The Instructional Design Portfolio

An Example Implementation of
Schank’s Goal-Based Scenarios
By Chung-Yuan Hsu and David Richard Moore

Abstract cally while the number of thorough examples

of those theories often does not appear to in-
The Goal-based Scenario method is a design
crease at all. One of the challenges to under-
model for applying simulations to instruction.
standing and implementing instructional de-
This portfolio item describes an implementa-
sign theory is the lack of instances and exam-
tion of Goal-based Scenarios for the teaching
ples available to a designer. It often becomes
of statistics. The application demonstrates how
evident that some theories become unwork-
simulations can be contextualized and how they
able in practice.
can allow learners to engage in legitimate inqui-
This portfolio item is an attempt to ad-
ry in the pursuit of their instructional goals.
dress that issue. This article demonstrates an
attempt to apply the theory of Goal-based Sce-
“In theory there is no difference between theory
nario Instruction, promoted by Roger Schank
and practice. But, in practice, there is.”
and Associates (Schank, R. C., Berman, T. R.,
—Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut
& Macpherson, K. A. (1999). Goal-based Sce-
narios (GBS) is a learn-by-doing simulation
It is not uncommon for a novice instruc-
approach that encourages learners to pursue
tional designer to have a “rude awakening”
goals using assistance and guidance provided
when they begin their employment. Too often
by the interactive system. A GBS may be im-
the theories and models they have learned are,
plemented as a teacher led activity or, as in this
in practice, modified and contorted beyond
case, as a computer simulation. It is a response
recognition. Many instructional projects suf-
to perceived limitations in traditional instruc-
fer from either having no relation to theory or
tion, particularly, instruction that is fact cen-
holding a misconception of how a particular
tric, de-contextualized and unconcerned with
theory should be implemented. What is need-
intrinsic motivation. A GBS rests on the foun-
ed, and what is rarely available, is a concrete
dation that learning is a process that entails
example demonstrating the implementation of
identifying goals, producing questions and
instructional theory.
addressing those questions. All of these ele-
There are many reasons for these failures
ments are pursued as part of simulation that is
including limited resources and the less for-
made to resemble an actual situation.
givable, lack of knowledge or ignorance of
the process. Ignorance may be attributable to
the designer, but much of it is attributable to
Essential Features
the field. The number of instructional theo- According to Schank, Berman, and Macpherson
ries available seems to expand logarithmi- (1999), GBS should consist of the following features:

58 TechTrends • January/February 2010 Volume 54, Number 1

The Learning Goals
Learning goals are specific descriptions of
what it is that learners should learn. Schank,
Berman and Macpherson (1999), split learning
goals into two categories, content knowledge and
how to practice, sharpen and maintain content
knowledge. The other segments of GBS are uni-
fied by the learning goals of the application.
The Mission
The mission is the problem that learners are
expected to solve. The mission should be mo-
tivating. It should be an engaging task that en-
courages the learner to fully participate in the ap-
plication. Further, the mission must require the
use and application of the knowledge and skills
described in the learning goals.
The Cover Story
The cover story is the rationale behind why
the learners are asked to solve the problem in
the mission statement. The cover story elabo-
rates and provides a context for the mission.
The Role
The role is the character or position that
the learner will take on. The role matches
the cover story and gives the learner a spe-
cific set of expectations of how, when and why
they are to demonstrate their knowledge and
skills. The role provides further motivation for
the learner to be engaged in the application.
The Scenario Operations
The scenario operations describe what the
learner actually does in pursuit of the GBS mis-
sion. An example scenario operation would
be when the learner reads a text description of
a skill required to meet the mission. Likewise,
when a learner asks for the support of an online
expert they are engaging in a scenario operation.
These operations are often accompanied by a
learner decision. These decisions allow the learn-
er to demonstrate what they have been learning.
These decisions are then evaluated and feedback
is provided. Feedback moves the learner closer
to accomplishing the mission or moves them to-
ward further exploration and remediation.
Resources
Resources are sets of information that could be
of assistance to the learner. Each learner has his or
her own unique, idiosyncratic set of prior knowl-
edge and experiences and, consequently, will re-
quire different types of resources at different times.
A GBS will provide a set of resources from which
the learner can select. Perhaps the most impor-
tant resources are stories that contextualize past
experience. Stories are easily understandable and
are retained in memory better than isolated facts.
Volume 54, Number 1 TechTrends • January/February 2010
Feedback
Finally, the learner must receive adequate
feedback to determine if they have accom-
plished the mission and if they have achieved
the learning goals. Feedback is most often de-
livered as a consequence of a learner’s deci-
sions. Feedback can be elaborated through a
coach or through an expert’s story.
Example Instance
To implement the GBS system we designed
a simulation for teaching the Central Limit
Theorem called Statistics Specialist. It is a CD-
based program developed using Virtools Dev
4.1 for Windows. Statistics
Specialist was designed
specifically to meet the re- “Many instructional
quirements of a GBS and
has been modified as the
projects suffer from
result of a series of user either having no
tests and as such is ideal
for testing out an instruc- relation to theory
tional theory like GBS
that seeks to overcome or holding a
challenges presented by
traditional instructional
misconception of how
strategies. The GBS is de- a particular theory
signed as follows.
The Statistics Specialist
should be implemented.”
Learning Goals
The Statistics Specialist application pro-
vides a forum for learners to encounter the
Central Limit Theorem (CLT). The CLT sta-
tistical theorem explains why many distribu-
tions tend to be close to normal. The CLT is an
abstract concept that many students have dif-
ficulty mastering (Aguinis & Branstetter, 2008;
delMas, Garfield, & Chance, 1999).
The Statistics Specialist Mission
The Statistics Specialist is based upon the
details of managing a shrimp farm. The shrimp
farm was chosen because it presents many sta-
tistical challenges appropriate for the learning
goals. The example farm is using a nutrient
supplement to speed up shrimp growth. To
evaluate the efficacy of the supplement a meth-
od of weighing the shrimp must be devised.
The Statistics Specialist Cover Story
The application explains that weighing each
shrimp in the pond is impractical (the pond
holds over 100,000 shrimp). Instead, the appli-
cation suggests that samples be drawn from the
pond and consequently a mean for the sample
be calculated. This cover story leads the partici-
pant to focus on issues related to the CLT.
59

