what does course flow mean in instructional design

by Jermey Bode 10 min read

Instructors — and students themselves — should strive for the “flow channel” where skills properly meet challenges. You can encourage flow both inside and beyond your classroom in a number of ways: As you design your course, draft assignments and activities in terms of the challenges involved and the skills necessary to succeed.

Full Answer

What is the design phase of instruction design?

In the design phase, consider all components of instruction from beginning to the end. When designing instruction, it often helps to work backward and think about how you will evaluate, implement, and develop materials, methods, and media that facilitate instruction.

What is “flow of learning”?

The term “flow” (nagare in Japanese) implies a natural force, like that of water flowing. The research lesson plan focuses on the flow of learning–why and how student understanding will change over the course of the lesson.

What is instructional design?

As Smith and Ragan (1999) explain, “The term instructional design refers to the systematic and reflective process of translating the principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials, activities, information resources, and evaluation.”

What is the course design process?

The course design process involves intentional and deliberate planning in order to create a course that best supports students. This process works equally well for on-campus courses, fully online courses and hybrid courses that have elements of both.

What is the instructional framework?

While the instructional framework provides a concrete template to follow when planning instruction, it can be adapted. Concepts and skills often need to be taught side by side, and when this is the case, the flow of instruction can vary depending on how you approach the topics. The four phases of instruction give a concrete framework ...

Is the cycle of content presentation and learning messy?

However, the cycle of content presentation and learning is often messy. Many concepts, theories and skills within a course are related and are not easily separated or learned in isolation. This means that often, some things are learned side by side. Therefore, the flow of instruction can vary depending on the content.

Create the Lesson Flow

Consider the activities, discussions, puzzles, and tensions that will make up the lesson from beginning to end.

Some Cautions

As you plan the research lesson, group members may be tempted to micromanage each move and comment the lesson instructor will make. Instead, train your focus on the content and how students will interact with it to build the new understandings of the lesson.

What is flow in online learning?

The optimal learning experience is the state termed "flow." Flow, as defined by creativity researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Me-high Chick-zhent-me-high), is the "state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost , for the sheer sake of doing it." During flow experiences, work is pleasure and is rewarding in itself. Csikszentmihalyi has also described flow as "joy, creativity" and " the process of total involvement in life."

What is flow experience?

In addition to having clear goals, a second characteristic of a flow experience is "a sense that one's skills are adequate to cope with the challenges at hand," according to Csikszentmihalyi. When a person's skills are less advanced than those required to meet a challenge, anxiety results. When a person's skills are more advanced than what is needed to meet a challenge, boredom results. Flow usually occurs when a person's skill level matches the level of a challenge.

When the job provides clear goals, unambiguous feedback, a sense of control, challenges that match the worker'

Csikszentmihalyi has summarized his research by stating, "When the job provides clear goals, unambiguous feedback, a sense of control, challenges that match the worker's skills, and no distractions, the feeling it provides are not that different from what one experiences in a sport or artistic performance." By incorporating the characteristics of a flow experience into a course, any instructional designer can set the stage for an optimal learning experience that leaves students feeling like intellectual virtuosos.

What is instructional design?

Essentially, Instructional Design (ID) is a process that can help improve the design and development of courses and course content. Often associated with training in business and industry, ID has been widely used by educators to revise and modify existing courses and to plan and implement new instruction. The process is systematic and systemic;

How to design instruction?

This is the creative and inventive phase in which you can collaborate with colleagues and be open to new techniques and approaches. During the design phase, write learning objectives for events and tasks required of students, determine which methods (lec ture, demonstration, group work), materials (handouts, lab equipment, artifacts, flip charts) and media (computer multimedia, video, audio) will be incorporated into the course. Keep in mind that all materials, methods, and media should be carefully selected based on the learning objectives. Effective instruction should be well-planned, and nothing should be designed arbitrarily.

What is implementation in teaching?

Implement is where the actual instruction takes place. Students rely on the expertise of their instructors to present content in a meaningful way. At the same time, students should be engaged in the learning process. All of the planning done in the design and development stages is on stage in the implementation phase. This is where the instructor’s expertise shines along with the crafted approach to teaching, whether the setting is a classroom, a lab, a field setting, or online. Implementation, then, involves facilitation of learning.

What should be carefully selected based on the learning objectives?

Keep in mind that all materials, methods, and media should be carefully selected based on the learning objectives. Effective instruction should be well-planned, and nothing should be designed arbitrarily. Keep in mind that all materials, methods, and media should be carefully selected based on the learning objectives.

What is formative evaluation?

Evaluation happens at two levels: formative , which tells us what is occurring, and summative, which tells us what has occurred. Formative evaluation takes place during the planning and instruction phases and assesses what instructors and students are doing.

How are curriculum and instructional design related?

