Pebble in the pond by david merrill

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A PebbleA Pebble-- inin -- thethe--Pond ModelPond Model for Instructional Designfor Instructional Design11

M. David Merrill Utah State University

What is the Problem? What is the Problem?

Instructional systems development has recently come under attack, suggesting that it may not be an

appropriate methodology for developing effective instruction (Gordon and Zemke, 2000). ISD is accused

of being too slow and clumsy, for claiming to be a technology when it is not, for producing bad instruction,

and for being out of touch with today’s training needs.

Someone has said, “It is a bad craftsman that blames his tools.” It should be obvious to the thoughtful

observer that the problem may be the implementation of ISD, not a systematic approach itself. At the

highest level of a systems approach one cannot imagine a design process that does not identify the training

needs of an organization or the learning needs of the students to be taught. While learning occurs in many

different environments, it is generally agreed that instruction requires the identification of its goals. It is

equally difficult to imagine a process that does not involve planning, development, implementation and

evaluation. It is not these essential development activities that are in question, but perhaps their detailed

implementation in various incarnations of ISD do not represent the most efficient or effective method for

designing instruction.

A more significant aspect of the problem is the emphasis on the process involved in developing

instruction, rather than the basic learning principles that this process should emphasize. Merely following a

series of steps, when there is insufficient guidance as to when the product of a given step is of sufficient

quality, is likely to result in an inferior product. A technology involves not only the steps involved but a set

of specifications for what each step is to accomplish. Perhaps many ISD implementations have had

insufficient specifications.

1 The preparation of this paper was supported in part by funds provided by Thompson/Netg. A version of this paper appears in Performance Improvement Journal 2002.

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For the past several years I have been engaged in an attempt to identify first principles of instruction,

those principles on which different instructional design theories are in essential agreement regardless of

their theoretical or philosophical orientation (Merrill, 2002). John Murphy stated, “If you don’t follow the

instructions and people still learn, that raises the question whether there’s a ‘technology’ there in the first

place.” (Gordon and Zempke, 2000) We have demonstrated that when these first principles are

implemented they do promote instruction that is more effective and efficient than popular forms of existing

instruction that fail to implement these principles (Boyle and Merrill, 2002). There is a set of principles or

specifications that are there in the first place and that do make a difference in the quality of the instructional

product.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a content-first modification of the ISD process that facilitates

the implementation of these first principles of instruction and has been demonstrated to result in more

effective and efficient instruction.

First PrinciplesFirst Principles

What is a principle? A principle is a relationship that is always true under appropriate conditions.

What is an instructional principle? An instructional principle is some characteristic of an instructional

product or environment that promotes the learning of some specified goal. What is a first principle of

instruction? A first principle of instruction is a prescriptive design principle on which various instructional

design theories and models are in essential agreement.

What are the properties of first principles of instruction? First, learning from a given program will be

promoted in direct proportion to its implementation of first principles. Second, first principles of

instruction can be implemented in any delivery system or using any instructional architecture. Third, first

principles of instruction are design-oriented or prescriptive rather than learning-oriented or descriptive.

They relate to creating learning environments and products rather than describing how learners acquire

knowledge and skill from these environments or products.

Many current instructional models suggest that the most effective learning products or environments

are those that are problem-centered and involve the student in a cycle of learning that involves four distinct

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phases: (1) activation of prior experience, (2) demonstration of skills, (3) application of skills, and (4)

integration of these skills into real-world activities. Figure 1 provides a conceptual framework for stating

and relating the first principles of instruction.

Figure 1. Phases of effective instruction

Most of the theories reviewed stress problem-centered instruction and include some, if not all, of these

four phases of effective instruction. Since these principles have been elaborated upon elsewhere (Merrill,

2002), the following paragraphs list the first principles of instruction in check-list form without additional

elaboration.

1) Is the courseware presented in the context of real world problems?

a) Does the courseware show learners the task they will be able to do or the problem they will be

able to solve as a result of completing a module or course?

b) Are learners engaged at the problem or task level, not just the operation or action levels?

c) Does the courseware involve a progression of problems rather than a single problem?

2) Does the courseware attempt to activate relevant prior knowledge or experience?

a) Does the courseware direct learners to recall, relate, describe or apply knowledge from relevant

past experience that can be used as a foundation for new knowledge?

b) Does the courseware provide relevant experience that can be used as a foundation for the new

knowledge?

