In our view, developing effective training is dependent on writing good objectives. And a good objective has all of the characteristics of a reusable, independent learning object. This means that beyond the common standard for a three part, measurable objective, it represents a predictable scope of content, and conveys that content very succinctly and completely so that a variety of qualified authors would develop the content the same way. And the results would be instructionally sound.
This is where our instructional design strategies and templates come in.
In VISION, each objective can be classified as representing one of the following types of content:
Each classification * is associated with (taught by) five “instructional components,” also referred to as “events of instruction.”
Assigning the correct classification when forming an objective causes it to be written at a scope that will always be the “right size”, and contain the events of instruction needed to ensure the trainee has all of the necessary components to learn. It also means it will be independent, and can be used in different contexts. And every one of them represents interactive instruction.
VISION contains a list of classifications, one of which is assigned by the user to each objective (although they are of course optional). VISION also contains a template for each classification, and detailed instructions for the author on how to develop the material for each component. This ensure consistency across authors, and efficiency in the development process.
* We credit these classifications and templates to the “Component Display Methodology” by M.D. Merrill.