ADDIE training model: The 5-step training process explained

Creating top-tier educational content is tough, especially if you offer informative courses online. If you’re having trouble designing stellar instructional content for your students, you might benefit from implementing the ADDIE training model into your course creation processes.

Let’s break down the ADDIE model’s 5-step training process in detail.

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What is the ADDIE model of training?

The ADDIE training model is a method through which educators can design and implement instructional content for their students. It’s a five-step process that can be leveraged in traditional academic settings, in online education, and in a variety of other areas.

“ADDIE” is an acronym that stands for: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The training model comes from learning designers Robert Glaser and Robert Gagne in the 1950s, who worked within the US military to train new recruits.

The ADDIE model of training further evolved throughout the 1970s. By this time, it had fully actualized into the ADDIE process many instructors use today. However, modern ADDIE approaches are more iterative compared to being linear – as a result, each step in the ADDIE is done in order, with instructors expecting to go back and forth between steps when needed.

Because the ADDIE process requires you to do each stage in order, it also provides some time for reflection, iteration, and refocusing. As a result, the “evaluation” stage can technically be inserted in between any of the other stages described below.

What are the 5 steps to the ADDIE training model?

Let’s take a closer look at the five steps in the ADDIE model in detail.

Step 1: Analysis

In the first step, instructors should analyze the educational situation before them in terms of content resources, student training and understanding, knowledge gaps that may be present, and so on. In other words, instructors should know the educational challenges in front of them.

To better succeed with the ADDIE process as an instructor, consider asking these questions:

• What’s the point of the training content you are creating?
• Why are you creating content for students?
• Will your training content help them achieve specific goals?

By asking these questions, you’ll better understand the type of educational content you need to make and can tailor your efforts toward those goals more directly.

Step 2: Design

The next step in the ADDIE training process is designing the educational content itself. You should take the information you learned from your analysis phase and apply it through:

• Storyboarding your ideas
• Creating a prototype of educational content
• Making a blueprint of your courses
• And more

Depending on the type of educational content you need to create, this step can look different. For example, if you are trying to create a new online course through the ADDIE training model, you’ll need to generate a rough outline of all the educational content the course will include, including slideshows, digital downloads, video lectures, etc.

Step 3: Development

Then comes the development phase: the stage at which you begin creating your courses or other educational materials. You should be guided by the storyboards or outlines you produced during the design phase at this stage. Put another way, the core heart or informational center of your content should already have been decided.

Now it’s time to add detail, graphics, and other elements. For example, if you are creating an online course designed to be viewed with video lectures and PowerPoint presentations, the development stage will have you:

• Record the video lectures or record lectures that need to be improved
• Add polish and graphics to the PowerPoint presentations
• Decide on unified fonts for all the educational materials for easy reading
• And more

Step 4: Implementation

Implementation is next. During the implementation phase, it’s time to share your educational content with your students or learners through various training delivery methods. Typically, you’ll decide how to share your informational content with your students during the design phase. For instance, if you are creating a new online course, you use a platform like Teachable to distribute your content to your students or subscribers.

If possible, use tools to evaluate your educational content’s reception and consumption by your target learners. That way, you can immediately start gathering data about the success of the educational content, which will be critical for the next step in the ADDIE training process.

Step 5: Evaluation

The last phase in the ADDIE training model is evaluation. You should look at how your educational content has been received by your students and how they are progressing through it. In the evaluation phase, ask yourself:

• What feedback can you take into account and use for the next iteration of your educational content?
• Did you meet the goals that you outlined during the analysis phase? If not, where did you fall short?
• What other training requirements do you need to meet in the next iteration of your educational content?

Note that you can insert the evaluation phase at each of the above steps. For example, you can evaluate your progress after the design phase if you need more time to determine a good outline or prototype for your educational content.

Example of the ADDIE training process

Let’s unify the above steps in a brief example of the ADDIE training process.

Say that you want to make an informative online training program about how to use business resources most effectively. In theory, it will be an excellent educational resource for small business owners and would-be entrepreneurs.

To do this, you analyze your goals and decide to create an online course that will be easily reachable by thousands of potential students. You decide on the platform Teachable to host your online content and get to work designing the initial outlines or plans of your course. This covers both the analysis and design phases.

Next, you develop your online course materials by creating PowerPoint presentations or video lectures on topics such as how to use resource scheduling software, how to analyze current business resource consumption and similar topics. That’s development.

Then you implement the training materials by uploading them to your online classroom. As your students absorb the content, you evaluate the entire process and take the lessons learned so you can create an even better online class the next time you need more courses.

ADDIE model takeaways

As you can see, the ADDIE training model is an excellent resource for educators and instructors of all stripes. Consider using it to enhance your Teachable courses.

FAQs

What are the 5 steps of the ADDIE model?

The five steps of the ADDIE model are:

• Analysis, when you decide what educational materials you want to create and how you will create them
• Design, when you outline and storyboard your educational content
• Development, when you finish creating and expanding your instructional content
• Implementation, when you provide your educational content to your students
• Evaluation, is when you examine your efforts to determine ways in which you can improve later

Why is the ADDIE training model important to teaching and learning?

The ADDIE training model is important to teaching and learning because it enables educators to constantly iterate and improve upon their educational efforts. In this way, they can produce better educational content for their learners, resulting in a better educational experience and learning environment for students in all industries and sectors.