Adult Learning and Instruction
	Prof. Dr. Jules Pieters

Current theories on adult learning express the premise that instruction for adults is different from instruction for children. Attempts have been forwarded to build instructional and learning approaches that account for these differences. Contemporary literature also suggests that adults prefer to assume considerable responsibility for their own learning. In this course the following topics on adult learning will be discussed: adult development psychology, adult learning theories, self-directed learning, teacher roles in facilitating adult learning, adult learning and cognitive styles, and adults learning how to learn. Special emphasis will be on four approaches in adult learning and development: psychometric approach, developmental approach, information processing approach, and knowledge approach. Furthermore, this course will concentrate on potentials of the constructivist view toward adult learning and its implications for designing instruction.

Study materials:
Holton, E., Knowles, M., & Swanson, R.A. (1998). The adult learner: The definitive classic on adult education and training.
Next to the textbook, handouts will be provided.

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Instructional Design
	Dr. Hans van der Meij

In our information-rich society the design of information is a more critical factor to effective communication than ever before. Instructional design is a special form of information design. Typically, the aim is to help people acquire new knowledge or skills.
In line with current views on active learning, the course is built around a central task or problem that requires a design solution. The contours of this task are fixed. The task must:

The actual topic of this task is to be decided by the participants, and can be based on personal interests or prior knowledge. For instance, participants may want to address questions such as "How is the complex social structure of ants organised?", "In what way do festivals in China and Holland differ?", "How should people search the web for information?", "What can we learn from Bhuda?" etcetera.
During the course participants will receive feedback on all main stages on development. After selecting the topic and question(s) participants want to address they create a design brief in which the main goal(s) of a project are described, along with its content, context and audience. Thereafter, participants work on creating a prototype, test and redesign it and then finalise their product.
Participants are expected to work in pairs. No specific technical skills are required. No need to know about HTML or other programming languages. The choice of literature depends on the design choices that are made, and its selection will be assisted by the instructor.

Study materials:
Paper-based and web-based handouts

Note: this course is NOT available via distance education

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Motivational Design of Instruction
	Dr. Mark Gellevij

This course focuses on the definition of 'construct of motivation' and its relevance for education. Motivation is a complex construct and an important aspect of the human personality. It is related to competence and effort, to interest and self-concept. After the course the participants will master the following topics: (a) the observation and manipulation of motivated behaviour, (b) key concepts such as attribution and social processes that influence motivation, (c) the role of goals and goal orientation and the influence of goal level on performance, (d) the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, (e) the construction of materials that raise curiosity. For the theoretical framework and the practical implications for education, the course mainly relies on the textbook of Pintrich and Schunk.

Study materials:
Pintrich, P.R., & Schunk, D.H. (1994). Motivation in education.

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Principles for the Development of a Self Instructional Package
	Dr. Hans van der Meij

The course focuses on the various design issues important for supporting the use of a computer programme (i.e. the design of paper-based and online documentation). Students are stimulated to enhance their awareness of and sensitivity to the various perspectives that contribute to the design rationale of such products. Among others, attention will be given to the four main information types in technical documentation and their relation to goals users may want to accomplish: action information, problem solving information, background information, and co-ordinate information. The course also pays attention to the so-called main user goals (i.e. knowledge and skill development, both for regular usage and for troubleshooting), the main design issues involved in finding the best expression for each information type, and general issues of page design and visualisation. Students are expected to develop their own research question and conduct some analyses in pursuit of the answer to that question. The main findings are discussed in a research report that should indicate how theory relates to practice. This course heavily relies on an individual approach that has to be discussed with the instructor.

Study materials: Annotated reader

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Task Analysis and Instructional Design
	Dr. Ard Lazonder

This course first addresses the description of the training goal and its operationalisation in knowledge and skills that have to be acquired in regular education or for doing a job. The description leads to the design of the problems that have to be solved by the learners to construct the knowledge and practice the skill. Then the task analysis techniques are explained, both for the analysis of knowledge and for problem-solving procedures and for combinations of knowledge and sequences of operations. Several techniques will be explained in detail, such as a learning hierarchy, a concept hierarchy, and an information processing analysis. During the sessions the students will solve task analysis problems and relate the components of the analysis to the design of instruction, the results of which will be discussed in class.

Study materials:
Jonassen, W.H., Tessmer, M., & Hannum W.H. (1999). Task analysis methods for instructional design.

Other programme elements
Click on a link below to learn more about the main phases of the programme (or elements thereof).

• Introductory Module (2 weeks)
  
• Core Phase (18 weeks) - 6 Core Courses

  -	Organisation and management perspectives of education
  -	Models and strategies of curriculum development
  -	Principles of learning and instructional design
  -	Instrumentation for instruction and training
  -	Design methodology for education and training systems
  -	Evaluation and research as tools of the educational technologist

• Specialisation Phase (24 weeks) - 6 Specialisations

  -	Organisation & Management
  -	Curriculum
  -	Instruction
  -	Instrumentation
  -	Evaluation
  -	Training Systems Design for HRD

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© University of Twente, 2002