The other day my spirit guide to the world of learning Dr. Jane Bozarth got a question from a young person on the Twitters, who was looking for the person who “said ADDIE was great model for designing training, or building a strip club or invading a foreign land.” Dr. B immediately suggested that it was probably me, and I confessed to saying something along those lines once upon a time.
(For those of you NOT in the learning industry, ADDIE is an acronym for “Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation” — a design model first developed by William the Conqueror to write curriculum used to train his troops how to pour hot oil on enemies without burning themselves.)
Actually, there is some debate in the learning community that ADDIE may have been used earlier than that. Some of us suspect that the project team for the big bang developed training materials and job aids using ADDIE because God was concerned that there might be user support issues.
When I said that ADDIE could be used for many other things than learning development, I was trying to use sarcasm to make a point. (Pause for shocked intake of breath by readers.) I’m not a big fan of the old girl, and was pointing out that you could really use this model in almost any kind of endeavor because it’s so generic and basic.
Tie My Shoes
Analysis: Where are my shoes?
Design: Criss-cross or horizontal?
Development: Insert laces
Implementation: Shoes on feet
Evaluation: Attempt walking
Extreme Makeover
So — while it’s fun making fun of something near and dear to the hearts of many, and I love the angry comments and emails — how could we improve it?
Let’s rethink what the old girl might look like with a little lipo, some time with a personal trainer, and a few hours under the knife of a great plastics guy.
A is for “Amazing”
Let’s start with designing training that opens with something amazing. Get your learners on the hook like a big ol’ catfish, so they can’t wriggle off. It doesn’t matter what other good stuff you’ve got in that lesson if they’re not on the line headed towards the boat.
D is for “Delightful”
You’re gonna hate me for this, but all the other parts better be as good as the opener. Today’s learners need to be engaged and delighted too. Use videos. Use humor. Use fun, games, interaction, things to click on, multiple learning styles. Yes — it IS all about the learner.
D is for “Doing”
Keep those little fingers busy. If you’re teaching in person, have people working in small groups, get them moving in the classroom, have learners writing and giving responses. If you’re online, you need to be taking polls and asking for input via chat and Twitter. If you’re lecturing people are checking their mail and seeing who’s on Facebook.
I is for “Interactive”
I’m repeating myself because it’s so important. Don’t lecture — ask leading questions, and let the students discover answers on their own. Yes — I know it takes longer. Yes — I know it’s messier. Yes — I know it’s more work for you. I don’t care!
E is for “Exhibit”
If you really want to measure the transfer of knowledge, you and I (the “learning professionals”) know that multiple-choice questions don’t mean squat. Get your learners to exhibit what they know. Build a bridge, respond in a role-play, stage a server, or write a sales page. That’s really the only way to measure if you taught them anything meaningful.
====================================
So what do you think? ADDIE 2.0 is slim, trim, and quite a sexy little number. Want to take her home to meet the parents?
P.S. ADDIE 2.0 would still be quite effective for running a strip club, I believe.
{ 3 comments }
Today’s story revolved around a new printer control system (I’m gonna call it OOPS-Print, to protect the guilty) that their IT Director decided was the bee’s knees last year. It was so cool that it had to be installed on every single box in every single school in the district. (It’s pretty amazing — it lets you select a printer to use with your machine.) (Yes, I’m being sarcastic.)
