History of Instructional Design

1940-1949

-World war II, psychologists and educators were recruited by the military.


-Robert Gagne, Leslie Briggs, John Flanagan were developed training and methods of evaluation.

B.F. skinner and the program instruction movement get up to speed and start making an impact during this time period.

Skinner proposed that effective instructional materials should present instruction in bite-sized pieces and require response to some frequent questions.

feedback should be immediate and this will allow the learner to dictate the pace of the instruction

This program instruction would result in more correct answers.

Skinner also began using teaching machines and this was the first form of computer based learning during that period.

Benjamin Bloom in 1956 and the development of Bloom taxonomy which offered a way to classify objectives

1960-1969

1960 was the creation of Plato which is the programmed logic for automatic teaching operations.

this system was designed to accommodate for a higher demand in academic instruction

Robert Mager in 1962 recognized the need for instructors to develop objectives for learning

In 1963 Robert Glasser who was the first used the term criterion referenced measure which describe a process that could be used to entry level behavior.

in 1967 Michael Striven formative and summative evalutions

1970-1979

During 1970-1979 we can see a growth of instructional design models by ends of the 70s more than 40 different instructional design models were developed.

This led to instructional improvement centers being created throughout different universities as well

Advent of computerized networks led to a combination of classroom teaching and online forums to create computer mediated communication.

1980-1989

During this period of time instructional design continued growth in business and industry as well as growth internationally

However instructional design process started to lose steam in involve school and many graduate programs are decline

factors that affected the instructional design practice during this time period was the increasing interest in the use of micro computers

1990-1999

In 1991 the world wide web officially launches

During this decade using the internet for distance learning picks up quite a bit of steam


causing instructional designers to develop new ways of incorporating this tool in the development of instructional content

the learning theory of constructivism begins to develop a following through the instructional design field.

Rapid prototyping is introduced as a way to rapidly develop instructional content and then refine it through a series of formative evaluations.

1950-1959

2000 and beyond

Online learning in corporations increases

MOOCs and LMS is created

2010 smartphones and tablets give rise to learning on the go

all of these advancements in technology have affected the instructional design industry and changed the way instructional designers approach building the instructional content.