Week 3: Dick and Carey Model
Overview
The Dick and Carey model is a systems-based approach to instructional design. Unlike some models that treat instruction as a linear process, this one looks at instruction as a set of connected components that all work together to help learners succeed. It’s especially useful for building structured courses where each part supports clear learning goals.
- Identify Instructional Goals: Figure out what you want learners to be able to do by the end of the course or training. This sets the foundation for everything else.
- Conduct Instructional Analysis: Break down the goal into smaller steps or tasks. What exactly does someone need to know or do to reach the goal?
- Analyze Learners and Contexts: Understand who your learners are, what they already know, and the environment in which they’ll be learning. This helps you design something that fits their needs.
- Write Performance Objectives: Turn the tasks from your instructional analysis into specific, measurable learning objectives. These guide the content, activities, and assessments.
- Develop Assessment Instruments: Create tools to measure whether learners are meeting the objectives—like quizzes, performance tasks, or checklists.
- Develop Instructional Strategy: Decide how you’ll teach the material—what methods, media, and delivery style you’ll use to keep learners engaged and support their success.
- Develop and Select Instructional Materials: Build or gather the actual materials you’ll use, like slides, videos, readings, or handouts.
- Design and Conduct Formative Evaluation: Test your materials with a small group of learners to get feedback and make improvements before rolling it out to everyone.
- Revise Instruction: Use the feedback to refine your course and fix anything that didn’t work well.
- Conduct Summative Evaluation: After full implementation, assess the overall effectiveness of the instruction. This helps determine if the course met its goals and how it could improve long term.
Diving into the Dick and Carey Model
Strengths, Limitations, & the Implications of the Dick and Carey Model for ID
The Dick and Carey model is great for helping instructional designers stay focused and intentional throughout the course design process. One of its biggest strengths is that it breaks everything down into manageable parts, so you’re not just thinking about content, but also how it connects to learning goals, how you’ll assess it, and how it fits the needs of your learners. It encourages you to think through each step instead of jumping straight into building slides or activities.
One limitation is that the model can feel a bit rigid at times, especially in fast-paced environments. However, there is room for creativity, particularly in the revision and evaluation stages, where you can experiment with different formats, adjust content based on feedback, or even try out multiple learner pathways. In that way, the structure of the model actually helps support thoughtful flexibility. It’s a solid framework for making sure your instruction is aligned, practical, and responsive to learners, especially when you’re building a course from the ground up.
The Dick and Carey Model in my Minicourse
The Dick and Carey model is a strong fit for my minicourse Streamlining Move-In and Move-Out Inspections because it encourages a thorough and thoughtful design process. It helped me break down my broader goal of helping property managers build a consistent and effective inspection system into clear, actionable objectives like documenting with photos, using standardized checklists, and organizing records efficiently. That structure ensures every piece of content serves a purpose and supports the intended outcomes.
Since I’m not working under a tight deadline, I can fully take advantage of the model’s emphasis on formative evaluation and revision. For example, I plan to test parts of the course with a few property managers and use their feedback to make improvements before launching it more widely. Overall, the model supports a well-rounded, user-focused design process that aligns perfectly with the goals of my minicourse.