A Supplantation Model for Instructional Design: Investigation of a Behavioural Science Approach

Abstract

Drawing on concepts from such areas as information processing and cognitive processes in learning, learning task analysis, and interactive research techniques, this paper discusses a model for instructional design which is intended to improve the reliability and predictability of the design process. The model stresses interactions among specific combinations of learning task requirements, learner characteristics, and instructional treatment properties, in a manner analogous to the well-known aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) model. The process underlying the model is “supplantation”, which is the provision of overt assistance to learners in performing a specific process required by a task. The supplantation model for instructional design is presented as an instrument for helping to produce predictable performance outcomes through the analysis of learners and learning tasks, and the joining of learners and tasks through the use of instructional treatments which assist learners in performing task requirements.

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