Designing in ISD
This phase insures the systematic development of the training program. This process is driven by the products of the analysis phase and ends in a model or blueprint of the training process for future development. This model should contain five key outputs:
- Entry behaviors
- Learning steps (performance steps)
- Learning objectives
- Performance test
- Structure and sequence program outline
The entry behaviors describe what a learner must know before entering into the training program. Just as a college requires certain standards to be met in order to enroll, a learning process should require a base level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA).
The learning objectives tell what tasks the learners will be able to perform after the training, the learning steps tell how to perform the tasks, while the performance test tells how well the tasks must be met.
Finally, the learning objectives are sequenced in an orderly fashion to provide the best opportunity for learning to occur.
Mr. Spock from Star Trek had a great training technique called "the Vulcan mind meld." Spock placed his fingertips on another person's head, which in turn, transferred knowledge, vivid images, and memories from their brain to his, or vice versa.
Unfortunately, we do not have the mind meld capability. . . at least now. So for the time being a systematic method of to help transfer the required KSAs is used. This method is known as ISD. Just as Spock could extract only the information he wanted, the goal in ISD is to make the transfer as effectively and efficiently as possible and tailored to the learners' needs.
Training, at its simplest, is the transfer of KSA. ISD is nothing but Spock's Vulcan mind meld equivalent.
There are no better terms available to describe the difference between the approach of the natural and the social sciences than to call the former "objective" and the latter "subjective"... While for the natural scientist the contrast between objective facts and subjective opinions is a simple one, the distinction cannot as readily be applied to the object of the social sciences. The reason for this is that the object, the "facts" of the social sciences are also opinions — not opinions of the student of the social phenomena, of course, but opinions of those whose actions produce the object of the social scientist. - The Counter-Revolution of Science by Friedrich August Von Hayek.
References
U.S. Army Field Artillery School (1984). A System Approach To Training (Course Student textbook). ST - 5K061FD92
U.S. Department of Defense Training Document (1975). Pamphlet 350-30. August, 1975.
Next Steps
Go to the next section: Develop Objectives
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