I.

Comparison of Instructional Design Models Linear-designed Instruction & Branched-designed Instruction Subdivisions or a course is identified (Three for a three-credit college course) Content area is divided into ideas Modules Module assessments must be completed before a student moves to the next module The models described above are sequential in nature With the comparison listed above, both the linear-designed and branched-

designed models also have differences within each framework. According to Simonson (2012), the two models differ as it relates to assessments and alternative instructional events/learning experiences. In the branched-designed model, assessments are more sophisticated so it can diagnose a students progress and understanding on concepts and topics. Linear-designed model offers assessments at the end of each unit; however, the assessments ask students to synthesize the material learned, but does not allow for remediation to occur. Second, the alternative instructional events/learning experiences that the

branched-designed model offers allows students to interact with various forms of instructional content which is dependent on the result of the assessment. It allows students to gain extra practice if needed as he/she progresses through the module. In a linear-designed model, the student is asked to complete various tasks, but there is never an opportunity for the student to engage in a tutorial of sorts if the content is not truly mastered. The amount a student is asked to learn within a module can be very small and the assessment can be restrictive in nature. Both models are good to use; however it seems the liner-designed model is

the most predominately used because of its easy creation and monitoring. As an instructor, to use the liner-designed model would help create a course content that

is manageable and can be tracked on a weekly basis by the assignments and assessment one is asked to complete. One of the major weaknesses of the linear- designed model is that the assessments are not as sophisticated one may want if true mastery is the course goal. In addition, with the model being sequential, there is not much time for one to spend time on various process and contents within the course design. It is jump through the hoop mentality one can have when using this model for distance learning. The branched-designed model has a huge weakness, which is that the design

can often be too time consuming for a student. As mentioned earlier, a student who is struggling with a specific objective within the course content would be asked to complete additional lessons, which creates more work for the student and the instructor. Consequently, the student is bombarded with additional tasks, which could cause one to lose interest and take away for authentic learning. If one becomes to consumed with the drill and kill method, than effectiveness of lesson design can be lost.