Second generation instructional design (ID 2 )

Sometime ago the editor of this journal suggested to the first author that there was very little that was new in instructional design. In a recent meeting a colleague suggested that all of the instructional design theory in current use was at least 20 years old and firmly rooted in behavioral psychology. Is current ID theory adequate to the needs of contemporary instructional designers? Does current ID theory provide the guidance necessary to take advantage of the new interactive technologies available to us for instruction? This represents the first in a series of articles exploring instructional design theory, technique and practice. We invite your reactions and input. First Generation Instructional Design (ID1) The most widely applied instructional design theory is based largely on the work of Robert M. Gagné and his associates at Florida State University. This work is often equated with the term Instructional Systems Development (ISD). It assumes a cumulative organization of learning events based on prerequisite relationships among learned behaviors. Gagnés principal assumption is that