1. Analyze

The first step in the instructional design process involves clearly identifying the instructional goal(s) — basically answering the question: What do you want the learners to accomplish or do when the instruction has been completed? What is it that learners need to know?

This is one of those steps I have difficulty doing. I find it easy to simply skip it, thinking I know the learners and the material well enough already. But taking the time to do this step properly pays dividends in the end. This stage is meant to be an aid to the instructor (the builder) — to make sure you stay on track and meet learner needs. It is the foundation for the rest of the instructional design process and has a direct bearing on learner motivation!

It may seem obvious that an instructor needs to understand the learner, but it is a little more complex than simply knowing age, gender, and academic major. An instructor must take into account:

• Student learning styles — similarities & differences between learners
• Psychosocial traits
• Ethnicity
• Gender differences
• Cognitive development
• Prior learning
• Developmental characteristics

Smith & Ragan provide a more comprehensive list of learner characteristics that you need to explore before designing a course. It is easy to make the mistake of describing learners as to what you "hope" they are like, rather than what they are actually like. The information gathered during this stage of instructional design is critical. It determines how the instruction will actually be designed.

Once learner characteristics are determined, you need to write the instructional goal(s) for the learning that will take place. A typical goal statement should include:

• A description identifying the learners to be taught,
• A desciption of what the learners will be able to do once the instruction is finished,
• A description of the context in which the learners will apply the skills learned, and
• A description of the tools that will be available to the learners during the instructional process.

Once the goal(s) of instruction has been identified, you should write it on a Post-It Note® and stick it in front of you on your computer monitor — keep it visibile throughout the design process so that you don't stray from that goal(s). After you finished with analyzing the learners and writing the goal statement, it's time to move on to the next stage: designing the blueprint.