Professional Education · The School Curriculum
Instructional Design Models — Part 1 of 2
The ADDIE Model
Instructional design (ID) is the systematic process of designing, developing, and delivering instructional materials and experiences to ensure effective and efficient learning. Unlike curriculum design (which addresses the what and why of content), instructional design focuses on how instruction is planned and delivered to achieve specific learning outcomes.
The ADDIE Model
The ADDIE Model is the most widely used instructional design framework. It is an acronym representing five interconnected phases. Unlike a purely linear process, ADDIE is iterative — evaluation at any stage can loop back to earlier phases for revision (Branch, 2009).
| Phase | Name | What Happens |
| A | Analysis | Identify the learning problem, the learners’ needs and prior knowledge, learning goals, and available resources. The foundation of the entire design process. Key question: What is the gap between current and desired performance? |
| D | Design | Specify learning objectives, select instructional strategies, sequence content, and determine assessment methods. Produces a detailed blueprint for the instructional product. Key question: What should learners be able to do, and how will we teach and assess it? |
| D | Development | Create and assemble the actual instructional materials — modules, presentations, activities, assessments, and media. The blueprint from Design is turned into a real product. Key question: Does the material work as designed? |
| I | Implementation | Deliver the instruction to learners. This includes training facilitators, preparing the learning environment, and distributing materials. Key question: Is the instruction being delivered as planned? |
| E | Evaluation | Assess whether the instructional objectives were achieved. Includes formative evaluation (ongoing, during development) and summative evaluation (after delivery). Results loop back to improve earlier phases. Key question: Did learners achieve the intended outcomes? |
Exam Tip: The LET tests ADDIE mainly through scenario items where a teacher or curriculum developer is described performing one of the five activities. Watch for: needs assessment / gap analysis = Analysis; writing objectives and choosing strategies = Design; creating materials = Development; delivering instruction = Implementation; checking if objectives were met = Evaluation.
Sample LET Item — No. 1
Before developing a new module on reading comprehension, Teacher Carla conducted interviews with students and reviewed their pre-test scores to determine their current reading level and identify specific comprehension gaps. Which phase of the ADDIE model is Teacher Carla in?
A. Design
B. Development
C. Analysis
D. Evaluation
Answer: C
Interviewing students and reviewing pre-test scores to identify a learning gap before any materials are developed is the core activity of the Analysis phase. The keyword “before developing” in the stem is a signal that no content or materials have been created yet. Choice A (Design) would involve writing objectives and selecting strategies, not gathering needs data. Choice B (Development) is about creating the actual materials. Choice D (Evaluation) assesses outcomes after instruction has been delivered.
Sample LET Item — No. 2
After completing her module on reading comprehension, Teacher Carla administered a post-test and surveyed students on the module’s usefulness. She used the results to revise certain activities before running the module again next quarter. Which phase of ADDIE does this describe?
A. Analysis
B. Implementation
C. Design
D. Evaluation
Answer: D
Post-test administration and surveying after the module was delivered, then using results to revise, is Evaluation — specifically the formative cycle that feeds back into the design. The phrase “after completing” confirms the module was already delivered. Choice A (Analysis) is ruled out because the gap-finding happened before development. Choice B (Implementation) is the delivery itself — but the delivery is already done in this stem. The revision activity after delivery is Evaluation, not a return to Analysis, because the assessment is specifically measuring whether the instructional objectives were achieved.
Coming Up in Part 2
Part 2 covers two more instructional design models: Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction and Understanding by Design (UbD) or Backward Design.
References
Branch, R. M. (2009). Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. Springer.