Two Theories of Design and Instructional Design.

This paper address three questions: (1) What is the nature of design? (2) How do skilled designers function? and (3) Can a theory of design be constructed which will allow novice and expert instructional designers to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively? It begins by presenting two general theories of design: Simon's conception of design as optimization, i.e., a process of heuristic problem solving; and Schon's conception of design as dialogue, i.e., a process of reflection-in-action or a dialogue with phenomena that can be seen as a kind of social process of negotiation. It is argued that, although the main philosophical basis of modern instructional design--the systems approach--has been closer to Simon's view than Schon's, support for the design-as-dialogue interpretation has been expressed by Banathy, and empirical studies of novice and expert designers have provided examples of both approaches. A review of 21 studies is presented in chart form, including the name(s) of the researcher(s) and the date of the study, the domain, and a summary of the findings/content of the report. A discussion of educational/instructional design reviews additional research, including Tyler's "rational means-ends" model of curriculum planning, Walker's summary of several curriculum development projects, Cain's "creative planning model," and studies of instructional design processes by Kerr and Nelson. It is concluded that prescriptive design methodologies must support real-world methods in order to be effective, and that tools for instructional designers should support their preferred methods. Seven recommendations by Guindon for designers in a computer environment conclude the paper, and an extended bibliography lists 127 items. (BBM)