Design and Domain Theory

In class today we discussed the relationship of design and domain theory. We were examining Dr. Gibbons' theory of design layers. We simultaneously discussed how Reigeluth makes a distinction between design and domain theories. A design theory is about how something should be designed and a domain theory is about what is being designed, its organization, etc. Between these two concepts we determined the following:

* For each domain, there exist several theories of design that might be profitably applied to generate instruction

* For each design theory, there are several domains that might be profitably used to generate instruction

The constant seems to be that each configuration of instruction draws on both design and domain theory.

For Dr. Gibbons' layer theory, there are individual domain theories that correspond to each layer. One of the design decision to be made is which domain theory to accept when structuring that particular layer of instruction.

We also determined that the most influential design decisions to be made in Gibbons' layer theory relate to strategy and content. Once those two layers are established, most of the composition of the other layers will also be constrained. It was interesting to me that these two layers correspond to the "What" and the "How" of the instruction. This is important because this corresponds to Gospel teaching (see "Teaching the Gospel Handbook"). It also corresponds to the content vs. context debate that has raged on in the field of education psychology.

Dr. Gibbons also made the distinction that the 3-Person Theory is really a domain theory of Instructional Strategy. In other words, it is a theory that provides teachers with a strategy for teaching. I also believe that the 3-Person Theory applies to the domain of learning strategy. In other words, it provides learners with a strategy for learning. This is an extremely important distinction as I believe that learning strategy is an impoverished domain as far as research int he field is concerned. But that is just my opinion...