The instructional design journey

 YouTube: Devlin Peck

    Instructional designers create effective, engaging learning experiences. They draw on best practices from education, design, psychology, systems theory, and creative writing to create eLearning, face-to-face workshops, job aids, and other performance support solutions (Peck, 2023).

    While trainers or teachers deliver instruction to a live audience, instructional designers work behind the scenes. Instructional designers collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs) to design and often develop the learning experience, but they rarely deliver it to a live audience themselves (Peck, 2023).

    We think of instructional designers mainly in education, but they are needed in many other industries as well.

    This blog takes a look at how instructional designers work in a variety of industries and organizations.

   

            

 Business and Industry

    The expansion of instructional design practice in the corporate sector over the past thirty years, not surprisingly, has been complemented by the increase of new approaches to instructional design and the related growth of designer competencies. The majority of ID practice has been dominated by instructional systems design (ISD) models or by similar models adapted specifically to the business environment (Tracey and Morrison, 2012).

    In business and industry, instructional designers find themselves in three broad roles:

                Sole designer - With the reduction in the physical size and budgets of training departments due to recent economic climate changes, however, the instructional designers of today may find themselves in a large corporation not only as the sole designer on a project, but also the project manager and media producer.

                Team member/leader - Larger scale and cross-cultural projects typically require a team approach. The number of instructional designers can vary from one to several, and the responsibility level can vary from that of the senior or lead designer to the instructional designer or technologist.

                External designer/consultant - The external instructional designer/consultant is hired by the client company to produce a product or lead a project. Typically, the instructional design team consists of all external members except for the subject-matter expert and at times the project manager who is provided by the client's company, although on occasion, the subject-matter expert might also be an external consultant. 

(Tracey and Morrison, 2012).

    Some constraints that Tracey and Morrison mention in their article about business and industry is performance gaps caused by constraints between actual and ideal practice in industrial design, contextual constraints, which could be lack of time and resources, locus of control for decision-making, and tools and techniques. On the tools and techniques, the authors mention how instructional designers are use to working with ID models, but that in business and industry, designers may be working with generic and corporate ID models.

Designer-related constraints include:

                Perceived necessity between the client and designer.

                Philosophical beliefs/theoretical perspective.

                Expertise.

                (Tracey and Morrison, 2012).

There are many changes in the training industry including cross-cultural training and the need for better, faster, cheaper results. Instructional designers in response to these trends and challenges ought to embrace the role of practitioner and researcher in an effort to identify, document and execute best practices (Tracey and Morrison, 2012).

When designing instruction for a cross-cultural audience. the designer must identify the societal and learner cultural factors. Instructional designers today are tackling the problems associated with producing in struction in a "better, faster, and cheaper" manner with the use of rapid prototyping, technology-based training delivery, and advanced evaluation techniques (Tracey and Morrison, 2012).

As such, current instructional design is more reliant on technology, is more interdisciplinary, and produces more data to support its impact on performance and organizational improvement.

 

Government and Military

    Military culture is one formed by dedicated individuals constantly thinking of the present threat of war. However, the military, like any other business or organization, is made up of individuals with their own personal goals and interests. Those involved in that training-possibly you as an instructional designer-must produce training that meets the requirements of the military as well as the needs of the individual (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    Among the challenges to instructional designers working within a military environment are: recognizing that ineffective instruction can have catastrophic consequences: creating training that addresses the needs of the military while considering the interests of the individual: designing for an environment that is constantly changing: using technology wisely when technology is evolving more rapidly than the ability to accommodate change: assuming the responsibilities dictated by one's role and relationship to the military (federal worker or contractor); designing for individual projects, which may be repurposed into other training products or delivery environments (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    Instructional designers play a significant role in the transformation to accommodate the needs of today's  service members and move the military of today to the military of tomorrow. This role requires the following: knowledge of learning theories and instructional strategies and how to use them effectively: understanding how to apply technology at the optimal level to meet the needs of the user in a wide variety of learning environments; ability to create a blend of learning solutions; ability to work within budget: understanding and appreciation of the military culture both at home and abroad as well as the culture of international forces: and the ability to communicate with clients (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    When it comes to working with military clients, instructional designers must understand that these clients are subject matter experts in their fields, and they are not familiar with educational principles, learning theories, or instructional technology applications. So, the military client places a great deal of trust in the instructional designer to “know their stuff,” and keep abreast of the instructional technology field (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    The military of all nations will face a number of common challenges. Two of these challenges that may impact the role of a designer are:

• International responsibilities of a national or multinational military force

• New technologies

 (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    Other issues the military faces is funding, technological range, delivery environment, design constraints, recruiting good people, and alternative training solutions with today’s technology options (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    The military’s vision for the future is:

                Guiding documents - Each country has a number of documents that are written by the military, describe their vision and goals for the future, and are submitted to their governing body.

                Long-range planning - By the time a plane or ship is designed, prototyped, and ordered the technology has surpassed the original plans for the aircraft or ship. An instructional designer must be able to "look into the future" and provide input as to how technology and learning research may evolve and the impact this evolution will have on future training needs.

                Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) - ·'The Advanced Distributed Leaming (ADL) Initiative sponsored by the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). is a collaborative effort between government. Industry and academia to establish a new distributed learning environment that permits the interoperability of learning tools and course content on a global scale. ADLs vision is to provide access to the highest quality education and training. tailored to individual needs, delivered cost-effectively anywhere and anytime" (ADL, 2010, Overview. para. 1, referenced in Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

                Jointness - Maximum advantage of funding, acquisition, technology, and people can be attained through collaboration. The U.S. military and its allies fight as a combined force-an integrated whole of the service branches and the ally counterparts.

                Lifelong learning - Military leadership supports and encourages learning beyond the military requirements for a number of reasons. Continued learning opportunities within the service improve the servicemember within his or her occupational specialty and open the doors to many opportunities for those who leave service.

 (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    Although working as an instructional designer in a military environment is challenging, it provides an exceptionally rich opportunity for growth as a professional. The knowledge of learning theories and instructional strategies that will be needed can be employed in virtually any manner: instructor-led or instructor-facilitated classroom. Informal self-study, formal online learning courses with synchronous and/or asynchronous options or a blend of any or all of these (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

    A greater emphasis on the professional needs of the individual in tandem with the needs of the organization, budget limitations. and quickly evolving technologies are all challenges that make a career as an instructional designer in the military education and training environment difficult but rewarding. Instructional designers who work in the military environment are never bored and given enough time. will have the opportunity to work in every aspect of instructional design from analysis to evaluation (Bratton-Jeffery and Jeffery, 2007).

 

Health Care

    Health Care is a very broad field. The health care field not only involves the delivery of health services, but also biomedical research. It includes the medical profession and its varied subspecialties plus the professions of veterinary medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health, and public health Biotechnology (the use of DNA and protein sequences to engineer biological substances) and medical informatics (the application of information and communication technology to support medical research, practice, and education) are emerging as new subspecialties due to advances in genetics and computer science. The health field not only includes varied professions and specialty groups, it also embraces such related sciences and disciplines as anatomy, biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, and psychology. In addition to academic institutions, hospitals, clinics, and research centers, the health care field also can include certain regulatory agencies; agencies and organizations that respond to disasters; and industries involved in drug manufacturing genetic engineering, and medical instrumentation (Locatis, 2007).

    Being an institutional designer in the health care education field involves some risks. It’s an area where errors in learning literally can be a matter of life or death. Also, health professions are helping professions, meaning where work involves literally laying hands on others, interpersonal skills and open communication needed to build trust and address the psychosocial aspects of disease (Locatis, 2007). You also have to deal with sensory perception, science, and innovation, all three of which are changing rapidly. Computer simulations, mannequin and real people acting as standardized patients are used to provide a safe environment for learning clinical problem solving, medical procedures, and interpersonal skills.

    Some of the most significant factors affecting performance the development of instruction, and the application of educational technology in health care are knowledge and research. costs and managed care, regulations and standards and convergence. With the internet, the medical community must keep current as well on health information and better educate the public to evaluate health information (Locatis, 2007). Also, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) affects education and training because patients’ information has to be kept confidential. The boundaries between educational and informational applications are becoming increasingly murky, especially in problem-based learning and evidence-based medicine where the use of information resources is part of the learning methodology (Locatis, 2007).

    Being an instructional designer in the health care field can be challenging and rewarding. As health care continues to change and evolve, an instructional designer must stay knowledgeable and on top of the latest technology, while making sure the information relates to all that is needed in a very interpersonal field.

 

P-12 Education

    For-profit corporations and businesses hire instructional designers to produce and test P-12 products that range from integrated learning systems, educational software and games, videos, and print materials to hardware support materials for devices such as interactive whiteboards, graphing calculators, and clickers (student response systems). Nonprofit organizations often employ instructional designers as external evaluators and researchers as well as to fulfill roles similar to those completed for school systems. A primary area of P-12 focus for instructional designers is technology integration (Lowther and Ross, 2007).

    The instructional design process has three types of development:

                Systems – create computer-assisted instruction (CAI) embedded within an integrated learning system (ILS), or a “complete software, hardware, and network system used for instruction.”

                Product – create computer-based instructional (CBI) products or educational software.

                Classroom – designing integration lessons for classroom implementation in which technology is used for a variety of roles.

 (Lowther and Ross, 2007).

    When thinking about technology integration, the ASSURE model often comes to mind as the landmark approach. Established in 1982 when computers were first being introduced to schools and the workforce, ASSURE is designed to assist teachers and trainers with providing instruction and feedback (Lowther and Ross, 2007). The ASSURE model follows a traditional ISD classroom process that incorporates Gagne's (1985) Nine Events of Instruction into the final product. The most recent ASSURE model (Smaldino et al., 2008) shifted the focus to PP-12 technology integration rather than also addressing workforce training (Lowther and Ross, 2007).

