Instructional Transaction Theory

Instructional Transaction Theory (ITT) is a precision of Component Display Theory (CDT) in knowledge representation, instructional strategies, and instructional design prescriptions. An instructional transaction is all of the learning interactions neccessary for a student to actuire a particular kind of knoweldge or skill (Millar, 1999). ITT identifies what are the knowledge components required for a given type of instruction, and develop instructional strategies of presentation, practice and learner guidance to represent these knowledge components to facilitate instructional design (Merrill, 1999).

ITT goals:

• Effective instruction: different kinds of instructional transactions require different instructional outcomes
  
• Efficient instructional development: proper instructional transactions with instructional tools will enable automating portions of the instructional design process
  
• Instructional learning environments: Representing knowledge objects through ITT enables to build general-purposed simulation engine, and it makes more effective instructional interaction in the learning environment.
  
• Adaptive instruction:  The precise representation of knowledge in the form knowledge object and the representation of instructional transactions as algorithms for manipulating this knowledge makes possible instructional strategies that can be adapted to individual learner in real time as they interact with the instructional materials (Merrill, 1999)
  

Reference:
Merrill, M. D. (1999). Instructional design based on knowledge objects. In C. M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models: A new paradigm of instructional theory, Volume II, pp. 397-424. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.