The Dick and Carey Model for Instructional Designers
Effective instructional design is at the core of any successful training program. For instructional designers, the challenge is not just creating learning materials, but creating structured, systematic, and learner-centered experiences that produce measurable results. The Dick and Carey Model, one of the most influential and widely used models in instructional design, provides a structured approach that helps instructional designers develop training programs that are effective, efficient, and aligned with the needs of learners and organizations.
Developed by Walter Dick and Lou Carey in the 1970s, this model emphasizes a systematic, step-by-step process for designing and implementing instructional programs. It is based on the idea that instruction should be purposeful, measurable, and focused on achieving specific learning outcomes. The model is iterative, ensuring that instructional designers continuously refine their courses for optimal learner performance and results.
Let’s explore how the Dick and Carey Model works, the key components involved, and why it’s essential for instructional designers to use this model in their work.
1. Identify Instructional Goals
The first step in the Dick and Carey Model is identifying the instructional goals. This involves understanding the desired outcomes of the training program and what learners need to achieve by the end. Instructional goals should be clear, specific, and measurable to provide direction for the entire design process.
Think of this as the blueprint for a construction project. Before you start building, you need a clear vision of what the final structure will look like. Similarly, in instructional design, clearly defined goals act as a guidepost for the entire program, ensuring that every decision made during the design process aligns with the intended outcomes.
Example: In a customer service training program, an instructional goal might be: “By the end of the training, learners will be able to handle customer complaints effectively using active listening and problem-solving techniques.”
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Clear instructional goals ensure that all components of the training are aligned and focused on helping learners achieve the desired results. Without well-defined goals, the training can become unfocused and may not meet learners’ needs.
2. Conduct Instructional Analysis
The next step is conducting an instructional analysis, where the instructional designer identifies the skills, knowledge, and behaviors that learners need to achieve the instructional goals. This phase involves breaking down the overall goal into specific tasks or competencies that learners need to master.
Imagine preparing for a marathon. You wouldn’t just aim to “run a marathon.” Instead, you would break the goal down into smaller, manageable tasks, such as building stamina, improving speed, and practicing pacing. Similarly, instructional analysis helps designers break down large learning objectives into smaller, actionable tasks.
Example: For the customer service training program mentioned earlier, the instructional designer would identify the specific skills needed for effective customer complaint handling, such as “identifying the customer’s needs,” “using empathetic language,” and “proposing solutions that address the customer’s concerns.”
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Instructional analysis ensures that no critical skill or knowledge area is overlooked and that each step of the learning process is purposeful and connected to the overall goal. It also helps in structuring the content in a logical and coherent manner.
3. Analyze Learners and Contexts
The third step is analyzing the learners and their context. Instructional designers need to understand who the learners are, their existing knowledge and skills, and the context in which they will apply what they’ve learned. This includes assessing factors such as learners’ prior knowledge, their learning preferences, and the environment in which they will use the skills.
Think of this like preparing a meal based on your guests’ dietary preferences and restrictions. Before cooking, you need to know if anyone has allergies, preferences, or aversions. Similarly, understanding learners’ characteristics ensures that the training is relevant and tailored to their needs, making it more likely to engage and be effective.
Example: In the customer service training program, the instructional designer might assess whether learners are experienced customer service agents who need advanced training, or new employees who need foundational skills. Additionally, the context of the training—whether it’s online, in-person, or in a real-world scenario—needs to be considered to ensure effective delivery.
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Analyzing learners and context ensures that the program is appropriate for the specific audience and can be delivered in a way that matches the learners’ needs and real-world environment. It helps to increase the relevance and applicability of the training.
4. Write Performance Objectives
Next, instructional designers need to write performance objectives that describe what learners will be able to do after completing the program. These objectives should be clear, measurable, and specific. Writing precise performance objectives helps learners understand what is expected of them and guides the designer in selecting appropriate content and assessments.
Think of performance objectives as the “rules of the game” in a sports competition. They tell players what the goal is and how success will be measured. For instructional designers, performance objectives guide the creation of activities and assessments that ensure learners meet the expected standards.
Example: A performance objective for the customer service program could be: “After completing the training, learners will be able to respond to a customer complaint by using at least three active listening techniques and offering a resolution within five minutes.”
