Individual Differences, Instructional Theory, and Instructional Design.

摘要

This report collects together three presentations given by the author at scientific and professional meetings during the Spring of 1977. The first discusses present views of the variety and complexity of individual differences among human beings in the context of current research on cognitive processing in learning and instruction. It proposes that such research keep track of its relation to various types and levels of individual differences by referencing a hierarchical network of potential aptitude constructs. Also noted are some parallels between modern hypotheses about cognitive processing and traditional interpretations of ability test factors. The connection of each to real-world criterion performances is also discussed. The second section presents on eight-point outline of the nature of prescriptive instructional theory and shows how considerations of individual differences are involved at each point. The third section reviews how data on aptitude-treatment interactions can be collected and used by the instructional designer in the instructional development and revision process. Recommendations are given as to what aptitude variables might routinely be included in evaluation studies, and what steps can be followed to use such data for instructional analysis.