Teaching and learning using instructional design

Instructional design has developed as a prescriptive science based on a system approach linking basic research in the psychological processes of learning with concrete solutions to educational problems such as optimal learning retention and transfer. However questions continue to surface as to the extent that it can be applied to help students to learn more effectively. This paper presents a case study showing how instructional design research has contributed to the teaching of and learning by computing science students at Staffordshire University. The paper begins with an introduction to instructional design research, followed by the case study showing how instructional design research has helped students to understand better what they have to learn and thus improved their coursework and examination results. It concludes with the author's plea to lecturers to adopt instructional design theories in their teaching in order to help students to know what they need to learn and how they will be assessed.