Chapter Report Unit 3 :: The ASSURE Model

 

The ASSURE Model

    The ASSURE model-a procedural guide for planning and conducting instruction that incorporates media and technology-assumes that training or instruction is required. The ASSURE model focuses on planning surrounding the actual classroom use of media and technology. It is less ambitious than models of instructional development, which are intended to guide the entire process of designing instructional systems. Such models include the procedures of the ASSURE model and the processes of needs analysis, subject matter analysis, product design, prototype tryout, system implementation, and the like. 

Analyze Learners

    If instructional media and technology are to be used effectively, there must be a match between the characteristics of the learner and the content of the methods, media, and materials. The first step in the ASSURE model, therefore, is an analysis of your audience. It is not feasible to analyze every trait of your learners. Several factors, however, are critical for making good methods and media decisions

• General characteristics

• Specific entry competencies

• Learning styles

State Objectives

    The second step in the ASSURE model is to state the objectives of instruction. What learning outcome is each learner expected to achieve? More precisely, what new capability 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/Mean- ers ought to get out of the lesson. An objective is a statement of what will be achieved, not how it will be achieved. Your statement of objectives should be as specific as possible.

Select Methods, Media, and Materials

    A systematic plan for using media and technology certainly demands that the methods, media, and materials be selected systematically in the first place. The selection process has three steps:

• Deciding on the appropriate method for the given learning tasks 

• Choosing a media format that is suitable for carrying out the method

• Selecting, modifying, or designing specific materials within that media format.

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-centred to student-centred learning in-creases the likelihood that students will be using the materials themselves-as individuals or in small groups-rather than watching as the teacher presents them to a whole class. The following "5 Ps" apply to either teacher-based or student-centred instruction:

1. Preview the materials
2. Prepare the materials
3. Prepare the environment
4. Prepare the learners
5. Provide the learning experience

Require Learner Participation

    Some media formats lend themselves to participation more than others, at least on the surface. For example, student response to projected still pictures is easier to manage than response to a video. Learners can participate in and respond to the showing of a video. Overt written responses during the showing of a video have been shown to facilitate learning, unless the responses are so involved that students are prevented from watching the video. Immediate confirmation of a correct response is particularly important when working with students, evidence of immediate success can be a strong motivating force for further learning. 

Evaluate and Revise

    The final component of the ASSURE model for effective learning is evaluation and revision. Often the most frequently misused aspect of lesson design, evaluation and revision is an essential component to the development 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 assessment of student achievement. We will discuss two purposes here: assessing learner achievement and evaluating methods and media. 

    Evaluation is not the end of instruction. It is the starting point of the next and continuing cycle in our systematic ASSURE model for effective use of instructional media. The final step of the instructional cycle is to sit back and look at the results of your evaluation data gathering. Make notes immediately following completion of the lesson, and refer to them before you implement the lesson again. if your evaluation data indicate shortcomings in any of these areas, now is the time to go back to the faulty part of the plan and revise it. The model works, but only if you constantly use it to upgrade the quality of your instruction.