 

    Established in 1998, the iNtegrating Technology for iQuiry (NTeQ) model uses an instructional design foundation to develop problem-based lessons focused on student use of technology as a tool. NTeQ lessons strive to be relevant, motivating, and engaging by basing problems on authentic, real-world data as opposed to simulated data often found in traditional lessons. The overall goal is to not only facilitate student achievement of learner objec0tives, but also to gain technological competence required for successful twenty-first-century careers (Lowther and Ross, 2007).

 

    As an instructional designer for P-12 Education in the 21st century, skills that you face include core subjects (as defined by No Child Left Behind), Twenty-first-century content of global awareness, financial, economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy, civic, literacy, and health and wellness awareness, learning and thinking skills, information and communication technology literacy, and life skills (Lowther and Ross, 2007).

    Although the twenty-first-century skills are listed independently the goal is to seamlessly integrate these new competencies into the curriculum rather than using "addon'' activities and courses. As seen in the following statement, there is a clear need for instructional designers to collaborate with P-12 initiatives, as "teachers and administrators need training, tools and proficiency in 21st Century skills themselves. Used comprehensively, technology transforms standards and assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development, learning environments, and administration" (Lowther and Ross, 2007). The skills and expertise of instructional designers are critically needed to systematically design and validate technology-integration models and to extend and improve P-12 research to address adoption and implementation issues.

Higher Education

    Instructional designers in the higher education field are quite similar to other faculty and professional staff members in higher education, but what is different is their training and areas of professional concentration. Instructional designers working in support areas such as distance education or faculty development are practitioners. As the use of educational e-Leaming technologies increases in higher education, these individuals are becoming more critical to the success of organizations where faculty members are trained in content, but not pedagogy (Litchfield, et al., 2007).

    Some instructional designers use the “generator” model to design a blueprint outlining key learning and implementation strategies appropriate for the context, while others work with faculty day in and day out, and others help conduct research for professors (Litchfield, et al., 2007).

    Brenda Litchfield, who works in faculty development in the United States, summarizes instructional design in higher education like this: “If you aspire to work in faculty development in higher education you are already ahead of most individuals in this position because of your training in instructional design and development. Your degree provides you with a solid foundation of how to design all aspects of instruction. But that's not all there is to faculty development. Working with a diverse group of faculty can be a challenge. I would suggest you take courses, workshops, and seek out people who can help you improve in areas such as negotiation skills, presentation skills, dealing with difficult participants. and integrating technology into the curriculum. The more skills you have as a faculty developer, the easier your job will be.
    Your efforts will mean a great deal to all you work with. lt is a great feeling to help faculty members create interesting instruction and improve their teaching skills. For individuals not trained in instructional design, teaching and designing effective and efficient instruction can often be a mystery. You can be the person who helps them solve the mystery” (Litchfield, et al., 2007).

    Still, like all instructional designers, there is still the importance to keep up on the latest technology and trends.

    “In recent years, the enthusiasm for online teaching and learning has created interesting opportunities for those of us working in instructional design and technology to share our knowledge and experience with colleagues in other parts of the university. l have enjoyed the opportunity to work with colleagues from other faculties on the introduction of new instructional technologies. My work as an associate professor in the area of instructional technology is varied but is easily connected to my central interest in the application of technologies to improvement of learning. It requires me to keep up to date with developments in both technology and education and especially their intersection. It is both challenging and fulfilling,” Peter Albion, Associate Professor in Australia (Litchfield, et al., 2007).

 

YouTube: Devlin Peck

The Future

    The future of instructional design, like many other careers, is going to involve many new educational technology platforms and strategies for effective communication no matter what industry.

    Normalizing remote work, microlearning, gamification, personalized instruction, and advances in artificial intelligence are just some of the issues that instructional designers are facing in this ever-changing time of rapid technology.

    Where will it go? That question remains to be answered. However, no matter what field you are working for, new instructional design approaches must be developed to keep up with today’s industries and educational institutions ever-evolving needs to ensure that people receive an engaging and meaningful educational and training experience.

References

Bratton-Jeffery, M. F., & Jeffery, A. B. (2007). Instructional Design Opportunities in Military Education and Training Environments in R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.), Instructional design and technology (3rd ed., pp. 178-186). Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

Litchfield, B. C., Albion, P., Nemoto, J., Dempsey, J., & McDonald, J. (2007). Five University Roles for Designer from Three Nations in R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.), Instructional design and technology (3rd ed., pp. 218-226). Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

Locatis, Craig, (2007). Reiser RA, Dempsey JV, editors. Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill/Prentice Hall; 2007 (second edition). p. 197-208.

Lowther, Deborah L. & Ross, Steven M., (2007). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology / edited by Robert A. Reiser, John V. Dempsey. (2nd ed.). Merrill.

Peck, D. (2023, August 15). How to Become an Instructional Designer in 2023. Devlinpeck.com. Retrieved November 28, 2023, from https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/how-to-become-instructional-designer

Tracy, M. W., & Morrison, G. R. (2012). Instructional design in business and industry. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Instructional design and technology (3rd ed., pp. 178-186). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.