PROBLEM

DEMONSTRATION APPLICATION

INTEGRATION ACTIVATION

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c) Does the courseware help learners recall or form appropriate structures for organizing the new

knowledge?

3) Does the courseware demonstrate (show examples of) what is to be learned rather than merely telling

information about what is to be learned?

a) Are the demonstrations (examples) consistent with the content being taught?

i) Examples and non-examples for concepts?

ii) Demonstrations for procedures?

iii) Visualizations for processes?

iv) Modeling for behavior?

b) Are at least some of the following learner-guidance techniques employed?

i) Learners are directed to relevant information.

ii) Multiple representations are used for the demonstrations.

iii) Multiple demonstrations are explicitly compared.

c) Is media relevant to the content and used to enhance learning.

4) Do learners have an opportunity to practice and apply their newly acquired knowledge or skill?

a) Are the application (practice) and the post-test consistent with the stated or implied objectives?

i) “Information-about” practice requires learners to recall or recognize information.

ii) “Parts-of” practice requires the learners to locate, name and/or describe each part.

iii) “Kinds-of” practice requires learners to identify new examples of each kind.

iv) “How-to” practice requires learners to do the procedure.

v) “What-happens” practice requires learners to predict a consequence of a process, given

conditions, or to find faulted conditions, given an unexpected consequence.

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b) Does the courseware require learners to use new knowledge or skill to solve a varied sequence of

problems and do learners receive corrective feedback on their performance?

c) In most application or practice activities, are learners able to access context-sensitive help or

guidance when having difficulty with the instructional materials? Is this coaching gradually

diminished as the instruction progresses?

5) Does the courseware provide techniques that encourage learners to integrate (transfer) the new

knowledge or skill into their everyday life?

a) Does the courseware provide an opportunity for learners to publicly demonstrate their new

knowledge or skill?

b) Does the courseware provide an opportunity for learners to reflect-on, discuss and defend their

new knowledge or skill?

c) Does the courseware provide an opportunity for learners to create, invent or explore new and

personal ways to use their new knowledge or skill?

PebblePebble -- inin -- thethe--Pond DevelopmentPond Development

The focus of this paper is to describe an instructional design model that has been found to be effective

for implementing instruction based on these principles. I do not consider this model to be a substitute for

ISD but a content-centered modification of more traditional ISD that facilitates incorporating first

principles into an instructional product.

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Figure 2. Pebble-in-the-Pond Instructional Development (©M. David Merrill)

Figure 2 indicates that the Pebble-in-the-Pond design model consists of a series of expanding activities

initiated by first casting in a pebble, a whole task or problem of the type that learners will be taught to

accomplish by the instruction. Having identified an initial problem the second ripple in the design pond is

to identify a progression of such problems of increasing difficulty or complexity, such that if learners are

able to do all of the whole tasks thus identified, they would have mastered the knowledge and skill to be

taught. The third ripple in the design pond is to identify the component knowledge and skill required to

complete each task or solve each problem in the progression. The fourth ripple is to determine the

instructional strategy that will be used to engage learners in the problems and help them acquire the

component knowledge and skill required to complete the tasks or solve the problems. The fifth ripple is

interface design. It is at this point in the design process that the content to be learned and the strategy used

to engage learners is adapted to the delivery system and instructional architecture of the learning situation

or product. The ripples have now expanded sufficiently to engage in the production of the instructional

materials or situation. I prefer the term production to the term development, typically used in the ADDIE

(analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation) ISD model since too often actual specification

of the material to be learned is delayed in the traditional model until the development phase. In the Pebble-

PROGRESSION

ANALYSIS

STRATEGY

DESIGN

PRODUCTION

PROBLEM

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in-the-Pond model the content to be learned is specified first. It is casting in the problem or whole task

pebble and specifying a progression of such whole tasks that is the unique characteristic of this model.

Pebble-in-the-Pond is primarily a design model; hence we have not shown other necessary phases of the

ISD process, such as front-end analysis, implementation and evaluation. These phases are still critical and

necessary to a complete development process using Pebble-in-the-Pond. This model is a version of the

4C/ID model proposed by van Merriënboer (1997).

1. Specify a Problem

Traditional ISD advocates the early specification of instructional objectives. The problem with this

traditional approach is that instructional objectives are abstract representations of the knowledge to be

taught rather than the knowledge itself. Often the specification of the actual content is delayed until the

development phase of ISD. Many designers have experienced the difficulty of writing meaningful

objectives early in the design process. Often, after the development starts, the objectives written early in

the process are abandoned or revised to more closely correspond with the content that is finally developed.

