5 Stages of ADDIE instructional design model for effective eLearning

What is an ADDIE instructional design model?

ADDIE is a well-known instructional system design (ISD) model. The ADDIE model for instructional designing is a systematic, step-by-step framework that instructional designers, eLearning developers, and instructors use to ensure that course development and learning do not take place in an unorganized and random manner. The instructional design allows the learners to achieve the goals of a course.

ADDIE is more of a process that helps in this eLearning designing process. As designers of eLearning with a focus on a learner-centric approach, a designer needs to be familiar with the requirements in each phase. One phase’s final output serves as the first input of the subsequent phase in an ADDIE instructional design model. The decisions made in each stage ultimately will affect whether the system is learner-centric.

Stages of ADDIE instructional design model

There are five stages of the ADDIE model. ADDIE stands for analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Let us discuss them in detail now.

Stage 1: Analyze

The first stage of the ADDIE instructional design model is analysis. It is the data gathering part of instructional design. In this phase, instructional designers try to collect every piece of information they can get to ensure the effectiveness of the design. There are a few questions to ask at this stage:

1. Why do we need to design the content for eLearning?
2. Who are the target audience and their characteristics?
3. What and how to teach the target audience?
4. What types of learning constraints exist?
5. What is online pedagogy?
6. What is the timeline for project completion?

The instructional designers can initiate the eLearning process by asking all these questions. The recognition of the target audience helps the latter approach run effortlessly.

Stage 2: Design

The next phase of the ADDIE instructional design model is the designing phase, where instructors dive deep into designing the course materials. The instructional designer creates the course material, defines the objectives, and finishes the design plan during this phase. Some of the questions asked in this stage include:

1. What are the learning objectives?
2. What resources and pedagogical strategies to use?
3. How do you structure the content of the learning material?
4. How do learners access the understanding?

These questions specify the learning objectives, activities, and assessments. Instructional designers choose methods, strategies, and media based on that. These are the steps used for the design phase:

1. Documenting the design strategy
2. Application of the instructional strategies
3. Creating storyboards
4. Designing the user interface and user experience
5. Applying visual design (graphic design)

Stage 3: Development

In the development phase of the ADDIE instructional design model, the actual production of the materials begins, i.e., the storyboarding and the coding. At this stage, it is wise to do pilot testing to ensure that deliverables are effective for eLearning. So, at this stage, instructional designers must ask these questions:

1. Are the materials addressing the learning objectives?
2. Is the subject content in the materials correct?

Stage 4: Implement

The implementation stage refers to the delivery of the instruction. In the implementation stage of ADDIE instructional design, instructors train the users of the materials, perhaps by creating a short-animated video and inserting it into the eLearning module on how to use the materials, and make sure learners can access the materials, equipped infrastructures, and so on. Some of the questions asked in this stage include:

1. Are the strategies working as planned?
2. Have all technological glitches been sorted out?
3. Are the learners having difficulty with the material?

At the implementation stage, the design plan meets the learner. Evaluation determines how well project facilitators and learners are meeting their objectives.

Stage 5: Evaluate

Evaluation does not deserve to be listed last in the ADDIE model, given that it occurs throughout and surrounds the instructional design process. The evaluation phase is an ever-going process between every stage to ensure that all stated goals of the learning process will meet the specified requirements. It is called formative evaluation.

Each level of the ADDIE instructional design model includes formative evaluation. But after finishing all the phases at the end, the instructional designers also do an overall summative evaluation. Summative evaluation includes tests created for criterion-related referenced items that are particular to a given domain and offers chances for feedback. At this stage, to generate a well-resourced training model, the instructional designer tries to,

1. Collect strategies
2. Analyze every piece of data
3. Create final data

Advantages of the ADDIE instructional design model

The capacity to develop projects swiftly and effectively is one of the many benefits of having an instructional design system like ADDIE. Here are some advantages of the ADDIE instructional design model:

1. ADDIE instructional design model saves time and is cost-effective. With its linear approach, instructional designers find the ADDIE model beneficial for creating eLearning courses.
2. It promotes effective learning. The ADDIE instructional design model is learner-centric. It ensures that the learners achieve their full potential through the eLearning experience.
3. The ADDIE model uses dynamic, flexible, practical training and performance support tools to generate a well-resourced training model. It offers its users a linear approach to designing eLearning modules. This system has a systematic learning approach that helps to design an eLearning module precisely.

4. The use of rapid prototyping makes it an effective method of learning for learners.

1. ADDIE model provides the users with continual summative and formative feedback that enriches the project’s overall outcome. The evaluation helps instructional designers determine whether they are on track to reach the objectives. It enables them to plan what they need to do to progress further.

Disadvantages of the ADDIE instructional design model

With the abovementioned advantages, the ADDIE instructional design model can also have some downsides. Here are some drawbacks of this model:

1. The linear structure of the ADDIE model makes it rigid and inflexible at times.
2. The stages included in an ADDIE model can be time-consuming, with multiple evaluating steps.
3. The linear structure of the model makes incorporating changes a bit costly. Therefore, it affects the final project.
4. Since one phase’s final output serves as the first input of the subsequent phase, the ADDIE model may be challenging to implement if there are material shortcomings.
5. It does not identify the new behavioral outcomes; therefore, the ADDIE model remains very structural.

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Conclusion

To sum up, instructional design is a systematic framework that guides us in the whole process of designing eLearning, where the focus is on the learners and learning goals. Using the ADDIE instructional design model systematically actually helps achieve the desired qualitative measures of an eLearning system. Though it comes with certain drawbacks, the ADDIE model is an iterative structural process. It has a lot of research-based strategies, which are perfectly suitable for designing eLearning. This post emphasize why ADDIE instructional design model is still relevant.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is instructional design?

Instructional design for eLearning is a process by which eLearning developers plan out the structure and flow of the online courses, ensuring that they have included all steps and parts to achieve the learning goals.

What is ADDIE instructional design model?

ADDIE is a well-known instructional system design (ISD) model. The ADDIE model for instructional designing is a systematic, step-by-step framework that instructional designers, eLearning developers, and instructors use to ensure that course development and learning do not take place in an unorganized and random manner.

How many steps are in the ADDIE process?

There are five stages of the ADDIE instructional design model of instructional design: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

Why is the ADDIE model important?

The capacity to develop projects swiftly and effectively is one of the many benefits of having an instructional design system like ADDIE. Using the ADDIE instructional design model systematically actually helps achieve the desired qualitative measures of an eLearning system.