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Introduction
This essay reports on research conducted to determine the aspects to be considered when using Merrill’s Model of Instructional Design. Merrill’s Model was used to design and develop course work for senior students in the health sciences. The formative evaluation of the prototype was done by third-year dietetic students who had completed the paper-based course. This research concluded with the formative evaluation of the prototype. 1.2 Background 1.2.1 Lifelong learning Worldwide, political, social and economical structures are changing at an ever-increasing rate. These changes place an increasing strain on the educational systems that have to prepare learners for their roles in an ever-changing society. Companies need “employees who can take initiative, think critically, and solve problems” (Reigeluth, 1999, p. 18). James Burke, a science journalist as quoted by James Gleick (1999. p. 81), comments, The rate of change will be so high that for humans to be qualified in a single discipline – defining what they are and what they do throughout their life – will be as outdated as quill and parchment. Knowledge will be changing too fast for that. We will need to re-skill ourselves constantly every decade just to keep a job. In response to this strain, the focus of education and training is changing from educator-centred or teacher-centred to learner-centred. Learners are expected to pace their own learning and to become lifelong learners. Brophy defines lifelong learning as: a deliberate progression throughout the life of an individual, where initial acqui- sition of knowledge and skills is reviewed and upgraded continuously, to meet the challenges set by an ever-changing society. (Brophy et al. as quoted in Friedland, 2001, p. 49) 1.2.2 Lifelong learning in South Africa Education and training in South Africa is also undergoing major changes. In 1981 the National Training Board (NTB) was established as the advisory board to the Minister of Labour to oversee the planned restructuring of education and training in the country. The National Qualification Framework (NQF) was established in 1995 and is currently setting a systemic framework for organising the education and training system around the notion of learning outcomes, from the end of compulsory schooling through to postdoctoral research in higher education and training, Additional priorities are systems and processes which support the tenets of democracy and outcomes-based education as an approach to education. (SAQA,. 2001, online) Not only is the education system changing towards an outcomes-based approach, but from the White Paper on Education and Training (1995, online) it is clear that South Africa is also striving to educate towards lifelong learning. This is set out in the following paragraph, Successful modern economies and societies require the elimination of artificial hierarchies, in social organisation, in the organisation and management of work, and in the way in which learning is organised and certified. They require citizens with a strong foundation of general education, the desire and ability to continue to learn, to adapt to and develop new knowledge, skills and technologies, to move flexibly between occupations, to take responsibility for personal performance, to set and achieve high standards, and to work cooperatively.
Background Information
Dietetics students enrolled at the University of Pretoria do a compulsory four-module course on Nutritional Assessment in their third year of undergraduate study. The modules, Nutritional Assessment 311 (NTA 311), Nutritional Assessment 312 (NTA 312), Nutritional Assessment 321(NTA 321) and Nutritional Assessment 322 (NTA 322) are currently presented in the traditional manner with three lectures and one two-hour practical session per week. The Faculty of Health Sciences uses a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. Dietetics students enrolled for the Nutritional Assessment modules typically get a case study from which they have to extract the necessary information to make a nutritional diagnosis. For this diagnosis, they have to consult a variety of resources and reference manuals, e.g. Weight for Height tables, Body Mass Index tables, Nomograms. Some of this reference material is updated regularly by large pharmaceutical companies and also by institutions like the World Health Organisation (WHO). Globalisation and the increasing access to the Internet makes it worthwhile for these institutions to place the resources on the Internet rather than distribute them in printed form. Ms. Friede Wenhold, the lecturer of the Nutritional Assessment modules, approached the researcher to discuss the possibility of producing a multimedia tutorial on CD for the Nutritional Assessment modules to assist the students. It was decided to develop a multimedia program for only one module, Anthropometry, and to test it first before adding the other three modules, Biochemistry, Clinical Assessment and Dietary Assessment. To ensure the future of the program, the project was registered with Telematic Learning and Education Innovation (TLEI) at the University of Pretoria. The application (Appendix A) for funding was accepted and a team put together for the development of the program. Merrill’s Model of Instructional Design (Merrill, 2001, p.2) was used for the design and development of the multimedia tutorial on Anthropometry. Third-year dietetic students participated in the formative evaluation of the prototype.
Table of Contents :
- Chapter 1 – Problem
- 1.1 Introduction
- 1.2 Background
- 1.2.1 Lifelong learning
- 1.2.2 Lifelong learning in South Africa
- 1.2.3 Lifelong learning and e-learning
- 1.3 The Research Problem
- 1.3.1 The aim of the research
- 1.3.3 Scope of the project
- 1.4 The Research Questions
- 1.4.1 Research questions
- 1.4.2 Previous research
- 1.5 Research Methodology
- 1.4.1 Type of research
- 1.4.2 Research schedule and responsibilities
- 1.6 Limitations of the Study
- 1.7 Overview of the Research Essai
- Chapter 2 – Activation
- 2.1 Introduction
- 2.2 Background
- 2.3 Learning Theory
- 2.3.1 Behaviourism
- 2.3.2 Cognitivism
- 2.3.3 Constructivism
- 2.4 Curriculum Theory
- 2.5 Instructional Design Theory
- 2.5.1 Merrill’s Model
- 2.6 Instructional Design Process
- 2.6.1 The ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation) model
- 2.6.2 The DADI (Definition, Architecture, Design and Implementation) model
- 2.6.3 The object-oriented model
- 2.6.4 The waterfall model
- 2.7 Conclusion
- Chapter 3 – Demonstration
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 Background Information
- 3.3 The Team
- 3.4 The Design Process
- 3.4.1 Analysis
- 3.4.2 Design
- 3.4.3 Development of the program
- 3.5 Conclusion
- Chapter 4 – Application
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 Summative versus Formative Evaluation
- 4.2.1 Summative evaluation
- 4.2.2 Formative evaluation
- 4.3 Quantitative versus Qualitative Research
- 4.4 Collecting the Data
- 4.5 Discussion of the Findings
- 4.5.1 Problem
- 4.5.2 Activation
- 4.5.3 Demonstration
- 4.5.4 Application
- 4.5.5 Integration
- 4.5.6 Students’ computer literacy and Internet access
- 4.5.7 Students’ language preferences
- 4.5.8. Suggestions by students
- 4.5.9 Feedback from the Statistician
- 4.6 Conclusion
- 4.6.1 Applying Merrill’s five Stars
- Chapter 5 – Integration
- 5.1 Introduction
- 5.2 Discussion of the Conclusions
- 5.2.1 What is the role of a real-life Problem in a digital learning environment?
- 5.2.2 What is the importance of Activation of relevant experience or existing knowledge?
- 5.2.3 How successful can Demonstration be in a digital learning environment?
- 5.2.4 How significant is the Application of the new knowledge under guidance in a digital environment?
- 5.2.5 Is effective Integration of new knowledge possible in a digital environment?
- 5.2.6 The student’s own problem
- 5.3 Limitations of the Study
- 5.4 Recommendations
- 5.4.1 Recommendations regarding the program
- 5.4.2 Recommendations regarding the implementation of the program
- 5.5. Recommendations for Further Research
- 5.6 Conclusion
- References
