Step 1: Analyse (Rapid Prototyping - 4 Step Instructional Design Model)

In essence, the first step of the Rapid Prototype process is to conduct a focused and structured analysis of the students and their needs and requirements. The following elements should be considered.

Learning Needs
An assessment of student needs and the identification of any potential problems at this stage will allow you to make some general goal statements. Any analysis should consider:

• The task and conditions
• Current performance levels
• Potential problems/s or potential causes
• Desired performance outcomes and the associated expectation of your learning episode as related to the outcomes

This analysis is vital in order to identify the best way to achieve those needs and check your interpretation.

Student Audience
Students will not buy in to you tutorial unless it suits their needs, interests and motivations. Without this information it would be possible to end up with a learning episode that is either too easy or difficult. Five categories of audience characteristics can be considered including:

• Instructional preference - The type of presentation, the need for practice, the type and amount of feedback, the time available and the likely location when reviewing content
• General characteristics – Student demographics, IT skills
• Affective characteristics – Motivation, self-concept, attitudes, interests
• Entry skills – Existing knowledge, skills and abilities
• Personal/Physical characteristics – Geographic location, sensory, motor or mental conditions

Resources
When choosing the right delivery system – or combination, you must consider your students resources such as financial, time, facilities, equipment, materials, institutional characteristics and existing instructional resources.

This is also an opportunity to expose your students to new media and methodologies and to demystify technology; however, do not assume too much prior knowledge. At this point you should be able to:

Identify the delivery methods most conducive to learning and any associated learning constraints
Check accessibility elements
Use self-study materials and distance learning methodologies that allow learners to study independent of time and space (however, it is important that learners do not feel isolated)

Content
Essentially, what the learning episode should contain in order to achieve the instructional goal/s. Content analysis considers what learners need to do to perform and what learners need to know to perform. Your analysis should discover:

• What the lesson should contain in order to achieve the instructional goal
• How you will organise and sequence the content in easily completed chunks
• How you will balance self-direction carefully with more structured learning
• What level of learning each piece of content represents (e.g. does the content require the simple recall or recognition of facts, or more abstract mental processes and intellectual activity?) This is crucial because it determines how you will write your performance objectives, and how you will assess performance based on those objectives

Learning Outcomes
These will describe what students will be able to do upon completion of the instruction and should be stated in terms of precise, measurable, and observable actions. Conducting an analysis of learning outcomes allows you to formulate a general aim and establish the associated objectives. At this stage a statement of objectives is simply the definition of a plan for the design and as a plan, it serves two functions:

1. To communicate to everyone involved the purpose of instruction
2. To delineate tasks the learner will pursue

Establish Learning Objectives
Clearly defined learning objectives lead the learner into the learning episode. They drive the lesson and inform learners of what they will be able to do upon completion of the lesson. Improperly stated objectives are frustrating to the learner and will ultimately mislead. It is important to explain up-front why the learner should bother.Having already established through your content analysis the level of learning your lesson represents, Bloom’s Taxonomy and corresponding list of verbs may be helpful at this stage (Table 1).

Level of Learning	Associated Verbs
Knowledge	Arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state
Comprehension	Classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate
Application	Apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write
Analysis	Analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticise, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test
Synthesis	Arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set-up, write
Evaluation	Appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate

Table 1: Bloom’s level of learning taxonomy

Once you are happy with the analysis you have conducted and are ready to move forward and develop your prototype, please talk through your session requirements with one of the e-learning team. This way we can establish:

What multimedia you may need to use
What graphics, illustrations, animations etc… you require
Answer any questions and offer advice and guidance on best practice

Click here for more information on Step 2 – Construct Prototype.