I think the most popular approach to designing instruction, arguably, is to follow some

variation of what is essentially a three-step process:

1. Analyze the situation to determine what instruction is necessary and what steps need to
be taken to deliver that instruction;
2. Produce and implement the instructional design;
3. Evaluate the results of implementing the instructional design.
With that said, I choose to review ADDIE, Discovery Learning, and Cognitive
Apprenticeship models, which I believe are three instructional design models which are
complementary to each other, and arguably could cover all aspects of human learning
experience:

ADDIE Model:
ADDIE is one of the most commonly

used descriptions of instructional

design. ADDIE is an acronym for

Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement,
and Evaluate. Although some scholars
argue that ADDIE is actually a means
of describing the essential components
of any instructional design model even
if many instructional practitioners use
ADDIE as a prescriptive model for developing instruction, scholars generally agree that ADDIE
is a process-illustration of the essential steps in instructional process, thus making ADDIE the
most fundamental instructional design model which is particularly useful as a framework for
comparing and contrasting more formally and completely developed instructional design models.
Two uses this model is best suited for:
1. Modern education for knowledge acquisition.
2. Business and military training with an aim for time and cost efficiency.
Two uses this model is least suited for:
1. Training of highly time-consuming and skill-based craftsmanship, or application of
complex information, regulation and interaction in dynamic real-life situation.

2. Frontline of scientific research on various subject fields, and never explored fields
such as establishing new theory astronomy, or detecting gravity waves.
Example of an instructional task appropriate for this model:
Traditional subject-matter based K-12 and post-secondary education.

Cognitive Apprenticeship
What is Cognitive Apprenticeship?
1. Cognitive apprenticeship is a theory of the process where a master of a skill teaches that skill
to an apprentice. This theory holds that masters of a skill often fail to take into account the
implicit processes involved in carrying out complex skills when they are teaching novices.
2. To combat these tendencies, cognitive apprenticeships are designed, among other things,
to bring these tacit processes into the open, where students can observe, enact, and practice
them with help from the teacher (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1987, p. 4).
3. By using processes such as modeling and coaching, cognitive apprenticeships also support
the three stages of skill acquisition described in the expertise literature: the cognitive stage,
the associative stage, and the autonomous stage (Anderson, 1983; Fitts & Posner, 1967).
4. In the cognitive stage, learners develop declarative understanding of the skill. In the
associative stage, mistakes and misinterpretations learned in the cognitive stage are detected
and eliminated while associations between the critical elements involved in the skill are
strengthened. Finally, in the autonomous stage, the learners skill becomes honed and
perfected until it is executed at an expert level (Anderson, 2000).
5. Like traditional apprenticeships, in which the apprentice learns a trade such as tailoring or
woodworking by working under a master teacher, cognitive apprenticeships allow the master
to model behaviors in a real-world context with cognitive modeling (Bandura, 1997).
6. By listening to the master explain exactly what she is doing and thinking as she models the
skill, the apprentice can identify relevant behaviors and develop a conceptual model of the
processes involved. The apprentice then attempts to imitate those behaviors with the master
observing and providing coaching. Coaching provides assistance at the most critical level
the skill level just beyond what the learner/apprentice could accomplish by herself.
Two uses this model is best suited for:
1. Training of highly time-consuming and skill-based craftsmanship.

2. Application of complex information, regulation and interaction in dynamic real-life

situation.
Two uses this model is least suited for:
1. Modern education for knowledge acquisition.
2. Business and military training with an aim for time and cost efficiency.
Example of an instructional task appropriate for this model: Mastering the craftsmanship of
building highly sophisticated artifacts.

Discovery Learning
What is Discovery Learning?
1. Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction. Discovery learning is a
constructivist based approach to education. It is supported by the work of learning
theorists and psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert.
2. Discovery learning takes place in problem solving situations where the learner draws on
his own experience and prior knowledge. Discovery learning is a method of instruction
through which students interact with their environment by exploring and manipulating
objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments.
3. Critiques of Discovery Learning: While discovery learning is very popular, it is often
used inappropriately to teach novices (Kirschner et al, 2006). Learners should be given
some direct instruction first... and then later be allowed to apply what they have learned.
Two uses this model is best suited for:
1. Never before explored field, such as establishing new theory in astronomy, or detecting
gravity waves.
2. Front line of scientific research on various subject fields.
Two uses this model is least suited for:
1. Traditional basic education.
2. Professional business and military training which require time and cost efficiency.
Example of an instructional task appropriate for this model:
How could we utilize the finding of gravitational waves in applied science?
Resource:

ADDIE Model:
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/addie.html
Discovery Learning:
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/discovery_learning.html
Cognitive Apprenticeship:
http://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/cognitive_apprenticeship.html