Pebble-in-the-Pond avoids this problem by starting with the content to be taught (the whole tasks to be

completed) rather than some abstract representation of this content (objectives). Pebble-in-the-Pond

assumes that the designer has already identified an instructional goal (not detailed objectives) and a learner

population. The first step, the pebble, is to specify a typical problem that represents the whole task that the

student will be able to do following the instruction. The word, specify, indicates that the complete problem

or task should be identified, not just some information about the problem or task. A whole task includes

the information that the learner is given and the transformation of this information that will result when the

problem is solved or the task completed. The third component is to work the problem; that is, to indicate in

detail every step required to solve the problem or complete the task.

The following example shows a typical problem for a course teaching Microsoft Excel. Note that the

input and output are specifically identified.

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Figure 3. Specify a Problem

Susan has opened a small restaurant. She has been very successful and wants to expand her business. To finance this project, Susan needs a bank loan. She knows that an accurate and well-designed presentation will help her get the loan. You have agreed to prepare the last month’s sales figures for Susan.

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Having identified the input and the output for the problem, the third part of specifying the problem is

to work the problem. Figure 4 shows the first few steps required to transform Susan’s input to the final

form shown. The actual analysis included all of the necessary steps.

Figure 4. Work the Problem

Step 1: Create the Gross Sales formulas.

1. Click cell D6. 2. Type = B6*C6. Press Enter. 3. Click D6. 4. Copy the formula using Fill Handle from D6 to D7 through D11. Sample diagnostic procedures for Step 1:

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Problem: The learner types the formula incorrectly. Solution: Click cell D6. Type the formula again and press Enter.

Step 2: Create the Total Sales formula. 1. Click D12. 2. Click the AutoSum button on the Standard toolbar. 3. Press Enter to accept the formula =SUM(D6:D11).

Etc. 2. Progression of Problems

Having specified a typical problem for the goals of the instruction the next ripple in the pond is to

specify a progression of problems that gradually increase in complexity, difficulty or the amount of

component knowledge or skill required to complete the task. Each problem in the progression should be

completely specified including input, output and the steps necessary to work the problem. The problems

should be examined to be sure that solving each problem in the progression requires learners to have

acquired all the intended knowledge and skill required by the instructional goals. If the problem

progression does not include all the required knowledge and skill additional problems should be added to

the progression or the problems in the progression should be modified to require the necessary knowledge

and skill. Figure 5 indicates the first three problems for the Excel course. For purposes of this paper we

have indicated only the context and situation for each problem, but have not indicated the inputs, outputs

and steps required to work each problem. The actual analysis included this input, output and process data.

The Excel course has eight problems in the sequence. During the design several additional problems were

specified and the eight problems included in the course were selected from this larger set of possibilities.

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3. Component Analysis

The third ripple in the pond is to identify all the knowledge components required to complete each of

the tasks in the progression. Component knowledge consists of the information, parts, kinds, how-to and

what-happens knowledge and skill required to solve each problem. Consistent with the content-first

approach of Pebble-in-the-Pond all of the information and portrayals necessary to acquire each of the

necessary knowledge components should be completely specified.

Knowledge components consist of information and portrayals for five types of knowledge:

information-about, parts-of, kinds-of, how-to and what-happens. Information-about is just that −

information about some entity, activity or process. All problems require the learner to remember

information necessary to the solution of the problem or the completion of the task.

All entities are composed of smaller entities or parts. An important type of knowledge is the ability to

locate a part in relationship to the whole of which it is a part, given its name or function or shown a part,

remember its name and function.

All entities, activities and processes are members (a kind-of) of some more general class of things. In

turn all of the instances of a given entity, activity or process can be divided into subclasses (kinds-of).

Kinds are distinguished from parts in that all of the parts of something are necessary to have the whole

Figure 5. Problem progression

Susan has opened a small restaurant. She has been very successful and wants to expand her business. To finance this project, Susan needs a bank loan. She knows that an accurate and well-designed presentation will help her get the loan. You have agreed to prepare the last month’s sales figures for Susan. Susan has given the Total Lunch Earnings worksheet to Isaac, one of her main suppliers, who has been successful in getting bank loans for his business. He is impressed with your work and offers three improvements. First, include a column that calculates percentage of sales. Second, add some nice borders and shading formats. Finally, set up the page to give the printout a professional appearance. Susan expanded her business. Her restaurant is busier and she needs more staff. To judge her new staffing requirements accurately, Susan conducted a count of customers before and after the renovations. Each survey was taken over a four-week period. You have agreed to help Susan determine her new staffing levels by calculating statistics from her second survey.

