Foundations of Instructional and Performance Technology

Foundations of Instructional and Performance Technology
Seung Youn Chyung
HRD Press, Inc. • Amherst • Massachusetts

Copyright © 2008 by HRD Press, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by:

HRD Press, Inc. 22 Amherst Road Amherst, MA 01002 1-800-822-2801 (U.S. and Canada) 413-253-3488 413-253-3490 (fax) www.hrdpress.com

ISBN 978-1-59996-136-1

Cover design by Eileen Klockars Editorial services by Suzanne Bay and Sally Farnham Production services by Anctil Virtual Office

Table of Contents

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER 1. TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY .................. 1

TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY.......................................... 3 Who, When, and Where: Instructional Technologists .............................. 5 Why: Linking Means to Ends ................................................................... 7 What: Using Hard and Soft Technology .................................................. 8 How: Using Systematic and Systemic Approaches.................................. 9
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 13

CHAPTER 2. FOUNDATIONS OF INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT .................. 15

FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES FOR INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT .................. 17 Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949) ....................................................... 18 Ralph Winfred Tyler (1902–1994)........................................................... 20 Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904–1990).................................................... 24 Benjamin Samuel Bloom (1913–1999) .................................................... 34
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 40

CHAPTER 3. THE SYSTEMATIC INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN .................................. 43

SYSTEMATIC PROCESS OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN ......................................... 45 Robert Gagné’s Instructional Theories..................................................... 46 Robert Mager’s Method of Preparing Instructional Objectives................ 49 Dick and Carey’s Model of Instructional Design ..................................... 54 John Keller’s ARCS Model...................................................................... 56
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 60

CHAPTER 4. EVALUATION OF TRAINING PROGRAMS .......................................... 63

SYSTEMATIC AND SYSTEMIC EVALUATION OF TRAINING PROGRAMS.............. 65 Donald Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Model of Evaluation ........................... 66 Constructing “Smile” Sheets .................................................................... 69 Measurement Scales ................................................................................. 71 Response Modes....................................................................................... 73 Conducting Four-Level Evaluations: An Example................................... 74
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 77

CHAPTER 5.

SYSTEMS APPROACHES TO INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT ....................................................... 79

INSTRUCTIONAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT....................................................... 81 The ADDIE Model................................................................................... 82 Training Needs Assessment ..................................................................... 85
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 88

CHAPTER 6. HUMAN PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY ........................................... 91

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY .................................... 93 Learning, Behavioral Change, and Performance...................................... 94 Human Performance Technology............................................................. 97
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 101

CHAPTER 7. ENGINEERING HUMAN COMPETENCE .............................................. 103
ENGINEERING HUMAN PERFORMANCE............................................................. 105 Thomas Gilbert’s Leisurely Theorems ..................................................... 106 Worthy Performance ................................................................................ 107 Potential for Improving Performance ....................................................... 109 Behavior Engineering Model ................................................................... 111
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 117
CHAPTER 8. FRONT-END ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 119
FRONT-END ANALYSIS..................................................................................... 121 Joe Harless’s Front-End Analysis ............................................................ 122 Smart Questions to Ask during Front-End Analysis ................................ 123 Front-End Analysis: A Case Study........................................................... 128
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 131
CHAPTER 9. SYSTEMIC ORGANIZATIONAL ELEMENTS....................................... 133
SYSTEM THINKING ........................................................................................... 135 Roger Kaufman’s Organizational Elements Model.................................. 136 Different Levels of Needs ........................................................................ 138
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 143
CHAPTER 10. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR............................................................. 145
UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR.............................................. 147 Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management .............................................. 148 The Hawthorne Studies ............................................................................ 151 Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory....................................................................... 153 Frederick Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory .................................. 155 Theory to Practice .................................................................................... 158
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 160
CHAPTER 11. SUMMING UP .............................................................................................. 163
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IT AND HPT ..................................................... 165 The Historical and Theoretical Relationships .......................................... 166 Final Comments ....................................................................................... 169
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Preface
The field of human performance technology, which emerged from its parent field of instructional technology, is based on the realization that instruction is not a cost-effective solution to all performance problems. Because of this historical relationship between the two fields and the fact that they are built on similar operational principles (such as systematic and systemic approaches to solving problems), one good way to learn about the two related fields is to study their historical and theoretical foundations. That is how my colleagues and I in the Department of Instructional and Performance Technology (IPT) at Boise State University educate our students in the first semester of their master’s degree and certificate programs.
I started teaching a Foundations of Instructional and Performance Technology course at Boise State University in the fall of 1996. As the title of the course implies, the main goal of the course is to help new students successfully build foundational knowledge about the fields of instructional technology and human performance technology. I was hoping to find a textbook that would help students gain a good understanding about the historical and theoretical foundations of the two related fields, but no available texts seemed to serve the purpose. The only available option left to me was to provide students with a collection of published articles and book chapters. However, students had difficulty making connections among some of the articles written by different authors because formats and tones of voice were so varied. I spent a considerable amount of time each year helping students combine and synthesize the information from different sources. After doing so for ten years, I realized that my lecture-notes files became thick enough to be converted to a book! I finally decided to write a textbook so that our students would have an overview of the development of foundational principles and practices of the fields of instructional technology and human performance technology in one coherent voice. In this book I also included statements from original sources so that students will have an opportunity to learn about the ideas of original thinkers from their own words. The intended audience for this book includes students who are studying instructional technology, human performance technology, human resource development, and related subjects, as well as practitioners in the field.
There are eleven chapters in this book, and the themes of the chapters progress from the focus of instructional technology to the focus of human performance technology. Chapter 1 provides definitions of instructional technology and several important terms. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the development of the foundational principles of human learning and teaching and of systematic instructional design processes by introducing the works of important theorists such as E. L. Thorndike, Ralph Tyler, B. F. Skinner, and Benjamin Bloom. Chapter 3 reviews several individuals’ contributions to the development of instructional theories and systematic instructional design processes, including the ideas of Robert Gagné, Robert Mager, Walter Dick and Lou Carey, and John Keller. Chapter 4 introduces systematic and systemic approaches to evaluating the

