Balderas, Danika Blin M.

Course Design and the First Principles of Instruction

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is defined by ETIC (as cited in Jordan,
1997) as concerned with those communication skills in English which are required
for study purposes in formal education systems. To some extent, the approach in
teaching and learning of the English language is focused on learners needs for
educational or employment purposes. Accordingly, Gillett (2011) mentioned that
English for Academic or Specific Purpose courses are based on an analysis of
needs. Therefore, in every courses, the questions to be asked first and focused on
are why the students are learning English and what are their possible strengths and
weaknesses in learning the English language (Gillett, 2011).
With the progress of the modern world, technological innovations and
globalization, EAP played an important role. Hence, many authors and researchers
have proposed and developed various English course designs to meet the needs of
the competitive world for English skills incorporating the principles of EAP,
specifically that of targeting the learners needs.
One of these studies is the research conducted by Jessie Choi. The research
was conducted at the Hong Kong Institute of Education and 43 education major
students enrolled in the Professional Writing Course and participated in the study.
The objective of Choi in his study was to develop an effective Professional English
course through the adoption of the First Principles of Instruction by Merrill.
According to Choi (2014), the teaching of professional English as well as the
course designs adopted in Hong Kong are concentrated on teaching the writing

format to compose written outputs. However, this is no longer appropriate. English

skills that are needed today are not only those which are confined in knowing what
is grammatical and proper writing formats anymore. There is a shift from passive
learning to active learning to which the learner can actively participate and his
experiences are considered. He saw the need of devising a new course design in
order to meet the needs of the business and global community. Moreover,
competition in the business world increased the demand for good English skills for
employment application. Hence, he proposed the adoption of the Principles of
Instructions proposed by David Merrill in the development of a new course scheme.
These principles are task/problem-centeredness, activation, demonstration,
application, and integration which are utilized in a cyclical manner in order to have
an effective learning process.
The first principle is the problem- centered which states that learning can be
promoted if learners are faced with real-world problems. Merrill (2002) argued that
engaging in solving problems as part of a course can help the learner enhance his
understanding of the course. The learners must be faced with authentic problems.
Choi maintained the same idea that learners may have more interest in
participating and performing in the course, and hence, facilitating their learning.
Moreover, learners must be given problems through a progression, from simple one
to complex ones rather than a single complex problem (Merrill, 2002). In the study
of Choi, the progression was shown in the tasks from Module 1 to Module 4. First,
the learners are taught on how to write, then eventually, they are required to write
based on what was taught, and finally doing job interview practices. However, there
may be a constraint to this. According to Jonassen (1999), the representation of the
problem must be in a way interesting or appealing. It was suggested that such

presentation can be in the form of a narrative in text, audio or video arrangement

(Jonassen, 1999). In the study of Choi, texts were used through the modules that
the students should accomplish for the course. The students are required to make
personal examples of job advertisements and application letters and finally will
engage in a job interview practice. As a student, I find this very helpful. Ones
knowledge and experience on how to do a job interview before going in an actual
one may build up confidence. Applying for a job is a real- life problem that needs to
be faced and solved. Under this principle, the learner is being prepared for a
problem he may be confronted after stepping out of school; that is to get employed.
The second principle is activation. This principle holds that learning is
promoted when relevant previous experience is activated (Merrill, 2002). It is
alleged that prior relevant experience can be used as a foundation for new
knowledge and may help lessen the possibility of him being overwhelmed of the
new topic which may lead to lack of interest (Merrill, 2002, and Choi, 2014). Hence,
there is a need for this previous knowledge to be activated. Another important
feature of this principle is the possibility to utilize existing mental models which can
be modified to incorporate and process new knowledge. Choi incorporated this
principle through asking basic questions to lessen the gap between the previous
knowledge and the new ones. Choi also used social learning in this process.
Demonstration is the third principle. This phase involves the demonstration
of the new knowledge rather than a mere narration. Merrill (2002) suggested that
there are two levels to which knowledge to be learned exists. These are information
and portrayal. He argued that information is insufficient and portrayal fills the
inadequacy. The portrayal level shows the information through specific cases which
can be more effective on the part of a learner. Consequently, there must be

consistency of the demonstration of the information with the learning goal. Chois
research under the professional writing course under this phase showed how the
skill can be used in specific cases and examples which enabled the learners to
examine and resolve the challenges presented effectively. Moreover, Choi indicated
that this process is germane in ones learning because a habit of using the skills can
be developed.
The fourth principle is application wherein the new knowledge acquired by
the learner will be used to solve problems (Merrill, 2002). Furthermore, Merrill also
maintained that, based on several researches, practice tends to increase learning
compared to a mere information. It is essential to practice these skills in order to
have an effective learning. As discussed above, demonstration can facilitate
learning in which the learner is merely watching, what more if there is practice
wherein the learner gets to apply himself what he learned.
Finally, the fifth principle is integration. In this phase, the learners are
encouraged to assimilate the new information or skill into their everyday life.
Integration was incorporated in Chois proposed course design in professional
writing course by requiring the learners to take part in a discussion with fellow
learners of the course. As argued by Merrill (2002), reflection on the part of the
learner of his new knowledge or skill can motivate him even more to learn.
Moreover, there is the tendency that when learners acquire new skills, the first thing
they want to do is to demonstrate it to another person. Merrill also compared
learning to a computer game, as skill level increases which is apparent to the
player, the more he is motivated to play. This is the same with learning that as a
learner becomes aware of his progress, the more he is eager to learn more. Hence,

having peer discussions open the doors for criticism and reflection which can
motivate learners.
At the end of the course, the participants were asked to answer a
questionnaire to determine whether the course design is useful, interesting and
effective. The result showed that the students generally perceived that the
professional writing course and its course scheme as useful, interesting and
effective.
One of the questions given to the students was whether the course inspires
the students to think and learn. Generally, the participants agree. I also agree. What
the students faced in the given course was a problem that they will eventually
encounter, the struggle to be employed. As pointed out by Choi (2014), the global
world demanded certain English skills for professionals. Students, who are not
native English speakers, must have a certain competency in English speaking and
writing in order to compete in the globalized world. Hence, it may be appealing to a
learner to know what a resume is, how to make one and finally what a job interview
is, what to expect and even what to feel during an interview. This is an actual
problem for a student. Thus, offering a course which could help the student solve
such problem makes the course interesting and motivates the student to think and
learn.

Sources:
Choi, J. (2014). Instructional Design and Application of a Professional English
Course. The Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes,
445- 458.
Gillett, A. J. (2011). What is EAP? Retrieved from http://www.uefap.com/bgnd/

Jonassen, D. (1999). Designing Constructivist Learning Environments. In C.M.

Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models: A new paradigm of
instructional theory (Vol. II) (pp. 215- 239). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Jordan, R. R. (1997). English for Academic Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Merrill, D. (2002). First Principles of Instruction. Educational Technology Research
and Development 50(3) (pp. 43-59).