Instructional Design and Curriculum Development
What the exam tests
This domain tests systematic curriculum work: task analysis, performance-based objectives, sequencing, method selection, lesson-plan detail, pilot testing, and revision. Instructor II is expected to develop or adapt curriculum, not merely deliver it.
Core rules
- Start with a task analysis that names the job, conditions, and performance standard.
- Write objectives with a condition, observable behavior, and criterion; avoid verbs like understand or know.
- Sequence from simple to complex and from knowledge to application; state prerequisites.
- Match methods to objectives: demonstration and practice for psychomotor skills, case study for decision-making, lecture only for efficient knowledge transfer.
- Include lesson-plan elements: time, content, instructor notes, references, materials, activities, and evaluation.
- Pilot the design and revise based on student performance and instructor feedback.
Worked example
Design a 4-hour MAYDAY/self-survival class. Terminal objective: given full PPE and a simulated obscured environment, the firefighter will transmit a MAYDAY with location, unit, and problem, and activate the PASS device, within 30 seconds. Enabling objectives cover radio terminology, SCBA emergency procedures, and light search. Sequence: short case study, demonstration, controlled practice, scenario. Evaluation is a scored practical checklist. Reasoning: the terminal objective is observable and timed; methods force practice; evaluation matches the stated condition and standard.
Traps
Listing topics instead of objectives; assessing recall when the objective is psychomotor; overloading slides; omitting references; and never revising after delivery.