The History of Instructional Design and Technology

William B. Clark

1905First school museum opens in St. Louis, Missouri, signifying the first use of media for instructional purposes.

1908The “visual instruction” or “visual education” movement continues to gain interest. Keystone View Company publishes Visual Education, a teacher’s guide to lantern slides and stereographs.

1910The first catalog of instructional films is published in the United States. The public school system of Rochester, NY becomes the first to adopt films for regular educational use.

1914 -1923

Significant growth in the visual instructional movement:• 5 national professional organizations established• 5 journals on visual instruction begin publication• >20 institutions established for teacher training in visual instruction• Approximately 12 large-city school systems develop visual education bureaus

1923The National Education Association (NEA) establishes the Division of Visual Instruction (DVI).

1924 -1930s

Technological advances in radio broadcasting, sound recordings, and sound motion pictures mark the evolution from “visual instruction” to “audiovisual instruction.”

The Division of Visual Instruction (DVI) merges with two other national professional organizations to form a lasting organization. This is known as “the coalition of 1932.”

The University of Nebraska offers college credit courses by radio.

1923

1932

1939 - 1945

Audiovisual instruction is employed in the United States military and industry. The United States Air Force alone produces over 400 training films and over 600 filmstrips. In 1941, the United States federal government establishes the Division of Visual Aids for War Training.

Training films play an important role in preparing US civilians to work in industry.

1946 Edgar Dale develops the “Cone of Experience” which outlines the hierarchy of instructional strategies and their effects on learner retention.

1947 The Division of Visual Instruction (DVI) changes its name to the Department of Audio-Visual Instruction (DAVI).

In response to the growing interest in television for instruction, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issues its Sixth Report and Order, reserving 242 channels for non-commercial, educational use.

1952

1953DAVI publishes its inaugural issue of Audio-Visual Communication Review

1954 B.F. Skinner publishes his article, “The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching” which revolutionizes the field of education by focusing on “programmed” instruction.

1956 Benjamin Bloom publishes Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, classifying learning objectives by the type of learner behavior.

Instructional television continues to grow throughout the 1950s and IBM researchers begin developing computer-assisted instruction.

The launch of Sputnik prompts the United States to invest millions of dollars into improving math and science education, greatly impacting the instructional design process.

1957

1962 Robert Mager publishes Preparing Objectives for Programmed Instruction, which describes how to write learning objectives that include descriptions of desired learner behavior, the learning conditions, and the criteria by which the behavior is evaluated.

In the early 1960s, the concept of criterion-referenced testing emerges as an important factor in the instructional design process.

Robert Gagne publishes The Conditions of Learning in which he describes his five domains of learning and the nine events of instruction.

1965

1970 DAVI changes its name to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT).

Instructional design processes continue to flourish in the 1970s, and the terms educational technology and instructional technology begin to replace audiovisual instruction.

1980-1983

Computers are increasingly being used for instructional purposes in more than 40% of all elementary schools and in more than 75% of secondary schools in the United States.

During the 1980s, there is growing interest in how cognitive psychology principles can be applied to the instructional design process. This applies to the business, industry, military and international arenas.

1983-1989

There is increasing interest in the use of microcomputers for instructional purposes.

1990-1999

Cognitive learning theories continue to evolve and new movements emerge such as human performance technology.

Constructivist approaches that focus more on the learner and real-world applications begin to emerge.

The New Millennium

As new innovations in technology emerge and instructional design strategies are refined, the future of the field will become more sophisticated and robust.