The Theoretical Basis
for Instructional Strategies

What is an Instructional Strategy?

Class Presentation on Instructional Strategies

Instructional strategies include a variety of decisions, including the media to be used, the way that the objectives are chunked, the sequence in which you will teach the objectives or chunks of objectives, and the overall approach to the instruction. In the instructional design and development process it is desirable to be as specific as possible in specifying your instructional strategy.

How do you develop an Instructional Strategy?

Step One: Decide which objectives you will teach as a group.

It is no longer considered desirable to teach each objective individually in many cases. Instead, depending on the material and audience, it may be possible to teach the material in groups or chunks of objectives. The size of the groups should vary, to help maintain interest. The groups should, as much as possible, have some logical basis. If the groups are very similar in content, size, teaching strategies, etc. it may be necessary to deliberately teach learners to distinguish one from another.

Step Two: Decide how you will sequence these objectives (inside and outside the group).

Major Types of Instructional Sequences

Chronological	Time-based sequencing, used especially in history and literature courses. Also found in many other disciplines, which start with the history of the field or of a problem in the field
Topical	Use current topical problems or issues as starting points. Jump back to find origins. Add subordinate skills and knowledge as needed to solve problem.
Whole-to-part	Present complete model or description, then examine parts.
Part-to-whole	Present parts, have learners conceptualize relationships until they understand the whole.
Known-to-unknown	Start with what learners already know, move to and relate to unknowns.
Unknown-to-known	Deliberately disorient students at beginning to motivate them to learn.
Step-by-step	Good for procedures. May be used to have learners understand why and how to do each step.
Part-to-part-to-part	Similar to the spiral curriculum of Bruner; learners go through the parts of the instruction over and over again, each time going more deeply.
General-to-specific	General foundations of knowledge, followed by specialization.

 

Step Three: Determine what kinds of learning are dominant in each group.

Our instructional strategies vary according to the type of learning involved. Few of us would teach problem solving skills in the same ways that we teach a simple physical skill. Unless we can reliably connect how we teach with what we teach, then classifying learning, etc. is a purely academic exercise.

Step Four: Develop an instructional strategy based on these chunks, sequences, and learning types.

Other factors that affect the choice are the audience (prior knowledge, abilities, and so on), the criticality of the learning, and others.

Verbal Information
Concepts
Rules
Procedures
Problem Solving Strategies
Attitudes and Affective Skills
Psychomotor Skills
Interpersonal Skills

 

Some Key Instructional Strategies and Tactics

Contextualize instruction

Present and cue lesson content

Activate learner processing

Assess learning

Sequence instructional events