system, often in picture or flowchart form, showing selected features of the system.
Module - An instructional package with a single integrated theme that provides the information needed to develop mastery of specified knowledge and skills, and serves as one component of a total course or curriculum.
Multi-media - the integration of various forms of media for instructional purposes. Typically involving compuer graphics, animation, video, sound, and text.
Need - A discrepancy between wht should be and the current status of a situation.
Needs assessment - a systematic process for determining goals, identifying discrepancies between optimal and actual performance, and establishing priorities for action. (Briggs, 1977, p. xxiv). Related Terms: Training needs assessment, needs analysis, front-end analysis, task and subject matter analysis.
Noninstructional solution - Means of reducing performance discrepancies other than the imparting of knowledge; includes motivational, environmental, and equipment factors.
Novice instructional designer - a person who has received basic training and education in instructional design fundamentals, but has little or no actual on-the-job work experience.
Objective - A statement of what the learners will be expected to do when they have completed a specified course of instruction, stated in terms of observable performances. Also known as: performance objective; behavioral objective, instructional objective.
One-to-one evaluation - The first stage in formative evaluation, referring to direct interaction between the designer and individual tryout student.
Organizational mission - a description of the organization's purpose, values, strategic position, and long-term goals.
Organizational philosophy - a description of an organization's values and beliefs with regard to how it intends to act and interact in its environment.
Organizational values - a stable set of long-term aspirations and actions that the organization uses to make strategic choices. Related Term: Corporate culture.
Performance improvement - the process of designing or selecting interventions directed toward a change in behavior, typically on the job. Related Terms: performance technology, human performance technology.
Performance statement - a detailed explanation of activities comprising a competency statement.
Posttest - A criterion-referenced test designed to measure performance on objectives taught during a unit of instruction; given after the instruction. Typically does not include items on entry behaviors.
Preinstructional activities - Techniques used to provide the following three events prior to delivering instructional content: (1) get the learners' attention, (2) advise them of the prerequisite skills for the unit, and (3) tell them what they will be able to do after the instruction.
Pretest - A criterion-referenced test designed to measure performance on objectives to be taught during a unit of instruction and/or performance on entry behaviors; given before instruction begins.
Professional activities - conduct which enhances the skill and knowledge of the instructional design practitioner, including attending professional association meetings and conference, reading relevant texts, or networking with other practitioners.
Program - a unit of instruction consisting of two or more courses, modules, workshops, seminars, and the like. Related Term: Curriculum.
Project information systems - organized processes and databases used to manage projects and resources.
Psychomotor skill Execution of a sequence of major or subtle physical actions to achieve a specified result. All skills employ some type of physical action; the physical action in a psychomotor skill is the focus of the new learning, and is not merely the vehicle of expressing an intellectual skill.
Reliability - the degree to which items consistently yield the same comparable results.
Research - An investigation conducted to identify knowledge that is generalized to many students at various times.
Revision - The process of producing an amended, improved or up-to-date version of a set of instructional materials.
Skill - An ability to perform an action or group of actions; involves overt performance.
Small-group evaluation - The second stage of formative evaluation, referring to the use of a small number of tryout students who study an instructional program without intervention from the designer and are tested to assess the effectiveness of the instruction.
Stakeholders - people with a vested interest in project outcomes.
Strategic plan - a process for allocating resources to achieve long-range organizational goals.
Subject matter expert - a content specialist who advises or assists the designer. Related Terms: SME, content expert.
Subordinate skill - A skill that must be achieved in order to learn a higher level skill. Also known as subskill, prerequisite, enabling skill.
Summative evaluation - systematically gathering information on the adequacy and outcomes of an instructional intervention and using this information to make decisions about utilization (Seels and Richey, 1994, p. 134).
System A set of interrated parts working together toward a defined goal.
Tactical goals - statements that specify short-term actions required to achieve an organization's strategic goals.
Target population - those persons for whom an instructional intervention is intended. Related Terms: The learners, the learner group.
Terminal objective - An objective the learners will be expected to accomplish when they have completed a course of instruction, made up of subordinate objectives. Often, a more specific statement of the instructional goal.
Training - A prespecified and planned experience that enables a person to do something which he or she couldn't do before.
Transfer - the application of knowledge and skills acquired in training to another environment, typically a work setting. Related Terms: transfer of learning.
Tryout students - A representative sample of the target population; may be used to test an instructional program prior to final implementation.
Validation - the process of determining the extent to which competencies and performance statements are supported by the profession.
Validity - the degree to which items measure what they are intended to measure. Relater Term: Valid test items.
Verbal information - Requirement to provide a specific response to relatively specific stimuli; involves recall of information.
Visuals - graphics or teaching materials that pictorially describe ideas or convey meanings, including items such as overhead transparencies, screen graphics, or icons. Related Term: Visual aids.