Components of instruction toward a theoretical tool for instructional design

This article defines primary knowledge components for entities, actions, an d processes. It also defines primary instructional strategy components. It proposes that a different combination of strategy and knowledge components is required for different kinds of instructional goals. It further proposes that if these fundamental strategy-knowledge component combinations are no t present that there will be a decrement in the student's effective and eff icient acquisition of the desired knowledge and skill. It further proposes that the underlying architecture of an instructional strategy is a combinat ion of primary strategy components and primary knowledge components appropr iate for, and consistent with, a given instructional goal. Instructional co mponents are a theoretical tool. They are not a method or development proce dure. These instructional strategy and knowledge components can be imbedded in a wide variety of different instructional architectures based on a vari ety of different philosophical orientations. It is hoped that one of the pr imary benefits of instructional components is to provide a common vocabular y that will enable designers, theorists, and instructional developers to mo re clearly describe their products and procedures.