Overview of the ASSURE MODEL

The ASSURE model is an instructional system or guideline that teachers can use
to develop lesson plans which integrate the use of technology and media
(Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2008). The ASSURE Model places the focus on the
learner and the overall outcome of accomplishing learning objectives. The
ASSURE model is an enriched evolution of the ADDIE general model. Although
the ASSURE model has six steps, which do not exactly correspond to ADDIE’s
five, ASSURE also presents design phases, and shares with it the two main
features: the initial focus on analysis and the cyclic structure.

The peculiar feature of this model is that it is focused on “planning and

conducting Instruction that incorporates media” (Heinich, Molenda & Russel,
1993). Its main perspective is on how to integrate media (any kind of media) into
instruction in a method capable of producing the desired learning outcomes.
Developed by Robert Heinich and Michael Molenda decades ago, the ASSURE
model gained popularity because of its use in a popular textbook for educators.

It is a well-known instructional design guide that uses the constructivist

perspective, which integrates multimedia and technology to enhance the
learning environment (Lefebvre 2006). The ASSURE model was modified to be
used by teachers in the classroom by Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2008.

Teachers prefer the ASSURE model because it is designed to be used for a few
hours of instruction and for each individual student. This model does not require
high complexity of delivered media, deep ID knowledge, or high revision of
designs (Gustafson & Branch, 2002). The main difference between an
inexperienced teacher and an expert teacher is that an expert teacher can easily
decide on content, appropriate teaching strategies, and delivery medium. The
ASSURE model gives new (inexperienced) teachers a general roadmap to follow
to help them think more like expert teachers.

The ASSURE Model has six steps, each represented by a letter in the acronym
title, with each step describing a set of task central to the informed selection and
use of educational technology. The ASSURE acronym stands for these important
components:

Analyze Learners;
State Objectives;
Select Methods, Media and Materials;
Utilize Methods, Media and Materials;
Require Learner Participation; and
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).
As part of analyzing your leaners you must identify your audience. Your audience
can be students, teachers, group members, an organization, a youth group,
among many others. You must know the audience if you are to select the best
medium to meet the objectives you have set. The audience can be analyzed in
terms of their general characteristics (grade level, age, sex, mental, emotional,
physical or social problems, socio-economic status etc.) with specific entry
competencies (prior knowledge, skills, and attitudes about the topic), and
learning styles (visual, musical, verbal, logical, etc.).

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.
Most objectives contain four parts:

 Audience-who your learners are? ;

 Behavior to be demonstrated ;
 Conditions under which the behavior will be observed; and
 Degree to which the learned skills are to be mastered.
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.

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.

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.

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.

Key People
This model was created in 1999 by Heinrich and Molenda and is closely based on
Robert’s Gagne’s Events of Instruction. Ultimately, Heinrich and Molenda based
their model on Robert Gagne’s events of instruction. Robert Heinich and Michael
Molenda of Indiana University and James D. Russell of Purdue University found
that media and technologies is an effective systematic planning in teaching.
Accordingly, they developed the ASSURE model. Gagnes was an American
educational psychologist best known for his “Conditions of
Learning.” Additionally, the ASSURE model was modified to be used by teachers
in the classroom by Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2008. To become skilled
instructors in today’s classroom is crucial to know when to use the instructional
strategies and interactive multimedia.
Differentiation: Contrast this model with other models.

The following is a comparison of the ADDIE and ASSURE models of instructional

design.Essentially the ASSURE model is a media-oriented evolution of the ADDIE
models. The ADDIE model and the ASSURE model each offer a step-by-step
approach for teachers (or instructional designers) to follow. Each has their own
unique phrases for the steps but the overarching principles are similar. The
ADDIE Model has five steps: Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate.
The ASSURE Model has five steps: Analyze Learners, State Objectives, Select
Media and Materials, Utilize Media and Materials, Require Learner Participation,
Evaluate and Revise. The ASSURE model utilizes specificity to the learner
throughout several of its steps, as opposed to ADDIE, which creates a model
beneficial to the development for the instruction of students and their unique
characteristics.

The structure of both the ASSURE model and the ADDIE model are similar, with
each having a focus on the choice and emphasis on the materials used and the
tools selected for communicating throughout the learning experience. Each
model also shares similarities on the perspective of the design process, both
focusing on the design process itself and not the end result.

Both ADDIE and ASSURE examine the learner or the participants for which the
learning actives are designed. Each model accomplishes this concentration on
the learner by first analyzing the level of ability for accomplishing goals and the
learning objectives. The Analysis step of ASSURE focuses on the learner, rather
than the ADDIE analysis which focuses on the scope of the instruction. The
ADDIE and ASSURE models both utilize the information gained by the analysis of
their leaner as part of their development process. Once the instructional
designer has a sufficient understanding of the learner they each precede to the
next step and base their instruction off of the information gained at the analysis
stage. Ultimately the ADDIE and ASSURE models focus is to design the
instruction to achieve certain objectives.
While there is an abundance of similarity between ADDIE and ASSURE models, as
ASSURE evolved from ADDIE it also developed a number of differences. At the
selection step, where the audience (those learners and participants who are
chosen) the ASSURE model focuses on the integration of technology.
Furthermore, at the selection and utilization stage of the ASSURE model it again
emphasizes the use of technology. At these stages the ADDIE model focuses on
modes of presentation, or how the material will be presented, without a focus on
the use of technology. ADDIE is based on the development of the instructional
materials, while ASSURE allows for the fact that often-useful materials already
exists that can be used as is, or slightly modified to accommodate the
instruction.

Additionally, distinct from the ASSURE model, the ADDIE model does not include
a specific role for the student. It only begins to focus on the learner (aside from
their own characteristics during the analysis) at the implementation of the
instruction stage. The ASSURE model has a specific step to insure the
participation of the learner, the Require Learner Participation step. The ADDIE
model may technically result in the learner’s participation, but it does not include
a step where that is a focus of the instructional design model.

Another significant difference is at the evaluation stage. Both the ADDIE and
ASSURE models include an Evaluation step, but it is accomplished in a different
manner. The ASSURE model completes the evaluation at the end, once the
instruction has already been implemented and seeks to learn from the difficulties
that may have been encountered during the lesson. While the ADDIE model has
a formative assessment to be conducted throughout the steps it requires.
Another well-known instruction design model is the MRK (Morris, Ross, and
Kemp) . The Morris Ross and Kemp model “emphasizes the adoption of
continuous implementation and evaluation through the instructional design
process” (Hanley, 2009). According to Morrison, Ross and Kemp (2004), there are
nine key elements to instructional design. As compared to the ADDIE and
ASSURE model, the MRK model is focused on designing and planning an entire
curriculum. As Ross found, the MRK model is “not a linear or predefined process,
but rather, is dynamic and variable due to unique features of design task and
context” (Grant, 2013). Ross concludes that this dynamic nature of the MRK
allows the instructional design to be more flexible than the ADDIE and ASSURE
models. The MRK model “continues to be modified over time” (Gustafson &
Branch, 2002).
 The ASSURE model supports the field of educational technology. It is based on
the principal that no one student acquires information in the same way. While
the ASSURE model is used to systematically design instruction, it steps away
from the traditional means of instruction, (textbooks, lectures, etc) to the use of
technology to deliver the instruction. (Academy of Teaching Excellence,2002). In
conclusion, the ASSURE model has six components each necessary for the
successful implementation of the instruction, including: 1) Analyze learners, 2)
State Objectives, 3) Select Methods, Media, and Materials, 4) Utilize Media and
Materials, 5) Require learner Participation, and 6) Evaluate and Revise.

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