The ASSURE Model

THE ASSURE MODEL

All effective instruction requires careful planning. Teaching with instructional media and technology is certainly no exception. This chapter examines how to plan systematically for the effective use of instructional media and technology, We have constructed a proce dural model to which we have given the acronym ASSURE it is intended to anure effective instruction. You can think of the teaching-learning process as progressing through several stages. Gagné (1985) refers to these stages as "events of instruction." Gagné's re search revealed that well-designed lessons begin with the arousal of students' interest and then move on to present new material, involve students in practice with feedback, assess their understanding, and go on to follow up activities. The ASSURE model incorporates these events of instruction.

The ASSURE model-a procedural guide for planning and conducting instruction that incorporates media and technology assumes that training or instruction is required. A full-blown process of instructional development would begin with a needs assessment to determine whether instruction is the appropriate solution to a performance problem.

ANALYZE LEARNERS

If instructional media and technology are to be used ef fectively, there must be a match between the character istics of the learner and the content of the methods, media, and materials. The first step in the ASSURE model, therefore, is analysis of your audience.

It is not feasible to analyze every trait of your learn ers. Several factors, however, are critical for making good methods and media decisions:

• General characteristics 
• Specific entry competencies
• Learning styles

General characteristics include broad identifying descriptors such as age, grade level, job or position, and cultural or socioeconomic factors. Specific entry competencies refer to knowledge and skills that learn ers either possess or lack: prerequisite skills, target skills, and attitudes. The third factor, learning style, refers to the spectrum of psychological traits that affect how we perceive and respond to different stimuli, such as anxiety, aptitude, visual or auditory preference, motivation, and so on.

STATE OBJECTIVES

The second step in the ASSURE model is to state the ob jectives of instruction. What learning outcome is each learner expected to achieve? More precisely, what new ca pability should learners possess at the completion of instruction? An objective is a statement not of what the instructor plans to put into the lesson but of what/learn ers ought to get out of the lesson. An objective is a state ment of what will be achieved, not how it will be achieved. Your statement of objectives should be as specific as possible. For example, "My students will improve their mathematical skills" is far too general to qualify as a spe cific lesson objective. It does, however, qualify as a goal a broad statement of purpose. Such a goal might serve as the umbrella for a number of specific objectives, such as, "The second-grade students will be able to solve accu rately seven out of eight single-digit addition problems."

SELECT METHODS, MEDIA, AND MATERIALS

A systematic plan for using media and technology cer tainly demands that the methods, media, and materials be selected systematically in the first place. The selection process has three steps: (1) deciding on the appropriate method for the given learning tasks, (2) choosing a media format that is suitable for carrying out the method, and (3) selecting, modifying, or designing specific ma terials within that media format.

Throughout the selection process, the school library media specialist and/or technology coordinator can be a helpful partner in considering possible methods and media and in sorting through the particular materials available.

UTILIZE MEDIA AND MATERIALS

The next step in the ASSURE model is the use of media and materials by the students and teacher. The recommended utilization procedures are based on extensive research. The general principles have remained remarkably constant. The main difference has to do with who is using the materials. The increased availability of media and the philosophical shift from teacher-centered to student-centered learning in creases the likelihood that students will be using the materi als themselves as individuals or in small groups-rather than watching as the teacher presents them to a whole class.

REQUIRE LEARNER PARTICIPATION

Educators have long realized that active participation in the learning process enhances learning. In the early. 1900s John Dewey urged reorganization of the curriculum and instruction to make student participation central. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, experiments employing behaviorist approaches demonstrated that instruction providing for constant reinforcement of desired behaviors is more effective than instruction in which responses are not reinforced.

More recently, cognitive theories of learning, which focus on internal mental processes, have also supported the principle that effective learning demands active manipulation of information by learners. Gagné has concluded that there are several necessary conditions for effective learning of each type of objective; the one condition that pertains to all objectives is practice of the desired skill.

EVALUATE AND REVISE

The final component of the ASSURE model for effec tive learning is evaluation and revision. Often the most frequently misused aspect of lesson design, evaluation and revision is an essential component to the develop ment of quality instruction. There are many purposes for evaluation. Often the only form seen in education is the paper-and-pencil test, claimed to be used for assess ment of student achievement. We will discuss two purposes here: assessing learner achievement and evaluating methods and media.

Although ultimate evaluation must await completion of the instructional unit, evaluation is ongoing. Evalua tions are made before, during, and after instruction; for example, before instruction, you would measure learner characteristics to ensure that there is a fit between exist ing student skills and the methods and materials you in tend to use. In addition, materials should be appraised prior to use. During instruction, evaluation may take the form of student practice with feedback, or it may consist of a short quiz or self-evaluation. Evaluation during instruction usually has a diagnostic purpose; that is, it is designed to detect and correct learning/teaching problems and difficulties with the instruction that may interfere with student achievement.