SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1631375
Implementing the Four-Component Instructional Design Model in Professional Development Programs: A Systematic Review with a Focus on Teachers
Provisionally accepted
- University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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The four-component instructional design (4C/ID) model is designed to support complex learning by facilitating the transfer of theoretical knowledge into practice. This study presents a systematic research synthesis on the implementation of the 4C/ID model in training programs with a special focus on teachers. Specifically, we investigate how the four components and ten steps of 4C/ID are applied in training programs, for which professional fields and real-life tasks it is used, the concreteness of the instructional design, and the effects on learning. A special focus is on the model's implementation in teacher education. A systematic database search following PRISMA guidelines yielded 55 relevant studies, which were systematically coded and analyzed. Surprisingly, we found only a few papers of n = 11 on in-service training with 4C/ID for teachers. Our findings indicate that many studies referencing the 4C/ID model lack detailed descriptions of its implementation. To complement our qualitative synthesis, we conducted a quantitative subanalysis, applying a multilevel meta-analysis to estimate the overall effect size of training programs based on pre-post comparisons. The results yielded a moderate positive effect (g = 0.76, SE = 0.31, p = 0.014), suggesting that the 4C/ID model has a meaningful impact on learning outcomes. These findings underscore the need for more structured reporting and further research on the implementation of 4C/ID, particularly in teacher education.
Keywords: 4CID, Synthesis, In-service training, instructional design, systematic review
Received: 19 May 2025; Accepted: 14 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Neck, Leuders and Reinhold. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Melanie Neck, University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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