I’m on a mission to help people make and use video for learning purposes. This post lays the foundation for scriptwriting for learning videos. Prerequisite knowledge for this post involves a firm grasp of Video for Learning Fundamentals. Scriptwriting for Learning Video is part one of a series designed to help you write better video scripts for learning purposes.
Part 1: Scriptwriting for Learning
Part 2: The Writing Process for Learning Videos
Part 3: 4 Must-Have Skills for Writing Scripts for Learning
Part 4: 5 Best Practices as a Learning Video Scriptwriter
Part 5: 3 Learning Video Storytelling Formulas
Part 6: The Mindset for Writing Learning Videos
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” –Anton Chekov
Scriptwriting for Learning Video
Writing video scripts for the small screen, especially a screen used to aid in the learning process, is like learning to drive a manual transmission after driving an automatic car for years. The basics are the same, but now there is a new set of steps to follow in order to keep the engine moving in the right direction.
For example, you must have a mastery understanding of the writing process, relevant vocabulary, appropriate style, grammar, and punctuation. To make your writing work on the small screen specifically for learning purposes, you also must master the instructional design process and adhere to its best practices. And, of course, you need at least a cursory understanding of screenwriting.
As you step through the foundations of scriptwriting, keep the promise of video for learning at the forefront of your mind. Our job as scriptwriters for learning is to design videos that improve the knowledge, skills, and/or behaviors of our learners!
The Models: ADDIE, SAM, & SAM2
Two common instructional design models are ADDIE and SAM. The ADDIE model is all about analyzing the instructional issue first and then designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating the solution. Imagine ADDIE like a conveyor belt assembly line at a factory. Each step happens in order and builds upon the one that occurs right before. ADDIE lends itself nicely to video production for learning. My phases of video production are based on the ADDIE method.
SAM, on the other hand, refers to the “Successive Approximation Method,” which enables trainers and teachers to test their solution more quickly than ADDIE. It’s the instructional design version of the AGILE method from the software development industry. SAM provides a cycle of evaluation, iteration, design, and revision until you reach a working prototype.
With SAM, iteration is your friend. You’re doing a lot of analysis and evaluation as you’re developing. If you’re leaning towards the SAM route, you might want to check out her sister, SAM2, which is more conducive to video making. The graphic below comes from one of the founders of eLearning, Allen Interactions.
The final word on the models
Videos can be expensive to make, so you may not always be able to iterate in the way that you can with eLearning modules. The SAM2 process breaks things down into more steps which feels a bit less “all or nothing” than the original SAM process. As you’ll see, being prepared is critical to successful and efficient video productions.
For formal, fully professional video productions, using the modified ADDIE model to write scripts has worked the best for me. The trade-off compared to the SAMs, is time. ADDIE takes longer to go from concept to deliverable.
Learning Objectives
Once you’ve settled on your instructional design model, it’s time to focus your scriptwriting on actionable learning objectives. These will come from the analysis work you do at the beginning of your instructional design process. The script for your learning video should align with the learning objectives for the overall course. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Learning objectives are created around the audience, behavior, standard, and condition. Check out the International Training & Education Center for Health’s guide: Writing Good Learning Objectives
Learning objectives should be evaluated against the SMART checklist to guarantee their effectiveness.
Learning objectives utilize strong active verbs, commonly referred to as Bloom’s verbs based on Bloom’s Taxonomy for learning. I use this chart every time I draft an objective.
You’ll want to make sure that these learning objectives are written in a way that can not only be addressed by your learning video (and thus your script) but also in a way that lets you assess your learners after they watch the video. Most importantly, the learning objectives should be aligned with the business problem you’re trying to solve.
The Types of Video for Learning
Now that you have decided on a model and you have written or located your learning objectives, it’s time to choose what kind of video you want to create. This will heavily influence the style, tone, and information that you write into your script. Consider reading The 6 Types of Video for Learning to dive deeper into the most common types of Learning video.
Is your video going to showcase instructions for completing a task (how-to)?
Is it going to explain a concept to employees or students (explainer)?
Do you want to use dialogue to model proper behaviors or assess decision-making skills (scenario/simulation)?
Or are you just looking to inform people about a new product or process (lecture/explainer/micro)?
Whatever type of video you choose to script, be careful that your video does not accidentally morph into marketing or advertising.
Remember, the promise of video for learning is to improve knowledge, skills, and/or behaviors.
Video for learning has its own set of principles for scriptwriting and production. A script for an instructional video is going to be different from a script for an explainer video, which will also be different from a video full of dialog.
If you are new to scriptwriting, it may seem maddening to determine the proper type of video to use in your instructional design. However, the writing process is universal for all of the types of videos.
In next week’s post, we will dive into the five steps of the scriptwriting process. These steps will probably be familiar to you from your days in school, but we’re going to add some details specific to scriptwriting.
Summary
Scriptwriting is where instructional design meets creativity. Both are necessities for creating a successful learning video! Once you choose your instructional design method, you’ll complete the steps to create learning objectives and start writing a script that will improve the knowledge, skills, or behaviors of your target learner audience. Your script’s structure will depend on which type of learning video is the most suitable for your subject matter and learning objectives. The best way to write a script is to write a script. It takes practice, repetition, and perseverance. You can do it!
Helpful Links
Here are some links to help you dive deeper into writing Learning Objectives.
How To Write Learning Objectives For Employee Training: A Practical Guide For Beginners
Writing Learning Objectives For eLearning: What eLearning Professionals Should Know
5 Steps to Writing Clear and Measurable Learning Objectives
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Measurable Verbs
Are you new to learning about video for learning? Consider reviewing my four-part series, Video for Learning Fundamentals.
Part 1: The Case for Video
Part 2: We Need Learning Video Production Skills
Part 3: 5 Phases of Video Production for Learning
Part 4: The Glossary of Learning Video Terms
Join my feedback
What instructional design model do you use the most?
If you liked what you read, and would like to join the conversation, please consider subscribing to my newsletter to receive free learning resources delivered to your inbox every two weeks.
I love feedback loops. As Elon Musk said, “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
THE END
