The Effect of Teaching based on the Four-Component Instructional Design Model on the Students’ Learning in Physiology

Introduction: Different models of instructional design play an important role in improving student learning and education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of four-component instructional design model on students’ learning in physiology course. Method: The present study was a semi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test and control group. The statistical population of this study was all nursing students of Nursing and Midwifery Faculty of Kermanshah University in the academic year of 2015-2016. Out of the target community, 30 people were selected using convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental group (n=15) and control group (n=15). Initially, both groups were measured in terms of the amount of learning in physiology course using test scores obtained in the course. In this study, the four-component instructional design model for physiology course was implemented on the experimental group in 10 sessions of 45 minutes during a semester. The control group did not receive any intervention. At the end of the training sessions, both groups were evaluated again. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis.  Results: Findings showed that the four-component instructional design model increased the level of students’ learning in physiology course.  Conclusion: This result demonstrates the success of the use of the four-component instructional design model for learning complex subjects and it is suggested that, as a scientific evidence derived from research, this model is applied to teach courses in medical science universities.