effectiveness of training programs, using Donald Kirkpatrick’s four-level model of evaluation. Chapter 5 describes the primary structure of such instructional systems development processes as the ADDIE model, and explains the meaning of the term training needs assessment from a historical perspective as it relates to the paradigm shift from training focus to performance focus.
Beginning with Chapter 6, the focus shifts to human performance technology. Chapter 6 clarifies the difference between behavior and performance, and introduces human performance technology as a field of study. Chapter 7 provides an overview of Thomas Gilbert’s leisurely theorems, covering the concepts of worthy performance, potential for improving performance, and the behavior engineering model. Chapter 8 describes the process of front-end analysis as Joe Harless defines it. Chapter 9 provides an overview of Roger Kaufman’s organizational elements model, which identifies five elements of a system and the interrelationships among them. Chapter 10 provides an overview of several theories and studies derived from the fields of industrial and organizational psychology and social psychology, such as Frederick Taylor’s scientific management theory, the Hawthorne studies, Kurt Lewin’s field theory, and Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. These theories and research findings have a substantial impact on and implications for current human performance technology practice, as they relate to understanding human behavior and improving performance in work environments. Chapter 11 provides a summary of the historical and theoretical relationships between the field of instructional technology and the field of human performance technology.
This book certainly does not cover an exhaustive list of topics necessary to build complete foundations of the fields of instructional technology and human performance technology. The topics included in this book were chosen for students who are fairly new to the fields to help them build the initial layers of theoretical and historical foundations within a semester-long period of time. Instructors who adopt this book as a textbook for their courses might choose to assign chapters and related articles listed in the chapter references as weekly reading assignments. Instructors should consider assigning small real-life projects to reinforce student understanding of the foundational principles of instructional design and performance improvement gained from the reading assignments.
Yonnie Chyung 2008

Acknowledgments
Many people helped me while writing this book. First, I would like to thank students of IPT 536 Foundations of Instructional and Performance Technology class at Boise State University for providing me with feedback on a draft version of this book. I especially wish to acknowledge IPT students and graduates Paula Anderson, Shelley Berg, Christina Caswell, Jay Lambert, Joanne Letourneau, Maurreen Stebner, and Kelly Weak for allowing me to use their class projects as examples. I also thank Ms. Marilyn Gilbert for reviewing the manuscript and providing me with helpful feedback on the chapter covering Thomas Gilbert’s work. Special thanks go to Shelley Berg, my graduate assistant, who helped me revise the manuscript, and Dr. Donald Winiecki for giving me constant support, encouragement, and suggestions, and for designing the images included in this book.

Chapter
1
Technology and Instructional Technology
TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY......................................................... 3 WHO, WHEN, AND WHERE: INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGISTS ...................................... 5 WHY: LINKING MEANS TO ENDS ................................................................................... 7 WHAT: USING HARD AND SOFT TECHNOLOGY.............................................................. 8 HOW: USING SYSTEMATIC AND SYSTEMIC APPROACHES ............................................. 9
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................... 13