Curriculum development and instructional design are related, and sometimes synonymous, terms. Some people clarify the terms by saying that curriculum development is what students will learn, while instructional design is how students will learn it. The importance of curriculum development is self-evident, arguably.

What is instructional design?

Instructional designers are tasked with creating and delivering educational training materials for higher education institutions, businesses and other organizations. The instructional design process can take several forms. Some organizations follow a linear process, while others prefer an iterative one, according to course content provider ...

What are the factors that influence the instructional design process?

Selecting a specific instructional design process is influenced by factors like training requirements, client expectations, tools, development time, flexibility and budget . The following sections discuss the instructional design process and the significance of curriculum development.

What is the purpose of the brief on community college?

The brief emphasizes the need for more collaboration between employers and community colleges. By including employers in curriculum development, community college programs can better prepare graduates to enter the workforce.

What is training in learning management system?

Develop Training: After the storyboard and prototype are complete, training can be created in the learning management system. Training includes graphics, interactive elements, assessments, recordings by a voice-over artist and more, based on the storyboard.

Why is curriculum development important?

As the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management puts it, “Curriculum development is central to teaching quality. Yet, as research has shown it is rarely given priority in university departments.”.

What is the importance of implementing skills and knowledge in higher education?

Implementing the skills and knowledge that students need for successful careers is critical throughout higher education and in other training materials. In addition to the curriculum in any course, the course itself must be able to deliver the content in a clear and relevant manner.

How does instructional design improve learning?

Instructional Design Raises Learning Efficiency. Even though the information is often in the public domain, there is a huge difference between information openness and understanding. When students learn independently with little or no instruction, they spend a lot of time analyzing extraneous information.

How does instructional design improve training effectiveness?

Training effectiveness increases significantly if the information analysis is done before starting training. Instructional design helps students jump straight to the most important information that instructional designers have already structured properly.

What are the responsibilities of instructional designers?

The implementation of instructional design is carried out by specialists called instructional designers. They are involved in developing educational material, namely the formation of units, materials presentation, support materials, and much more. However, the list of responsibilities of instructional designers also includes the following items: 1 Conducting a needs analysis to identify what precisely the study group wants 2 An analysis of the needs that can be met through training and how these needs can be met 3 Determination of learning goals that in the future will be a measure of success of the educational process 4 Collection of initial information about the target group of students (motivational factors, behavior patterns, background knowledge, and much more) 5 Development of an educational strategy, curriculum, and teaching methods 6 Monitoring learning outcomes to assess the success of the entire learning process

How many instructional designers are there?

Today it's hard to imagine creating an online course without interacting with instructional designers since there are more than 64,000 instructional designers.

What is the second principle of learning?

Activation principle. The second principle is that the course must activate the already existing knowledge of the student. This makes it easier to connect the students’ existing knowledge base and the new knowledge that the course provides.

Why is instructional design important?

Instructional design helps improve the quality of teaching by making it more effective , engaging, and attractive.

What is the sequence of steps?

The sequence of steps helps to create a flexible model in which events can be adapted to different learning situations. Gaining attention. The first step is to get the attention of students through various stimuli (new ideas, different reflections, and much more). Informing students.

What are the components of instructional design?

They include analysis, design, development, and evaluation.

What is an instructional designer?

Instructional designers are responsible for creating the course design and developing all instructional materials, including presentation materials, participant guides, handouts, and job aids or other materials. Instructional designers are commonly also responsible for evaluating training, including assessing what was learned and whether the learning solution led to measurable behavior change.

What is design and development?

Design and development includes the actual design and development of the instructional materials or determining the delivery methods to be used. It often includes drafting curriculum and lesson plans, developing any instructional materials including presentations, e-learning, job aids, participant guides, and anything else to be used in the training.

What is evaluation in training?

Evaluation looks at how you determine if your training or learning solution was successful. Did it create a measurable impact on the learner’s behavior and did that lead to the desired results back on the job? There are a number popular evaluation models to consider, including:

What is a syllabus for a course?

Students should be able to navigate the course materials, find assignment instructions and understand the path of the course from the first day. A syllabus that details the course schedule and has defined expectations of students allows you to concentrate on the teaching and not organization during the semester.

How to make a course conducive to learning?

You can make your course conducive to learning by defining respectful conversations. Thoughtful interactions with students and the support of peer-to-peer learning increases students’ satisfaction with the course, its instructor and the materials. Courses that lack a physical space need to prioritize this in their design.

How should a course be guided?

Courses should be guided by well-articulated course learning objectives. Identify what your students should be able to produce or tackle by the end of your course and let those learning objectives lead your choices for daily activities, assignments and grading. If the course learning objectives are clear, it makes it easier to identify ways ...

Why is face to face learning important?

Face-to-face sessions should take advantage of technologies to include all students in conversations about the materials. Good courses cultivate a learning community.

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