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entity, whereas each kind is a complete entity, activity or process in-and-of itself. An often-neglected type

of knowledge is the ability to classify a given entity, activity or process. Making decisions is an important

kinds-of skill.

Many problems or tasks are completed when the learner knows how-to and is able to complete a series

of steps or procedures. Procedure or how-to learning is perhaps the most familiar type of knowledge and

skill.

Finally, for many problems and tasks merely carrying out the steps is insufficient to effective problem-

solving. The learner must also know why a given step is necessary or what-happens when a given action is

completed. Providing what-happens knowledge is perhaps the most neglected of all knowledge

components. What happens requires the learner to predict a consequence, given a set of conditions. Or,

conversely, given an unexpected consequence of some action or process, find the conditions that were

faulted, missing or inadequate. While all problems and tasks involve what-happens knowledge, this

knowledge and skill is often neglected.

Knowledge components can be represented at two levels: information and portrayal. Information is a

general representation, such as a list of steps, a definition, or the statement of a principle. Information is

inclusive and refers to many cases of situations. Portrayal, on the other hand, is specific information, such

as a demonstration of specific steps, an instance of a class, or a visualization of some process represented

by a principle. Portrayal is a single case or situation.

Each of these five types of knowledge can be represented by both information and portrayal. Figure 6

summarizes the information and portrayal components associated with each type of learning. Information

can only be remembered so the cell for applying information is left empty. The first column indicates the

type of information associated with each type of knowledge. The second column includes both an action

verb and the portrayal on which this action occurs for each type of knowledge. Most whole tasks or

problems include all of these knowledge components. Knowledge analysis in Pebble-in-the-Pond

development is a matter of identifying and specifying these knowledge components.

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Types of Knowledge Remember Information (General)

Apply Information to Portrayal (Specific)

Information-about facts or associations

Parts-of names and descriptions find location

Kinds-of definitions classify examples

How-to steps and sequence perform task

What-happens process (conditions and consequences)

predict consequence find conditions

Figure 6. Information and portrayal components for five types of knowledge

Figure 7 illustrates the beginning of the component analysis for the Excel task. In this case there was

an existing course divided into units, lessons and topics that taught information and how to execute each of

the commands of Excel. Knowledge analysis in this situation was associating each of these topics

(commands) with a given problem in the problem progression. These topics (commands) are mostly

information-about, how-to or parts-of types of knowledge.

Figure 7. How to Component Analysis

Scenario 2

Skills and Topics

Step 1. Creating percentages

Worksheet: Navigating Formulas: Entering

The Fill Handle Formulas: Cell Referencing Data: Copying

Step 2. Formatting percentages

Cell Range: Moving Formatting: Textual Data Formatting: Text Alignment

Etc.

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4. Instructional Strategy

At this point in the pebble design process all the content that will be necessary to enable the learner to

acquire the desired knowledge and skills should be identified and specified. The unique aspect of the

Pebble-in-the-Pond approach is that this is a complete content specification, including all the information

and portrayal that will be used in the instruction. The fourth ripple in the design pond is to determine the

instructional strategy that will be used to engage the student with the content that has been specified via

problem identification, problem progression and knowledge analysis. An instructional strategy consists of

combining four modes of instructional interaction with the components of knowledge to be taught. The

four primary interaction modes are tell, ask, show and do. The demonstration phase of instruction is to tell

the learner information components and show the learner portrayal components. The application phase of

instruction is to ask the learner to remember information components (the most common but usually

inadequate form of practice) and to have the learner use information components to do something with the

portrayal components. In addition an instructional strategy specifies an appropriate sequence for presenting

the knowledge components. Instructional strategy also specifies appropriate learner guidance and coaching

during the demonstration and application phases of instruction.

Figure 8 illustrates a very effective general instructional strategy that has been found to be effective for

problem- or whole task-centered instruction. This instructional strategy is closely related to the

instructional strategy recommended by van Merriënboer (1997).

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Figure 8. A Problem-centered instructional strategy.