Figure 1: Introduction to mission: a critical step in a Goal-based Scenario
The Statistics Specialist Role
The user is encouraged to play the role of a
statistics specialist when starting the program.
In the application there are a number of “char-
acters” who work at the shrimp farm. The learn-
er’s job is to advise these characters throughout
the application.
The Statistics Specialist Scenario Operations
Since the learner is asked to advise the appli-
cation’s characters they will have to explore the
application to understand the problem space.
The learner can ask questions, run a simulation,
and document the results. Each of these activi-
ties is considered a scenario operation. Other
operations include asking experts to share sto-
Figure 2: An expert: provides hints and cues to support the learner
60 TechTrends • January/February 2010
ries that relate to the problem at hand
and reading descriptions of statistical
practice.
The Statistics Specialist was de-
signed with a consistent interface de-
signed to display a series of cases. As
can be seen in Figure 1, each case is
identified by a marker (Q) and each
component of a case is identified with
a sub-identification of that marker
(Q1, Q2, etc.). Using this system a
variety of cases can be pulled from a
database allowing the interface to be
reused with each new case. Essential-
ly any case with the components of a
GBS could use this interface.
Statistics Specialist Resources
The application is full of help
screens and background information.
Participants can read text descrip-
tions of phenomena related to the
farm operation and to related statistical meth-
ods. Students are also connected to the internet
through the computer that is running Statistics
Specialist allowing them to explore any informa-
tion source and to ask others external to the ap-
plication for support and advice.
GBS Feedback
Statistics Specialist gives the learner feedback
based upon the advice they provide the appli-
cation’s characters. The feedback is in the form
of the characters reporting the consequences of
following the learner’s advice. In addition the
application provides feedback through the sim-
ulation. Learners can manipulate the variables
in the simulation to test out different theories
related to those variables and adjust
their mental models accordingly.
Process of Interaction
The following screens demon-
strate a typical user’s path through
the Statistics Specialist application. In
Figure 1 one of the application’s char-
acters is introducing the learner to the
mission.
The learner can ask an expert
for assistance at any time in the ap-
plication. The expert will “pop up”
and give the learner choices of ques-
tions to ask. Figure 2 demonstrates
the choices that a learner can make.
The learner may choose to use the
simulation. Before doing so they may
need the assistance of instructions. The
application includes an example of how
the simulation can be manipulated to
Volume 54, Number 1
test the learner’s ideas. Once the learner
is comfortable with the instructions
they can manipulate the simulation.
Figure 3 demonstrates the simulation.
After exploring the application
the learner is asked to provide advice
to the application’s characters. The
application will evaluate the learner’s
advice. If the advice is inappropriate
the learner will be given feedback re-
lating the client’s confusion and the
implications of the advice. Once the
learner has viewed the video they can
reassess their position and try to re-
spond adequately to the application’s
mission. Figure 4 demonstrates this
process.

Conclusion
Statistics Specialist demonstrates
that a GBS can be implemented Figure 3: The simulation: allows testing of hypothesis’
through a computer simulation sys-
tem. The system leverages the motivational delMas, R. C., Garfield, J., & Chance, B.L. (1999). A
power of cases and provides the learner with model of classroom research in action: Developing
a realistic mission to enhance the learning ex- simulation activities to improve students’ statistical
reasoning. Journal of Statistics Education, 7(3), 1-18.
perience. The application is used to teach sta-
Retrieved from http://www.amstat.org/publications/
tistics and is used to implement an instance jse/secure/v7n3/delmas.cfm
of GBS theory for testing through Design Re- Reigeluth, C.M. (1999). Instructional-design theories and
search (Reigeluth, 1999). Preliminary tests in- models: A new paradigm of instructional theory, Vol-
dicate that the GBS theory is heavily dependent ume II. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
upon the learner’s and designer’s motivation Schank, R. C., Berman, T. R., & Macpherson, K. A. (1999).
be aligned for a successful simulation imple- Learning by doing. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instruc-
mentation. Please contact the authors for more tional-design theories and models: Vol. 2, a new para-
information on the results of this testing. digm of instructional theory (pp. 161-181). Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
David Moore is the author of “Designing On-
line Learning with Flash” published by Jossey-
Bass. His work on interactive learning and me-
dia is widely published. He is the program coor-
dinator of the Instructional Technology Program
at Ohio University, serves as the President of the
Research and Theory Division of the Association
for Educational Communications and Technol-
ogy, and edits the Journal of Visual Literacy.

Chung-Yuan Hsu is a doctoral instructor at

National Taiwan Sport University, an award-
winning web game designer, and lectures on
Digital Learning and Multimedia Design. His
research focuses on how technologies can facili-
tate cognitive and motor learning. Chung-Yuan
has Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Sport
University and a Ph.D. from Ohio University.

References
Aguinis, H., & Branstetter, S. A. (2008). Teach-
ing the concept of the sampling distribu-
tion of the mean. Journal of Management
Education. 31(4), 467-483. Figure 4: Providing advice: support and instruction to guide the learner

Volume 54, Number 1 TechTrends • January/February 2010 61