My basic approach to instructional design is to answer:
- Why?
- What?
- How?
- What if…?
I call this my 4 Questions Model.
I prefer to write in small chunks — each addressing a specific question. To make a larger piece of content is a matter of determining the order of the questions, the amount of time you spend on each, and the number of times you cycle through the question.
To make these decisions, you need to know Who? the course is designed for, and then target the material to meet their needs. For example, when training salespeople, you might start with the What?, but most of the material will focus on the Why?. You’ll present several different scenarios depicting various business problems addressed by the product or solution being sold. However, for a technical support audience, you’ll spend most of the time on the How? and What if…?.
It’s a very simple technique, but it has its advantages. It helps with writer’s block — something I struggle with — because I can write in short, focused bursts and worry about the structure later. The resulting content blocks are readily reusable for a variety of audiences with just some rearranging and audience-specific alterations and additions.
If the content isn’t getting the results intended, I can usually trace back to a fault in the order, the emphasis or the depth of the content.
When I worked as a technical trainer, I remember as a new employee, sitting in one of the classes I would soon be teaching. I knew I was there to learn the content and pick up some technique from the instructor. But as we reached the 90-min mark on the first day and the marketing spiel dragged on, I began asking myself: Why do I need to know the sales pitch — haven’t these people already purchased our product? When are we going to start learning how to use the product? How am I going to stay awake?!
At the next product release, we redesigned the course. We got rid of the marketing pitch (Why?) and got right into a demonstration of the product (What?). And then — because using the product required executing many development phases before it could be “run” — each phase was covered as What?-How? unit that included the basic process plus a culminating stretch activity (What if…?). The course still contained some Why? material but instead of a sales pitch, it covered the rationale behind recommended best practices.
The 4 Questions Model is similar to Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction, but it’s easier to remember and provides greater flexibility to the designer.
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