Spiral Model of Instructional Design

1. Spiral Model of
Instructional
Design
By: Alex Bachmann

2. What is it?
This method was “originally
conceived as a software
development process” but has
been redesigned to fit in
educational aspects (Instructional
Design).
Four steps in this process
(Praveen):
1. Determine objectives
2. Identify and resolve risks
3. Development and test
4. Plan the next iteration
(Praveen)

3. Positive Impacts
• Spiral model allows you to “collect feedback more frequently” (Pappas, 2017).
• Students or schools may “present new objectives or outcomes” that may create a need for
reworking content (Pappas, 2017).
• Due to the spiral aspect, “importance issues are discovered earlier” and give teachers the
opportunity to plan for mistakes or misunderstandings (Instructional Design).

4. Example of
using the
Spiral
Model
1. Determine Objectives
Algebra 1 standard from Arizona State Standards
A1.A-SSE.B Write expressions in equivalent forms to solve problems.
Objective: Student will be able to use inverse operations to solve a
one step linear equation

5. Example of
using the
Spiral
Model
2. Identify and resolve risks
Students may forget what inverse operations are
Students may forget to do the same operation on both sides of the
equal sign
Students may misidentify what inverse operation to use
Students may have trouble doing the arithmetic needed

6. Example of
using the
Spiral
Model
3. Development and Test
Create notes and assignment taking into consideration what the
objective/goal is as well as common mistakes that students may
make.

7. Example of
using the
Spiral
Model 4. Plan the next iteration
Reflect on how students did with the assignment

8. Example of
using the
Spiral
Model
Start back at the beginning by confirming the objectives and goals
Add new misconceptions or misunderstandings you gathered
Fix and/or edit the notes and assignment to reflect these differences
Reflect on how it worked this time
Continue with this cycle repeatedly

9. Resources
Instructional Design (n.d.) Spiral model. Instructional Design.
https://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/iterative_design/spiral_model/
Pappas, C. (2017, May 12). 8 tips to apply the spiral model of iterative design in eLearning. eLearning Industry.
https://elearningindustry.com/tips-apply-spiral-model-iterative-design-elearning
Praveen, M. (n.d.). Spiral model - software development models: Traditional models. Coursera. Retrieved October
25, 2022, from https://es.coursera.org/lecture/software-processes/spiral-model-APYXo