The circles containing the letter P stand for a progression of problems as described above. The triangle

behind the problems indicates a gradually diminishing amount of learner guidance or coaching. The

components are the information and portrayal of each of the types of knowledge required for each of the

problems. The strategy is executed as follows: The first problem in the sequence is shown to the learners

and they are informed that they will learn to solve such a problem or complete such a whole task. The

down arrow indicates that the learners are then taught the knowledge components necessary to solve this

first problem. The learners are then returned to the first problem and the instruction shows them how to

work the problem or complete the task. Learners are next shown the second problem in the sequence. In

this case learners are required to work as much of the problem as they are able, based on the information

and portrayal they have acquired from the component instruction and the first-worked problem. Then the

additional knowledge components required for the second problem are taught to the learners. The learners

are then returned to the second problem and the instruction demonstrates the application of the new

knowledge components in the context of the problem. There may be several worked problems as the first

part of the sequence depending on the complexity of the problems. In the Excel example there were two

worked problems at the beginning of the problem progression. In each succeeding problem in the

progression learners are required to complete as much of the task as possible using the knowledge

components components

components

guidance

P P P P P

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components they have already acquired and are then taught new knowledge components required for the

problem and shown how these new components are applied to the problem. Eventually all of the

knowledge components required for the problems in the progression will have been acquired and the

learners are required to apply their newly-acquired knowledge and skill to the solving of additional

problems or the completion of additional whole tasks. The later problems in the sequence are the

assessment of the newly acquired knowledge. If the learners can successfully complete the later tasks in

the sequence then they have successfully acquired the desired knowledge and skill.

The following figures illustrate the instructional strategy for the Excel course. Figure 9 is the initial

presentation of the problem. The strategy presents Susan’s data and the final worksheet that will result

after the task is completed. The strategy then lists the topics from the existing command-level course that

are necessary to complete the problem (Figure 10) and encourages learners to study these topics. The

existing course teaches each command by a “Simon-Says” action-by-action demonstration where learners

are directed to execute each command. The strategy returns learners to the first problem and shows, using

a Simon-Says demonstration, how each of the commands is applied to this problem (Figure 11). In this

case the strategy sequences the commands as they are required to complete the task. The strategy repeats

this same approach for Problem 2 in the problem progression. The strategy then presents Problem 3 and

encourages learners to study the new topics that apply to this problem. The strategy then prompts learners

to complete the prompted task as illustrated in Figure 12. The strategy repeats this procedure for Problems

3 and 4. For Problem 5 the strategy uses an on-your-own approach as illustrated in Figure 13. The strategy

has previously (via Problems 1-4) demonstrated and provided learners with a chance to apply all the

information and commands required by this problem. The strategy encourages learners to solve the

problem and to return to the presentations of the individual commands if they have trouble. Finally, the

strategy presents learners three more authentic tasks. These authentic tasks are the assessment for the

course. The strategy directs learners to work these problems on their own. Learners are not allowed to

reference help files or return to the previous instruction during the authentic tasks.

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Figure 9. Present the Problem

In this case exercise, you apply your knowledge of Microsoft Excel 2000 to redesigning a worksheet. Given the information in the first spreadsheet you will manipulate the spreadsheet to produce the information and format in the second spreadsheet.

Susan has opened a small restaurant. She has been very successful and wants to expand her business. To finance this project, Susan needs a bank loan. She knows that an accurate and well-designed presentation will help her get the loan. You have agreed to prepare the last month’s sales figures for Susan.

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Figure 10. Teach Component Knowledge

The following information and commands are required to complete this task. You may wish to turn to each of the components shown in the following table and study these components. After you have studied each of these topics we will demonstrate how these commands are used to complete the spreadsheet for Susan. Scenario

1 MS Excel Skill Builder Reference Table

Skills Topics

Step 1 Creating the Gross Sales formulas

Unit 1, Lesson 2, Topic 2: Formulas: Entering Unit 1, Lesson 2, Topic 4: Formulas: Cell Referencing

Step 2 Creating the Total Sales formula

Unit 1, Lesson 2, Topic 3: The Fill Handle Unit 2, Lesson 1, Topic 1: Functions: An Introduction Unit 2, Lesson 1, Topic 2: Basic Functions

Step 3 Inserting a new row Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 1: Row and Column: Insertion Step 4 Formatting fonts Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 3: Cell: Accommodating Text

Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 4: Formatting: Textual Data Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 5: Formatting: Text Alignment

