Category: Instructional Design
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“Understand” is Not a Good Verb for Learning Objectives
The verb “understand” is commonly used by well-meaning instructors as part of Learning Objectives (LOs) or course objectives. What’s the problem with it? It’s not measurable Think about it: what assessment could you use to determine whether your learners understand something? It’s a great verb for talking about learning, but it’s too fuzzy to be…
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Should You Avoid “Teaching to the Test?”
I’ve always understood “teaching to the test” to mean a course is designed around a specific test. Obviously, an SAT prep course should be designed around the SAT and developing the skills to be successful with that assessment. So what’s the big deal? The term appears to be used only in cases where a class…
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Alignment in Instructional Design
Alignment is harmony among all the components of a learning unit, including your Learning Objectives (LOs), assessments, activities, and content. You could think of it like all the gears in a machine set up so they work together properly. Who Cares? You do. So do all your learners. If the components of your course, for…
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Free Download from Simple Instructional Design!
Chapter 2 (Learning Objectives) of my upcoming book, Simple Instructional Design, is now available as a free download!
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Simple Instructional Design: Behind the Book
It was early 2022 and we were all enjoying the slow march back to normalcy as COVID-19 lockdown was relaxed. I was leading a small, virtual train-the-trainer session on instructional design basics for a large university. We were halfway through an hour-long session and I was thinking, “This is a waste of everyone’s time. They’re…
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Learning Pyramid is Not Based on Evidence
Have you heard that the “Learning Pyramid,” published by “National Training Laboratories” in Bethel, Maine, (shown below) is not based on empirical evidence? I recently discovered that this oft-cited infographic comes from an unreliable source. Check out this article for details: “Excavating the Origins of the Learning Pyramid Myths” from the peer-reviewed journal, Cogent Education.…
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Simple Instructional Design: Why You Need This Book
If you’re an educator of any kind, you need my book! All of you amazing and dedicated K-12 teachers, college faculty and lecturers, corporate trainers, presenters, freelancers… you need my book. If you educate people of any age, in any setting, you need my book. Here’s why: The way you were taught to teach is…
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Instructional Design: Go Backwards for the Best Training
What’s the simplest thing you can do to improve your learning units? Go backwards! You’re confused. It’s normal. Let me explain… Backwards Design is a strategy for creating learning units that begins where most educators end: with the Learning Objectives. Learning units are whatever you’re teaching or training from which you want people to learn…
Athena Rayne Anderson 