The instructional organization for integrating diverse expertise

Abstract

Responsibility for instruction should pass from academic content experts to experts in the technology of instruction. This implies substantial changes in organizational structure, especially in higher education. The instructional process is very complex, requiring organizational arrangements permitting growth by the accretion of diverse expertise. Traditional education has assumed that the essence of instruction is in its content. Though important, content can no longer be regarded as the most critical dimension. Concern with accountability forces attention on the process; the technology becomes critical. Diverse expertise could be applied usefully to problems of instruction if arrangements can be changed to allow more such specialists to participate. They are needed for planning facilities, designing practical and experimental learning stations, providing arrangements for monitoring instructional operations, and introducing instructional content relevant to man/machine/environment interfaces.