Step 5 Formatting numbers Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 8: Formatting: Numerical Data Step 6a Overtyping text and values Unit 1, Lesson 2, Topic 1: Data: Entering and Editing Step 6b Widening columns Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 2: Row and Column: Insertion Step 7 Sorting data Unit 1, Lesson 4, Topic 9: Sorting Rows by Single Column Step 8 Saving a file with a new

name Unit 1, Lesson 1, Topic 2: Workbook: Save As Dialog Box Unit 1, Lesson 1, Topic 3: Workbook: Location-Specific Saving

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Figure 11. Worked Examples Scenarios 1 and 2 In this scenario we will guide you through the process of steps completing the worksheet. Please follow the directions carefully. Step 1: First, you will create percentage labels and formulas. . To begin the procedure, click cell E5, type % of Sales in cell E5, and press Enter. To create the percentage of sales figure for the Sandwiches lunch item, type =D6/$D$13 in cell E6 and press Enter. The $ sign in front of the column reference D and the row reference 13 makes $D$13 an absolute cell reference. The cell D6 is a relative cell reference because it does not contain any $ sign. When you copy a cell formula from one row to another with absolute cell references in it, the absolute cell references do not change from one row to the next. In this step, you make the cell reference for the Total Sales, D13, absolute so that its reference will not change when you copy the formula. Now copy and paste this formula from cell E6 to cells E7 through E13. Create the percentage of sales figures for each lunch item and Total Sales. Begin by selecting E6 to E13. On the Number tab of the Format Cells dialog box, click Percentage. Under decimal places, select or type 0. Since there is no lunch item that corresponds with cell E12, use the keyboard to delete this cell. Etc.

Scenarios 3 and 4 were prompted examples. In these examples the strategy required learners to apply

what they already know and use guidance only for the new material introduced by the new problem.

Scenario 5 was an unprompted example. In this example the strategy put learners on their own and

encouraged them to return to the component instruction to learn the commands that they may have

forgotten rather than being prompted by the guidance. Figures 12 and 13 illustrate the prompted and

unprompted scenarios used in the Excel course.

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Figure 12. Prompted Examples Scenarios 3 and 4

In the previous scenarios, you were guided step-by-step in the application of the commands to complete the scenario. In this scenario, you will not be given this step-by-step guidance. You should first review the modules teaching the commands that you will need to complete this scenario. Then, you should try to complete each task in the scenarios on your own. If you need help, there is learner guidance provided at the end of the exercise for each of the tasks. You will learn more if you try to do the task before you look at this guidance material and use this guidance only when you are unable to perform the required commands. After each task, you will be shown an interim spreadsheet that you can use to compare with your own work. In this scenario, you will design a new worksheet.

Step 1:

· Enter your User ID in cell D1. · Create Income formulas in cells B9, C9, and D9. · Create Cost formulas in cells B15, C15, and D15. · Create Profit/Loss formulas in cells B17, C17, and D17 for the Theater Final worksheet.

If you have completed Scenarios 1 and 2, you are familiar with creating formulas, since this information was covered. The detailed guidance for creating formulas in this exercise is provided at the end of the Scenario in a section called Learner Guidance. You should not simply type in the values. You need to apply the appropriate formulas. You have successfully created Income, Cost, and Profit/Loss formulas for the Theater Final worksheet. At this point, your worksheet should contain the following data. [Data is supplied here.] If your worksheet does not look like the following worksheet, you may want to try again or go to the Learner Guidance Section. [Final worksheet is shown here.]

Figure 13. Unprompted Example Scenario 5 In this exercise, there is no Learner Guidance section. If your screens do not match the sample screens provided, you should return to the Excel course and review the appropriate modules. Step 1: Enter your User ID in cell D1. Add formulas to compute the totals in column G and generate the

expenses (with no decimals) in Row 18. Step 2: Format the data. Use 12 pt bold for table headings. Add months as column headings. Etc.

The final three scenarios or authentic tasks constitute the assessment for the course. These were also

unprompted examples, where learners were to apply what they had learned to new problems. In these

scenarios learners were allowed to use neither the help system of Excel nor to return to the component

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instruction for help. They were required to use the commands and operations as they remembered them

and were able to apply them, based only on their previous instruction.

