Week 2 – ADDIE Model

What is the ADDIE Model?

In the last module, we focused on the Learning Theories, such as Connectivism or Andragogy. Now it is time to discuss the Learning Models that will guide our work, designing successful courses as Instructional Designers.

The ADDIE instructional model is a popular framework for creating effective learning experiences and educational materials. It was created in 1975 by the Center for Educational Technology at Florida State University for the United States Army.

ADDIE is an acronym for its five phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. In the next paragraph, I will summarize each phase, adding the most important questions that we need to respond.

ADDIE Phases by Pilar González

1. Analysis

This is the first phase and one of the most important ones, since it is the foundation for the rest of the learning experience. If we analyze all the information needed previously to the course, we will have a clear idea in the Design phase.

The instructional designer conducts a Needs Assessment to gather data and primarily decide if the creation of a course is the best solution for the problem.

2. Design

In this second phase, the learning objectives are refined and aligned with the activities of the course. Those objectives will be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).

The instructional designer creates the blueprint or design document of the course (structure, objectives, materials and assessments). She can also create a storyboard to help with the design.

3. Development

In the third phase, called Development, the materials are created based on the plan elaborated in the Design phase.

The instructional designer puts all the elements designed together, being specific and including a review to test any errors to guarantee the quality of the course. She also collaborates with subject matter experts (SMEs) to create the content.

This is the moment to be aware of the Accessibility in our course, as we discussed last week. In addition, learning guides for facilitators and instructors are created if the course is going to be live.

At the end of this phase the course is already created and it is time to put it in practice in the phase of Implementation.

4. Implementation

In the Implementation phase, the materials carefully elaborated in the previous phases are delivered to the learners in an online platform (upload to an LMS) or with a facilitator in a live session.

Academic monitoring and assessments are conducted by the facilitators to ensure that the users are meeting the learning goals. The learners also provide feedback that will be used to make any adjustments.

Instructional Designers will be flexible and be ready to face any challenges during the Implementation. Communication between learners, instructors, technical personal and instructional designers are key in this phase.

5. Evaluation

This is the last phase of the ADDIE model: the Evaluation. During this phase, the course is evaluated and the effectiveness is measured.

Two types of evaluation are included:

• Formative Evaluation is conducted during the Analysis, Design, and Development phases, providing constant feedback and making any necessary adjustments.
• Summative Evaluation occurs at the end of the course using tests and assessments. It provides information about whether the learning objectives have been achieved.

Data is collected from different sources to measure the effectiveness of the learning experience and analyze any pattern or trend during the course. Finally, all the findings are documented and shared with all the stakeholders to give an overview of the learning.

The information collected in the Evaluation phase might be used in the design of future learning experiences, starting again in the Analysis phase. This is the magic about the ADDIE process, that allows a constant improvement in the effectiveness of any learning experience.

Strengths and Limitations in the ADDIE model

Strengths	Limitations
From my perspective, the main strength of the ADDIE model is the clarity in its structure, especially for those Instructional Designers that just started their career. It gives a clear idea of the process of creating a course from the beginning to the end.	The constant evaluation and feedback gathered could increase the time spending in each phase. Depending on the requirements of the course, the ADDIE model might not be as efficient when the course has an urgent deadline.
The second strength is the adaptability to any context. The ADDIE phases could be present in an online course, and in-person corporate training or even an Elementary classroom! That versatility might be the reason because ADDIE is so popular.	ADDIE’s flexibility and adaptation to any type of learning experience might be seen as a lack of specification for a particular context. For example, a course designed to be delivered in-person and live, might have differences in the design than a course designed to be online and asynchronous.

Considerations for ADDIE in Education K-12

Being one the strengths of the ADDIE model its adaptability, it is easy to be used for teachers in Education K-12. Teachers are experts in Formative Evaluation and they regularly collect all sources of data to adjust instruction in the moment and for designing future lessons.

Implications of ADDIE in Instructional Design

The ADDIE Model is a great guide to plan and deliver a learning experience from the Instructional Designer’s perspective. The goal for any course is to be effective and useful for the learners and the company, and the ADDIE model provides a step to step plan to have a strong foundation and a review process to incorporate any update.

For Beginners, the ADDIE model could be a great starting point. However, for Instructional Designers with experience, it might be too general and a more detailed model could be more useful. In particular, if we want to incorporate the technology in our learning experience, since the ADDIE model does not include a lot of guide in this field.