ASSURE MODEL

A procedural guide for planning and conducting instruction that incorporate media and technology

If you are going to use media and technology, you must plan systematically for their use the assure model is a guide to them.

1.       Analyze Learners

2.       Select Methds, Media, Materials

3.       Require learner paericipation

4.       State Objectives

5.       Utilize Media and Materials

6.       Evaluate and revise

Analyze Learners: General Characteristics

The first step in the ASSURE model is to Analyze Learners. To Analyze the Learners you must examine the learner in detail. Like most things, without taking the time in the beginning to examine the learner, nothing you have prepared will be effective. Once you have an understanding and reasonable grasp for the learners’ competence at the beginning of the instruction, the teacher can modify to assist the learner in their learning endeavors (Callison 2002).

Select Methods, Media, & Materials  

Once you know your audience and have a clear idea of what they should get out of the lesson, then it is time to select the appropriate method for the given learning task, select available materials, modify existing materials, or design new materials to help accomplish this task. (Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell, 2012). At this step, the Instructor should connect the audience to the objectives. To connect the two the teacher must determine what method to use.

Require Learner Participation                          

The Require Learner Participation step requires you to describe how you are going to get each learner actively and individually involved in the lesson. Students learn best when they are actively involved in the learning experience. Whatever your teaching strategy, be sure to incorporate questions and answers, discussions, group work, hands-on activities, and other ways of getting students actively involved in the learning of the content.  You should seek to pay close attention to your learners and feel confident that they are truly grasping the content and not just listening. Participating in the learning will facilitate this level of understanding. Allow them to construct knowledge as opposed to trying to “teach” them knowledge. Finally for this step, feedback must be provided to the learner before any type of evaluation is conducted.

State Objectives

The stated objectives are statements describing what the learner will do as a result of instruction. In other words, objectives are the learning outcomes, that is, what will the student will learn from the lesson? In order to develop proper objectives you must frame them in terms of desired behavior.   What the learner will be able to accomplish after completing the instruction. The objectives you use should be as specific as possible so the learner understands what they are to accomplish. If objectives are clearly and specifically stated, both the learning and teaching will become objective oriented.

Utilize Methods, Media, & Materials                

The Utilize Methods, Media & Materials step is where you develop your plan for implementing your media and materials. For each type of media or materials, the teacher selects and describe in how they are going to implement the media (or material) into your lesson to help your learners meet the lesson’s objective. The media, materials and technology selected should be focused on carrying out the selected method. If you decide to use electronic equipment, be sure to use it before, even practice if you have to, to insure the equipment is functioning properly. In that same regard, it is also important to practice the lesson itself before introducing it to the learner. Next, prepare the room, the necessary equipment and facilities. It may be obvious, but both the learner and teacher should be prepared for the learning experience.

Evaluate Student Performance:                          

The last step of the ASSURE method is Evaluate Student Performance. Here the evaluation should be matched to the objective. Ultimately this last stage is the most important. You must evaluate the instruction process from start to finish using the objectives you created in the beginning. It is helpful to reflect on your objections, the instructional strategy, the instructional materials, and the assessment. By evaluating the learners against the objectives it can be determined if the lesson was effective and whether any step needs to be modify or re-examined.