Instructional Design
GAS-LIKE
What is Instructional Design?
Instructional design is a practice by which learner or organizational needs are identified leading to a learning solution being crafted, implemented, evaluated and refined.
Other Common Names
- Instructional Systems Design
- ADDIE Instructional Design Model
Key Properties
Instructional design is the intentional process of deciding how (or if) training can help solve a problem, determining the best way to create a learning experience that will address the problem, and then evaluating the effectiveness of the learning experience. These are some core properties of instructional design:
- A structured approach
- A needs analysis, program design, and assessment (at a minimum)
- An engaging learning experience intended to meet an individual or organizational need
Freeing Up More Time To Spend On Better Instructional Design
Have you ever wished you could have more time in your day to develop better, creative, more engaging and effective training programs? Brian’s podcast with Megan Torrance doesn’t magically teach you how to get you more time, but she does talk about some key ways to save time and avoid time suckers during your next training project.
Resources From The Train Like a Champion Blog
- How different is instructional design in a K-12 setting vs. a corporate training setting? – If you’re getting started in instructional design and especially if you are transitioning from being a K-12 teacher, this article will help you see a path forward.
- Have instructional design writer’s block? Here are 8 ideas to get unstuck. – Some creative ideas for instructional designers.
- What happens when instructional designers are partners, not order takers? – Instructional design is not all about ADDIE. What does it mean to challenge your customers to deliver change.
- Instructional Design Dilemma: Knowing When To Let Go – How do you know what your instruction design approach isn’t the right approach.
- When SMEs Know Best: A Case Study of Instructional Design/SME Collaboration – A case study focused on instructional designers needing to listen to SMEs.
Thoughtfully designed insights from What's Your Formula?
- "Using an instructional design model is important is because it provides structure to the development of a learning experience. I have been approached too many times by someone who insists that training is necessary to address a problem or challenge."
- "As an eager-to-please, early career training professional, I would jump right into the design phase as soon as someone came to me with a training request. If I had been more rigorous in applying any sort of instructional design model to my craft, I would have instead methodically begun with some sort of analysis to determine what the problem was and whether training was the right solution. There were times when I’d design a highly engaging program that didn’t actually solve the problem, because it wasn’t a training problem. I may have called myself an instructional designer at the time, but I was really more of an order taker."
- "Instructional design is the intentional process of deciding how (or if) training can help solve a problem, determining the best way to create a learning experience that will address the problem, and then evaluating the effectiveness of the learning experience."
Elements that Bond with Instructional Design
Measuring for Effectiveness
Regardless of the instructional
design model that you choose to use, the final piece of the process will always involve evaluation, assessing, or measuring for effectiveness. The key is to include any sort of measurement into the design of the
program so that it is a natural part of the learning experience and not simply an add-on after the fact.
Learning Boosts
One of the biggest challenges of looking at a two-dimensional visual representation of a model on paper or your computer screen is that it’s easy to lose sight of the depth that goes into a process like instructional design. Steps such as design or implementation should not be thought of as one-time components. Incorporating an element such as learning boosts will mean that implementation is not a one-time event, but rather a series of pieces that make up a larger, more comprehensive learning experience.
Gamification
You can learn a lot about people—the way
they respond to pressure or adversity, work within a structured environment, adhere to rules, or choose to problem solve—through game play. Incorporating a string of game-based elements into the design of a learning experience can be a particularly useful strategy, as long as it aligns with the learning objectives that have been established to address a challenge or problem.
Learning Objectives Taxonomy
As you’ve read earlier in this chapter, choosing the right learning objectives and connecting them to the appropriate learning activities is a core piece to any effective design step.
Data
This element is a kind of alpha and omega when it comes to instructional design. Data will be an essential piece when kicking off an instructional design project and performing the initial assessment. Collecting good data during and following the implementation of a learning experience will be crucial when evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
Learn More About Instructional Design
- What Is Instructional Design? – This page provides you some of the basic definitions of instructional design and instructional design models.
- How to Become an Instructional Designer – Devlin Peck goes into great detail what it means to be an instructional designer and what it takes to become an instructional designer.
- Instructional Design Models: Comparing ADDIE, Bloom, Gagne, & Merrill – If you’re looking to compare instructional design models, this article will help you learn more about the differences between ADDIE, Bloom’s Taxonomy and more.
Books on Instructional Design
These are some of the best books on instructional design because they focus on the practical application of instructional design.
Design Thinking for Training and Development approaches instructional design challenges from a design thinking perspective. Sharon Boller and Laura Fletcher challenge L&D professionals to look first at the learner experience.
In the Accidental Instructional Designer, Cammy Bean provides a roadmap for professionals new to instructional design and, more specifically, elearning development.