Congratulations! You're a designer of instruction. As prestigious as that sounds, what does it mean to be an Instructional Designer? And, how should you actually show up in the workplace? To help you understand how you fit into the rather grand scheme of things, let's take a moment to dive deep into the field of Instructional Design, discuss how it came to be, and get an idea of where it's headed.
There's a little more to it.
From the outside looking in, building a comprehensive training program may look like whipping up pretty graphics, throwing words onto slides, and presenting information to a (virtual) room full of people. But this doesn't even begin to dive into the depths of this field of work and study.
It's all about making a positive impact on the organization by improving employees' performance through the creation of learning experiences and content that take the theoretical, turn it into the practical, and produce measurable success. One of the best ways to wrap your head around Instructional Design is to understand how it came to be. While the term "Instructional Design" was not commonly used until the 1970s, it derived from a rich lineage of theories and models based on psychology, behavioralism, constructivism, and more.
Here are a few foundational theories for you to check out:
Media Theory
Conditions-Based Theory
Constructivist Design Theory
Performance Improvement Theory
General Systems Theory
The Law of Effect
Instructional Design as a Function
In their book, The Instructional Design Knowledge Base: Theory, Research, and Practice, Richey, Klein, and Tracey (2010) organized Instructional Design into three major functions:
The implementation and management of the overall design process
Instructional Design has a procedural nature that often starts with understanding the current situation through a needs assessment and ends with measurable behavior change to help the organization meet its goals. But in between lies all of the steps that bring projects to life. We will talk more about Instructional Design models later in this article.
Strategies for creating particular products
Within the greater system of Instructional Design lies the subsystem of creating content and learning experiences. These methods and techniques can include ideating with other creatives on a unique theme or approach, building the content in an authoring tool, and testing the product for perfection.
Developing Learning Experiences and Content that equipt the workforce to solve the organization's problems
In your Instructional Design role, you are not only tasked with creating content but ensuring it positions employees to overcome any challenges the organization may face. The ultimate goal is performance improvement. So, whenever you are assigned a new project, get clear on the organizational goals and what employee behavior change will help achieve them.
It's a problem-solving gig.
You see, it's a problem-solving gig. But, these problems are too big for one rockstar Instructional Designer to take on alone. You have to enlist the help of the team. Let's do a roll call of each key player:
The Learner
Learning Managers
Project Managers
Instructional Designers
Content Developers
People Leaders
Senior Leaders
SMEs
How does it look in the real world
So now you know where Instructional Design came from (check), you know how it operates (check), and that you're not in this alone (check). Let's walk through how this looks in real life.
We wish we could give you a clear-cut example of the average day in the life of an Instructional Designer, but that is pretty impossible. The truth is, what the Instructional Designer role looks like can vary from company to company, industry to industry, designer to designer. But here are a few similarities you can find in most Instructional Design Roles:
An understanding of learners and learning processes
As an Instructional Designer, your responsibility is to improve the performance of your primary customer-- the learner. Get to know your learners by understanding their goals, motivation, and real-life experiences. Mix in a bit of learning theory while you're at it to support learners on a psychological and neurological level.
A systematic approach to learning and performance contexts
Businesses run as complex systems that sit within systems, that sit within even more systems. Kicking your Instructional Design process off by understanding how your learner fits into the greater scheme of things is essential, then let their performance transformation guide your design and development.
Strategic content structures and sequence
As you design experiences for your learners, consider which content structures are appropriate for where they are on the Learner's Journey and how to organize content that leads to measurable behavior change.
Application of design processes and models
You can follow many great Instructional Systems Design (ISD) models, such as the classic ADDIE model or the contemporary ADAPT model by Kara Piepkorn. There are dozens of ISD models, so do your research and have fun applying new models to find the one that serves you best.
Vast knowledge of instructional and noninstructional strategies
From highly interactive breakout rooms and virtual reality immersions to just-in-time training and reference material, strategically mixing and matching content is key for designing a solid training program. Here are a few content types to get you started:
eLearning
PowerPoint
Mobile Games
Virtual Reality
Augmented Reality
Artificial Intelligence
Virtual Conferences
In-Classroom Experiences
Diversity of skills
Instructional Designers often love to build their own skills and knowledge as much as they help others. Create your own professional development plan and layer in these key skills to help you be a well-rounded and successful Instructional Designer.
Facilitation and presentation
Graphic Design
Video Production
Gamification
Data Science
Business Operations
Communication Skills
UI/UX Design and Development
Project Management Skills
Strategy Design
Computer Programming
Instructional Design is an exciting and evolutionary field still taking shape; there are endless opportunities to explore, grow, and experiment. Whether you are new to Instructional Design or want to learn more, connect with us on LinkedIn for more tips, tricks, and info to deepen your knowledge and elevate your learning experiences.
References:
Richey, R. C., Klein, J. D., & Tracey, M. W. (2010). The Instructional Design Knowledge Base: Theory, Research, and Practice (1st ed.). Routledge.
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