A suggested adaptation of instructional systems development (ISD) interservice procedures for lesson plan preparation at the Defense Information School (DINFOS)

• Main Author: Posner, Calvin S.
• Other Authors: Nesper, Paul W.
• Format: Others
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Curriculum planning.; Military education > Curricula.; Defense Information School > Curricula.
• Online Access: http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/handle/179733; http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/434399

The handwriting was on the wall when I arrived at the Defense Information School in December, 1977. I had been brought in after receiving a masters in management to redesign the public affairs supervisors course and the public affairs officer course stressing management rather than a skill orientation. During that process, which lasted two years, I became increasingly involved with the problem addressed in this creative project. The problem plagued Army schools throughout the Training and Doctrine Command.Under the ISD program, initially adopted in 1975, Army educators were forced to ask themselves three questions: What should be the role of the instructor in improving instruction; is there a better way to plan for effective instruction; and can education really be improved, within the limitations of available funds, personnel, and facilities?Working now as the organizational effectiveness consultant at DINFOS, I turned those questions around into positive statements which goal-directed educational administrators could deal with. Essentially I proposed that successful innovation in education requires at least three elements:(1) instructors who are deeply concerned about their teaching effectiveness and who are motivated by a desire for improvement, (2) administrators who willingly encourage and support those instructors, and (3) a carefully designed plan for developing improved instructional practices. Of these three elements, the greatest shortcoming at DINFOS was found in the third.Student evaluations and the North Central accrediting team underscored our instructors' concern. The school administration has demonstrated its willingness to innovate. TRADOC had provided the umbrella plan-ISD. The problem was instructor interface with the ISD process through our Directorate of Training Developments which is tasked to bring ISD to fruition at DIINIFOS.Many suggestions were tried. For example, this seemed to be a textbook case for Management by Objectives (MBO). It did not work because instructor time is at a premium. Finally, my recommendation was adopted and seems headed for success. This remedy is essentially two-fold. It makes, as a matter of policy, ISD the operant mode for all instruction and is outlined in the Operations Manual as such. Secondly, all newly-assigned instructors and other instructors without benefit of this training, must attend a class in ISD where they must demonstrate knowledge of the process and, in fact, write behavioral objectives before being certified to instruct at the school.