Components of instruction toward a theoretical tool for instructional design

Abstract

This article defines primary knowledgecomponents for entities, actions, andprocesses. It also defines primaryinstructional strategy components. It proposesthat a different combination of strategy andknowledge components is required for differentkinds of instructional goals. It furtherproposes that if these fundamentalstrategy-knowledge component combinations arenot present that there will be a decrement inthe student's effective and efficientacquisition of the desired knowledge and skill.It further proposes that the underlyingarchitecture of an instructional strategy is acombination of primary strategy components andprimary knowledge components appropriate for,and consistent with, a given instructionalgoal. Instructional components are a theoreticaltool. They are not a method or developmentprocedure. These instructional strategy andknowledge components can be imbedded in a widevariety of different instructionalarchitectures based on a variety of differentphilosophical orientations. It is hoped thatone of the primary benefits of instructionalcomponents is to provide a common vocabularythat will enable designers, theorists, andinstructional developers to more clearlydescribe their products and procedures.