Phases of the 3PD Approach: Discovering Instructional Design 15
The intent of the Three-Phase Development (3PD) Model was to provide a new focus for the end-to-end learning content and evaluation development process, especially for Web-based teaching and learning. As discussed yesterday, a central tenet of 3PD was that course creation could not be viewed as a short-term development process, but rather as a long-term collaborative process which would
generate and evolve into focused communities of practice with shared understanding and a philosophy of continuous improvement
(Sims & Jones, 2003 , p. 18)
Three-Phase Design is configured to elicit learning content through a three-step process of developing functionality, evaluating, elaborating, and enhancing and maintaining materials, rather than the more traditional systems approach of analyze, design, develop, implement, evaluate. The approach also aims to align the “three essential competency sets” for courseware development – course design, subject matter exposition, and content production – in an integrated fashion rather than as a set of uncoordinated activities.
Rather than process driving development, it is the context of the educational components which determine the members of development teams in a targeted and effective manner. Ideally, these teams would remain for the duration of the project, potentially over a number of semesters.
(Sims, 2008 p.3)
To achieve this goal, 3PD specifies a series of “baselines” (2008 p.4) that align with implementation iterations – the first focusing on building functional and essential course components, the second on enhancement or interactivity, and the third to ongoing maintenance of the courseware (see Figure 1). These three phases of development integrate systems-based methodological approaches to content development, scaffolding of contributors, and quality assurance.
Figure 1: Three-Phase Design & Scaffolding (after Sims & Jones, 2003)
[Click to enlarge]
According to Sims and Jones, Phase 1 is a predelivery mode, which involves the gathering and preparation of web-based teaching resources, learning channel, specifying assessment-based outcomes, preferred teaching modality, and learning/learner activities designed to attain the prescribed outcomes. Three-phase Design enables a teacher with minimal experience in Web-based training and learning environments to access “functional learning structures” (Sims, 2008 p.4) and in-team expertise from the Developers and the Educational Designers in the group.
Phase 2 (Enhancement) is the delivery stage in 3PD. The asynchronisity of digital network supported learning, and the object-oriented nature of e-learning is such that modifications can be implemented in courseware on an ongoing basis (for example to take account of new learning materials or new knowledge) to enhance the student’s ability to achieve the learning objectives. The second phase can be in this way to take place during course delivery, with Kirkpatrick Level 1 and Level 2-style feedback from both instructors and learners being used to modify and/or enhance delivery either continuously. or in a staged manner. For example modifications may be implemented before the beginning of each new semester, based upon the reactions of learners who took the course during the previous semester.
The third stage of 3PD – the maintenance phase – occurs during the “main sequence” (to borrow a term form astronomy) of the course lifecycle. In time, a course will attain a stable state where the teaching strategies and learning activities are working effectively, it’s materials are up-to-date, and the course is taken by sufficient number of learners to make delivery and maintenance cost-effective for the host institution.
Sims (2008) considers that:
The implications of applying the 3PD model is that the original functional system will always be subject to change, and that development environments need to schedule resources for the life-time of that course. The continual process of gathering and incorporating evaluation data caters for the sustainability of the course.
(p.6)
Phase 3 provides an opportunity for a rigorous quality assurance process to be undertaken, and for stakeholders in the course development project to consolidate the instructional design and collaborative skills acquired during the 3PD process: ideally these skills are then applied to the development of a new learning program, where they continue to be refined, with remediation taking place as necessary.
Next Time: 3PD Approaches to Evaluation
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References:
Sims, R. (2006). Beyond instructional design: Making learning design a reality.Journal of Learning Design, 1(2), 1-7. Internet: Available from: http://www.jld.qut.edu.au/ Accessed 3 June 2009.
Sims, R., & Jones, D. (2002). Continuous Improvement Through Shared Understanding: Reconceptualising Instructional Design for Online Learning. Proceedings of the 2002 ascilite conference: winds of change in the sea of learning: charting the course of digital education. Internet: Available from: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/auckland02/proceedings/papers/162.pdf Accessed 3 June 2009
Sims, R., & Jones, D. (2003). Where practice informs theory: Reshaping instructional design for academic communities of practice in online teaching and learning. Information Technology, Education and Society, 4(1), 3-20.
Sims, R. (2008). From three-phase to proactive learning design: Creating effective online teaching and learning environments, in J. Willis (Ed), Constructivist Instructional Design (C-ID): Foundations, Models, and Practical Examples.
Sims, R. Analysis of Three Instructional Design Models. Internet: Available from: http://www.de-research.com/PhDFinalPapers/CT_3IDModels.pdf Accessed 1 June 2009
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June 16 2009 04:57 pm | e-learning
6 Responses to “Phases of the 3PD Approach: Discovering Instructional Design 15”
Virginia Yonkers on 16 Jun 2009 at 8:33 pm #
I am unclear here. Is the purpose of the instructional design to have a basic of resources/tools that can be accessed for learning? If so, this is very useful for instructors to be flexible in their teaching, reacting to the environment and learning needs rather than prescribing learning. I also can see it as useful in self directed learning. However, how would learning then be assessed? Are assessment tools tied to specific resources?
Michael Hanley on 17 Jun 2009 at 11:17 am #
Hi Virginia,
Thanks for your comment. If you’ve been following this series of posts on instructional design, you’ll know that I’ve transitioned from the ‘traditional’ systems approach into a more Cognitivist domain.
As such, the models are less linear, and methods like 3PD have, in my view, to be considered from a number of perspectives. You’ve probably noticed that I’m taking more time looking at Sims & Jones’ work that the previous models, partly because I’m assuming that most learning practitioners have a passing familiarity with Dick & Carey, ADDIE, and so on – partly because there are great online resources already available on this topic (have a look at Donald Clark’s History of ISD here: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/history_isd/isdhistory.html, for example).
I agree with you that 3PD allows instructors to be flexible in their activities, and the team-based approach the model espouses has many potential advantages for online and asynchronous learning – I see it as a direct-line antecedent to Rapid E-Learning and some Constructivist/Constructionist designs.
I will cover your questions about assessment in forthcoming blog posts on 3PD. Incidentally, many thanks for your query about assessment tools being tied to specific resources – it’s a facet I had not intended to include, but it’s an element that needs to be discussed in detail.
If you have any thoughts on the subject you’d like to contribute, I will be pleased to add your perspective to the article.
Best regards,
Michael
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Virginia Yonkers on 21 Jun 2009 at 5:58 pm #
Michael, here is a post that may give you some direction in assessment in terms of instructional design, flexibility, constructivism, and assessment.
Michael Hanley on 22 Jun 2009 at 12:58 pm #
Thanks Virginia – I’ll take a look. As you can see from my most recent post, I felt that it was important to differentiate evaluation from assessment: many people seem to use the two terms interchangeably, but of course the former refers is recursive, while the latter is about testing learners’ competencies.
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Discovering Instructional Design 14: the Three-Phase Design Model | E-Learning Curve Blog on 08 Dec 2009 at 3:00 pm #
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[...] – or for our purposes – e-learning. As you know, I am a strong exponent of the 3PD model, an approach to instructional design which advocates a iterative approach to courseware [...]