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Well-crafted performance objectives provide focus and direction for the training. They also allow for better measurement of success by ensuring that learners’ progress is aligned with the learning goals.
5. Develop Assessment Instruments
Once the learning objectives are established, instructional designers need to develop assessment instruments that will measure whether learners have achieved the desired outcomes. These assessments should be aligned with the performance objectives and help determine if learners can apply what they’ve learned in practical situations.
Imagine preparing for a sports tournament by designing drills and exercises that mimic game scenarios. These drills help measure a player’s readiness for real competition. Similarly, assessments provide a way to measure whether learners can apply their new knowledge or skills in real-world situations.
Example: In the customer service program, assessment tools might include role-playing scenarios where learners practice handling difficult customer interactions. They could also take a quiz on the techniques covered in the training to test their understanding of the material.
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Assessments provide concrete evidence of learners’ progress and allow instructional designers to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. They also give learners the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in realistic situations, which can boost confidence and reinforce learning.
6. Develop and Select Instructional Strategies
At this stage, instructional designers determine the instructional strategies that will best facilitate learning. These strategies involve choosing the appropriate methods, such as lectures, discussions, hands-on practice, case studies, or multimedia tools, that align with the learners’ needs, the context of the training, and the learning objectives.
Think of instructional strategies like choosing the right tools for a specific job. Just as a mechanic selects the appropriate tool for each task, instructional designers select methods that best support the learning process for each objective.
Example: In the customer service training, instructional strategies might include interactive workshops, real-life case studies, videos demonstrating complaint-handling scenarios, and group discussions on how to improve customer service skills.
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Choosing the right instructional strategies ensures that learners are engaged and can access the material in a variety of ways. It helps cater to different learning styles and makes the learning experience more effective and enjoyable.
7. Develop and Select Instructional Materials
Once the instructional strategies are defined, instructional designers must develop and select instructional materials. These could include presentations, handouts, e-learning modules, video clips, and other resources that support the learning process.
Imagine you are a teacher preparing a lesson plan. You wouldn’t just deliver content from memory—you’d gather appropriate materials to support the lesson, such as books, visuals, and handouts. Instructional designers do the same by selecting or creating materials that help learners engage with the content and reach the learning objectives.
Example: In the customer service training program, instructional materials might include slide decks on effective communication, a handbook on complaint handling, eLearning modules with quizzes, and video scenarios showing examples of good and bad customer service.
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: The materials selected need to support the instructional strategies and be aligned with the learning objectives. Well-chosen materials enhance the learning experience and help reinforce key concepts.
8. Implement and Evaluate the Instruction
The final steps in the Dick and Carey model involve implementing the instruction and conducting an ongoing evaluation of the program. Evaluation is a continuous process throughout the design cycle, but formal evaluation typically occurs after implementation to assess how well the program is meeting its objectives. Feedback is gathered from learners and other stakeholders to refine the program for future iterations.
Think of this as launching a product. Once the product is out in the market, you collect feedback, identify issues, and make improvements. Similarly, after implementing a training program, designers gather feedback, assess outcomes, and tweak the course to optimize learning.
Example: After the customer service training program is delivered, the instructional designer would evaluate the results through feedback surveys, assessments of learner performance, and follow-up with managers to see if there is improvement in real-world customer service interactions.
Why It’s Important for Instructional Designers: Implementation and evaluation help ensure that the training is effective and aligned with the learners’ needs. It provides valuable data for improvement and ensures that future training programs are even more successful.
Conclusion
The Dick and Carey Model is a systematic, step-by-step approach that ensures training programs are well-designed, effective, and aligned with learner needs and organizational goals. For instructional designers, it offers a structured framework for developing programs that lead to measurable outcomes.
By following this model, instructional designers can create training experiences that are:
- Purposeful and focused on specific learning objectives.
- Tailored to the learners’ characteristics and real-world contexts.
- Continuously evaluated for effectiveness and improved over time.
In an era of fast-paced changes in both learning technologies and organizational needs, having a systematic, flexible, and evidence-based approach like the Dick and Carey Model can be the key to creating successful, impactful instructional programs.
