Linking instructional objectives to the design of instructional environments: The Integrative Training Design Matrix

The purpose of this article is to present a system, referred to as the Integrative Training Design Matrix (ITDM), for streamlining the design of instructional environments in a way that integrates the instructional design elements commonly discussed in the scientific literature. This system expands the use of job-analytic information to better link needs assessment to the design of instructional environments. Specifically, the ITDM shows how determining an instructional objective's standing along four training issues–extensiveness of training, location of training, nature of transfer performance, and learning difficulty–yields a comprehensive plan for designing instructional environments. These plans involve design elements such as trainee-to-trainer ratio, feedback delivery, hands-on practice, modeling, structure of practice, amount of training, meaningfulness, pre- and post-training interventions, and general training methods. The ITDM then shows how organization and person analyses can be targeted to support these design elements.