Let's say you are about to write instruction for a set of instructional objectives. How do you decide the best way to present the instruction for each objective? After all, not all objectives involve the same type of content, or the same type of behavior. It stands to reason that different types of objectives should be taught with different learning strategies.
Consider these objectives:
•From memory, recite the preamble to the constitution.
•Given a floor map of the plant, locate every fire extinguisher.
•Given pictorial examples of various battery terminals, identify terminals that are corroded.
•Given access to a TMA controller with a fault, isolate the fault within 20 minutes.
• Given the required tools and equipment, remove the 110V blower motor from the housing.
Would you use the same strategy for each of these objectives? Of course not. You would not teach someone how to recall the preamble to the constitution with the same strategy that you would use to teach them how to remove a 110V blower motor.
Teaching someone to recite the preamble involves brute force memorization of some factual information (the preamble). The strategy might be to state the information to be memorized, provide some sort of memory gimmick if possible, and then give lots of practice until the learners get it right every time.
On the other hand, to teach someone to remove a blower motor involves a procedure. Here you would provide the steps, offer any explanation or tips that might help learners to perform them smoothly, and then demonstrate each step carefully. You would then provide an opportunity to let the learner do the steps for practice. Right?
This is a completely different strategy from the way you would teach someone to memorize the preamble.
Notice that the type of behavior and the type of content varied between the two objectives:
•The behavior involved in the first objective was recall/memorization. The type of content was factual information.
•The behavior of the second objective was to use or apply information; the type of content was a procedure.
Choosing the best teaching method or instructional strategy depends on what kind of content and behavior the students must learn.
If you could associate the type of objective with a proven learning strategy, the task of instructional design would be a lot easier and result in more effective instruction.
As it turns out, such strategies do exist. The trick is to classify the objectives first, according to the type of content and behavior involved. Then use the learning strategy associated with that type of objective.
The Behavior/Content matrix is the best place to start when classifying your objectives.
