The course covers theoretical approaches to media and instructional development; evolution of the instructional technology field; and social and cultural implications of instructional technology. The goal of this course is to understand the cognitive processes underlying learning behavior and the relation of these processes to Instructional Design. These processes are implied in such phrases as behavior management, information processing, cognitive assessment, meaningful learning, schema theory, situated learning, motivation theory, constructivism, social negotiation, and experiential learning theory.

By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate capabilities in the following areas:

• Identify the underlying principles for each of the learning paradigms/theories discussed in this course;
• Describe the general characteristics of each of the learning paradigms/theories and their impact on knowledge acquisition;
• Compare and contrast the three learning paradigms and their ensuing theories from a cognitive perspective;
• Identify descriptive and prescriptive learning theories;
• Describe the relationship between learning theory, instructional theory, and the practice of instructional design;
• Demonstrate instructional theories, models, and strategies that are suited for each of the learning paradigms/theories;
• Identify instructional applications for each of the learning paradigms/theories discussed in this course;
• Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each of the learning paradigms/theories from an instructional perspective;
• Identify practical applications of each of the learning paradigms/theories in the field of Instructional Technology;
• Describe the implementation of each of the learning paradigms/theories from an Instructional Design perspective.
• Develop curriculum materials based on learning theories from an instructional design perspective.