Richard C. Boutwell

Medical Education and Instructional Design

The rising costs of medical care and the training of medical professionals has brought about circumstances which threatens the acceptable quality of medical care in the United States. Fewer medical schools and a drop in the rate of enrolled medical students are but two indicators reflecting the issue between cost versus quality of medical training. One of the medical communities responses to this crisis has been the introduction of educational technology and instructional design processes in the training of medical professionals. This paper discusses the background of the problem and offers an instructional design model which has applied success.

Designing a Systematized Program in Instructional Design and Development.

The Instructional Design and Development (IDD) Program at Florida State University is described and offered as a role model for other institutions. The planning and design of the IDD program include consideration of factors such as career fields of graduates and areas of competency in instructional systems. The matching of career fields and competency areas is then carried out. The IDD program itself is an example of applying systems thinking to an educational problem.

Scientific notation in instructional design

Many of us could arrive at a general agreement, but what happens to that agreement when we design the instructional strategies? And, is there any way to scientifically compare or differentiate these models with one another? The nonspecific nature of these titles is representative of the methods by which they are identified. One of the attempts to quantify this instructional process has been the development of the so-called system approach. Figure 1 illustrates the system approach. As system designers who write and teach these kinds of things, we often stress the component relationship and omit the decisions required in the application of the principles of learning. That is, skills such as writing objectives or conducting formative evaluation or constructing a learning hierarchy are skills readily learned. But skills involved with the design of instructional strategies demand a working knowledge