Methods of Instruction

In the "New Paradigm of Instructional Theories", Reigeluth (1999) emphasizes that instructional system is a part of supra system, which developed by society. When the supra system changes, instructional system also changes. This article will explain how instructional system changes and the effects in methods of instruction.

Today's society is gradually moving from industrial age (I call here: IA) to information age (I call here: INFA). When people in the IA follow standardization, in the INFA people tend to believe customization where they can customize business or projects based on what clients' need. When most business in the IA set up in bureaucratic organization, nowadays it is being developed in team-based organization. If we notice carefully, any job vacancy in any business area requires team-work skills. Moreover, those skills will enable people to share their ideas and decisions, build cooperative relationship, give rooms for initiative and diversity, use multi-way communications/networking, and perform autonomy with accountability. Those are contrast from performances in the IA, when the system maintains autocratic decision making, adversarial relationship, compliance, conformity, one-way communication, and centralized control. As additions, in the INFA, society values and applies holism instead of compartmentalization, process oriented instead of parts oriented, total quality instead of planned obsolescence, and as the best ever... "Customer as King" instead of "CEO/Boss as King".

Those fundamental changes have important implications for instruction. Learners need to be able to think about and solve problems, work in teams, communicate, take initiative, and bring diverse perspectives to their business. With all of these demands, how could we choose, or design, or set the methods of instruction?

The following are samples of instructional methods available to use:

• Apprenticeship: an experiential learning strategy in which the learner acquires knowledge and skills through direct participation in learning under immediate personal supervision in a situation that approximates the conditions under which the knowledge will be used. For example: Students of Multimedia Design study program apply their skills by working in a multimedia production studio and get new skills from their mentors who have worked there for some years and have had more experience.
• Debate: a formally structured discussion with two teams arguing opposing sides of a topic. For example: Students in an Ethical Issues course debate about relativism, absoultism, and pluralism. Which one is the most suitable in today's society and why.
• Demonstration: a carefully prepared presentation that shows how to perform an act or to use a procedure; accompanied by appropriate oral and visual explanations and illustrations; frequently, accompanied by questions. For example, a professor in a medical doctor study program does a demonstration about how to perform a brain surgery. He uses artificial head and brain accompanied by interactive learning media in order to students gain knowledge and follow the procedures (see: Ed-Heads Brain Surgery Interactive Learning Media developed by OHIO University)
• Field trip: a carefully planned educational tour in which a group visits an object or place of interest for first-hand observations study. For example: A group of student of architecture study program visit friendly-environment buildings in order to them getting some ideas about it. This field trip would be effective if they are prepared with some knowledge about green-friendly environment buildings before visitations.

To be continued...

Main source: Reigeluth, C. (1999). Instructional-Design Theories and Models, Vol II: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theories. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence-Earlbaum Associates, Pub.