Figure 14. Authentic Tasks In this authentic task, you apply your knowledge of Microsoft Excel 2000 to redesigning a worksheet. Jake has returned from a holiday in France. He had set a budget for the vacation and wants to compare his actual and planned expenses. He is unsure of the correct exchange rate. You have agreed to work this out for Jake in return for a bottle of vintage French Chardonnay. Jake has given you the basic information on the following worksheet named Holiday. [Worksheet appears here.] You must create formulas and redesign the worksheet to make it look like the following example. [Worksheet appears here.] Objectives: Refer to the target screen on the previous page to ensure that the columns and rows in that example and your final screen are identical.

· Insert a new row under row 1. · Calculate the value of goods purchased in $ terms. · Calculate the variance of goods purchased in $ terms compared to the budget. · Calculate the totals for each of the four columns of numeric data. · Center and bold the title across the five main data columns and change the font size to 12 point. · Italicize the Items row labels. · Bold the Total row. · Bold all column labels, except for the exchange rate column label. · Right align column labels over numeric data. · Format the numbers, except for the Exchange Rate value, with thousand separators, two decimal places, and red negative. · Create a double line border around all the data, except for the exchange rate data. · Shade the column labels − except for the exchange rate − with dark green background and white font. · Change the exchange rate to 6.685. Is the total variance better or worse? · Save the file with the name Finance Final.

Does PebbleDoes Pebble-- inin -- thethe--Pond Work?Pond Work?

Thompson/Netg undertook a study to validate the first principles of instruction and the Pebble-in-the-

Pond model for instructional development. Their development group, with consultation from the author,

developed eight scenarios for a course in Excel. The illustrations in this article represent these scenarios.

They then developed a problem-progression-component-instruction with guidance strategy for teaching this

course as illustrated by Figure 8 and the other illustrations in this article.

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The investigators selected study participants from among NETg customers who volunteered to

participate in the study. There were three groups. Group 1, the scenario group (N=49 ), received the

instruction as described in this paper. Group 2, the straight e-learning group (N=49), received the existing

commercial version of the NETg Excel course. This commercial version of the course systematically

teaches all of the commands and operations of Excel, using a guided demonstration that instructs learners to

execute a command or series of commands and then see the consequence of their action on the screen. This

same instruction was used for the component instruction in the scenario group. Both groups had access to

the same guided demonstration instruction of the individual commands of Excel. A control group (N=30)

received the final three authentic scenarios without any prior instruction in Excel. The instruction was

delivered online from a company website that also provided frequently asked questions and access to an

online mentor for both experimental groups.

On the three authentic tasks the scenario group scored an average of 89% a 30% gain over the

demonstration group and a 159% gain over the control group, the guided demonstration group scored 68%

a 99% gain over the control group and the control group scored 34%. All differences are statistically

significant beyond the .001 level. Further the times required to complete the three authentic tasks were 29

minutes for the scenario group, a 41% gain over the demonstration group, and 49 minutes for the guided

demonstration group. Most of the control group failed to finish the tasks so no time data was recorded.

These differences are also statistically significant beyond the .001 level. Finally, on a qualitative

questionnaire, the scenario group expressed considerably more satisfaction with the course than did the

guided demonstration group.

ConclusionConclusion

In this paper I have described some First Principles of Instruction derived from existing instructional

design theories and models that form the specifications for effective and efficient instruction. I have also

described a Pebble-in-the-Pond modification of the ISD process that facilitates the development of

instruction that meets the specifications for these principles. I have also reported a study demonstrating

that when instruction implements some of these first principles it is more effective and efficient than

instruction that fails to implement these principles. Pebble-in-the-Pond is a viable alternative to traditional

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ISD and overcomes some of the major objections raised by Gordon and Zempke (2000). By developing the

content first, Pebble-in-the-Pond is a more efficient development process. Pebble-in-the-Pond implements

first principles of instruction that have been demonstrated to make learning more effective and efficient.

Pebble-in-the-Pond results in instruction that works and it is consistent with the current view of requiring

authentic experience in real world problems.

ReferencesReferences

Boyle, S. and Merrill, M. D. (In Press) A Scenario-based Approach for Technical Training. Ann

Marie Armstrong (Ed.) Instructional Design in the Real World: A View from the Trenches.

Gordon, J. and Zemke, R. (2000). The attack on ISD. Training, April.

Merrill, M. D. (In Press). First principles of instruction. Instructional Technology Research and

Development.

van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (1997). Training Complex Cognitive Skills. Educational Technology

Publications.