ID in the Classroom

The systematic instruction of design is far too time-consuming for low-paid teachers to apply to every lesson they plan, but it's principles are used all the time. For example, when planning a lesson, or simply modifying an old one, the teacher may analyze their students rather quickly by thinking about some of their learning styles and decide if some of the material may be over the heads of a few students. This can immediately be applied into design, development, and implementation. Many teachers evaluate their instruction while they are teaching by looking at their students' expressions, or asking questions. Also, teachers can use tests to evaluate their instruction. This brings up a great point: how are we evaluating? If you don't test on what your students to know and understand, you will never know if you are teaching effectively.

Mostly, I'd say that teachers are using ID whenever they take their students' characteristics into account while planning and preparing a lesson, and if they evaluate their instruction, not just the students mastery of the material.

Just to emphasize the point, I repeat the tests need to evaluate the instruction, not just the students. This is a statement more about the teacher's attitude than anything, because he/she will become stagnant and will not effectively deal with the needs of their students if they simply use tests to determine grades. If you notice a marked decrease in scores you should analyze the subject and the learner to determine how you might better teach the material, instead of simply handing out grades.