Recently, I’ve had a few comments on my blog asking what an Instructional Designer does.

You can read the definition of ID via Google (quick and snappy) or Wikipedia (technical and confusing, so I’m told) and you’ll probably end up in the same position I’ve been for years. I’ve always found it a difficult field to describe to people – mostly because I’ve found that what an ID does changes based on the type of environment they are working in (academic, non-profit, corporate, etc.).

According to Intelera.com, Instructional Design is

“A system of developing well-structured instructional materials using objectives, related teaching strategies, systematic feedback, and evaluation.”

Since many people look at me like I’m growing a horn out of the middle of my forehead when I say I’m an Instructional Designer, I’ve found it a bit easier to use the term Curriculum Developer to explain what I do. I do, however, believe there’s a lot more to ID than curriculum development.

NOTE: Below is a general description of my experiences with Instructional Design. They may not hold true for all environments or companies.

How ID’s go about building a program depends on which ISD methodology they choose to follow. Usually I tend to follow a modified (looped) ADDIE model. ADDIE is an acronym for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation.

Analysis is, in my opinion, one of the most important parts of Instructional Design. During this phase, the ID determines whether or not a training intervention is required by determining what the performance need is (optimal situation), what the actual performance is (gap) and how to go about bringing the actual performance in line with the desired results. Once a business need and performance gap is identified, the ID would determine the best method for addressing the need/gap.

If the ID determines that there is a need for training, they’d move on to completing an audience analysis (who are the learners?), task analysis (what do they do, how do they do it?), content analysis (what do they need to know in order to do it?), context analysis (where and when do they do it?, what are the constraints?), etc.

In the Design phase, ID’s determine how they’ll go about imparting knowledge or a specific skill to the learner. Goals will be set, course and module objectives established and sequenced, content reviewed and selected for inclusion, course descriptions will be written, evaluation criteria determined, training setting will be defined, and design documents (project plans, development blueprints) will be drafted. In addition, they’ll determine the method of delivery (job aids, self-study, face-to-face sessions, e-Learning, etc.) and the materials or tools required to complete the job.

In the Development phase, the actual training program is written. This could include the development of lesson plans, story boards, written manuals (participant and faciliatator guides), job aids, online e-Learning modules, scripts, performance based activities, evaluation assessments, etc.

After the program is developed, it moves into the Implementation phase. Implementation includes the plan for delivery and timeline for training both facilitators (if required) and learners. The program is piloted to a target audience and then evaluated for it’s effectiveness. The program may then be revised based on the feedback and observations from the pilot classes.

In a perfect world, the ID would be able to run a series of test courses before rolling it out into full production. It’s been my experience that this doesn’t always happen in the corporate sector.

In the Evaluation phase, ID’s determine whether or not the training was successful. They measure knowledge transfer, learner outcomes, cost factors, and learner attitude. They’ll determine if the program accomplished the goals as outlined in the objectives (did it do what it was supposed to?) If not, ID’s need to determine what went wrong. Was the material written or delivered at too high or low a level? Was the learning analysis incorrect (ie: Did you create techincal or theoretical e-Learning based courses for a group of learners who’d never seen a computer before).

As you can imagine, once completed, the model easily loops back on itself. Taking information from the Implementation and Evaluation phases, ID’s can go back and revisit the design and development stages, reworking the program until it meets the established goals.

It’s been my experience that Instructional Design often includes bits and pieces of other fields such as Technical Writing, Program Planning, Project Management, Performance Consulting, and Change Management.

Now, aren’t you sorry you asked 😉

Technorati Tags: Instructional Design, ID, ISD, ADDIE, Training, Performance, Development, Learning

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