The effects of a web-based training in an instructionals systems design approach on teacher's instructional design behavior

Abstract

Deficiencies in instructional design skill have been identified as a possible cause for the problems teachers of Dutch Polytechnics experience in designing competency-based education. This research investigates the effects of an Instructional Systems Design (ISD) training on teachers’ instructional design behavior. Thirty-six teachers from 16 Dutch Teacher Training Colleges received 20 hours of web-based training either in an ISD based condition or in an experience-based design condition (EXP). In the ISD condition teachers were trained to apply the 4C-ID model of van Merriënboer (1997), in the EXP condition the teachers were trained to optimize their own approach. The results supported the hypotheses, indicating that the ISD-based training resulted in a higher quality of design and was evaluated more positive than the EXP approach. These findings suggest that training in an ISD approach can effectively support teachers’ instructional design strategies.