ABSTRACT

Taking a logical and structured approach to the process of developing, delivering, and evaluating instruction and instructional materials has been popular among scholars and practitioners for almost a century. A number of models have been developed to help explain the processes of instruction as well as the process of designing and developing materials for instruction. This chapter provides an overview of instructional design from its beginnings in the late 19th century, through its blossoming in conjunction with the development of general systems theory, up to a present-day postmodern look at how instructional design (or ID) continues to develop. This chapter also describes the essential processes of instructional design as they are articulated through traditional ID models and examines the potential of nontraditional models, describing rapid prototyping in particular as an innovative ID approach.