Is building relationships the key to leadership?

Instructional designers are at the forefront of many interactions both within an organization and client‐facing. They are responsible for providing noteworthy learning experiences and ensuring the success of instructional programs. However, are instructional designers at a disadvantage because of a lack of interpersonal and building‐relationships skills? This article begins to uncover the notable absences of leadership and relationship‐building skills in professional and educational instructional design environments and the consequences to practicing and budding instructional designers.     

Challenges and issues in designing inquiry on the Web

The purpose of this study is to discuss major issues in designing inquiries on the web. Instructional designers face a lot of difficulties and challenges to deal with in the course of designing inquiry experiences for learners in the online environment, a complex and ill‐structured learning environment. Facilitating inquiry or using an inquiry‐based learning approach on the web has both advantages and disadvantages. Instructional designers need to acknowledge the design issues arising in each and every phase of the design process. Utilising appropriate design strategies, instructional designers can provide positive learning experiences for their online learners. For this purpose, three representative cases in the context of teacher professional development were examined and six major issues were identified as follows: (1) seeking a balance between a system‐generated guide and human facilitator, (2) visual representation of the inquiry process, (3) motivating learners with the right question, (4) engaging learners in various learning activities, (5) guiding the inquiry process with various scaffolds, and (6) maximising learning by coordinating resources, tools and the community of inquiry. This study explains each issue in great detail and provides possible guides for instructional designers to handle the issue.     

An Investigation of Development Toward Instructional Design Expertise

This research investigated expertise development among instructional designers by tracking novice designers' unfolding perceptions of instructional design (ID), design‐related self‐perceptions, and other individual differences. It examined development toward ID expertise from multiple aspects: processes, product, and cognition, through a case study approach. Evidence included qualitative data from interviews, design artifacts, and metacognitive essays, along with quantitative data from questionnaires which assessed goals, need for structure, need for cognition, previous design competence, and design self‐efficacy. Findings indicated that it was not one single characteristic, but the interaction of various factors, that most profoundly seem to influence the development of ID expertise. Relevant characteristics included: perceptions about learning, knowledge and ID; individual needs and learning strategies; and background experiences and orientations. Research in this field will help us to better understand the processes that lead to the development of ID expertise, and to develop better approaches to preparing future instructional designers.     

Teaching Instructional Design: An Action Learning Approach

Many theorists and practitioners are calling for more authentically based teaching approaches in the preparation of instructional designers and performance technologists to address the complexity of the field's practice. Although many innovative methods have been incorporated into the study of instructional design and development and human performance technology, including case studies and applied experiences with collaborative groups, among others, the majority of teaching approaches are limited to the time constraints and format of the traditional university classroom setting. This paper discusses an alternative teaching approach that incorporates action learning principles along with authentic project‐based methods into the full‐time study of instructional design. The paper reviews action learning principles and highlights the commonalties between these principles and the application of the practice and teaching of the instructional design process in an authentic manner. Finally, the implementation of action learning principles within a graduate program in instructional technology is described. Action learning principles may be applied to many content areas; however, the highly complementary nature of this specific methodology to the teaching and practice of instructional design may have the potential to improve greatly our preparation of professionals in the complex work environments characteristic of this and related disciplines. As a valuable component of performance technology skills, training in instructional design methods based on an action learning approach may have broad implications for both the preparation of instructional designers and performance technologists.     

The effectiveness of online instructional videos in the acquisition and demonstration of cognitive,affective and psychomotor rehabilitation skills

The use of instructional videos to teach clinical skills is an ever growing area of e‐learning based upon observational learning that is cited as one of the most basic yet powerful learning strategies. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effectiveness of online instructional videos for the acquisition and demonstration of cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills among undergraduate students, throughout formative assessments with two different durations of instructional videos. The research suggests that the use of videos to support traditional learning should be encouraged. While a conclusive evidence—base for their usage has not yet been established they are a medium which is likely to benefit a proportion of a cohort, and it is very unlikely that they will be harmful to students' learning.     

Preparing Instructional Designers for Game-Based Learning: Part 1

Like many rapidly growing industries, advances in video game technology are far outpacing research on its design and effectiveness. Relatively little is understood about how to apply what we know about teaching and learning to optimize game-based learning. For the most part, instructional designers know little about game development and video game developers may know little about training, education and instructional design. In this three part series of articles, four recognized and emerging experts in instructional game design discuss their perspectives on preparing instructional designers to optimize game-based learning. In Part I, we set the context for the series of articles and one of four faculty members who teach a graduate level course on game design discusses what he believes instructional designers should know about instructional game design based on his experiences. Part II will present alternative perspectives from two additional faculty members who teach courses in instructional game design, and Part III will present a fourth perspective along with conclusion that compares the four views.     

Instructional Design and Powerful Learning

Skillfully executed, instructional design can result in effective and efficient means to meet learning goals. However, more powerful learning experiences seem to go beyond effectiveness, efficiency, appeal, and even predetermined goals. This study sought to identify the key features of instructional design, to determine the nature of powerful learning experiences, and to explore how the two might relate. A survey of experts and a series of interviews with adult learners revealed overlap in some areas, for example, in the perceived importance of active engagement in authentic situations, and clear differences in others, most significantly the importance placed by learners on continual face‐to‐face personal interaction with a mentor/expert teacher. Speculations are offered on what similar results from additional studies might imply with regard to design actions and choices, and questions for further research are posed.     

How Expert Designers Design

Two studies were carried out with expert educational designers at Arthur Andersen and the Open University of the Netherlands to determine the priorities they employed when designing competence‐based learning environments. Designers in a university context and in a business context agree almost completely on what principles are important, the most important being that one should start a design enterprise from the needs of the learners, instead of the content structure of the learning do main. The main difference between the two groups is that university designers find it extremely important to consider alternative solutions during the whole design process; something that is considerably less important by business designers. University designers also tend to focus on the project plan and the desired characteristics of the instructional blueprint whereas business designers were much more client‐oriented and stressed the importance of “buying in” the client early in the process.     

Knowledge and Skills Needed by Instructional Designers in Higher Education

In this paper, we sought to address the following research question: What knowledge and skills are needed by instructional designers in higher education to be successful in their roles? We interviewed eight instructional designers from across the United States, all working for institutions of higher education. Using the constant comparative method, we analyzed our data to identify relevant themes. Our results suggest that instructional designers in higher education must have a solid foundation in instructional design and learning theory, possess soft skills and technical skills, and have a willingness to learn on the job. Most instructional designers felt their academic backgrounds assisted them with their job roles, and, in particular, valued their professional experiences. Instructional designers in higher education must also keep abreast of multiple emerging information and communication technologies. We provide a discussion to synthesize our findings. The findings are relevant to professionals, professional academic programs, and professional associations.     

Recommendations for Designing and Implementing Distributed Problem-Based Learning

Abstract

As distributed problem-based learning (dPBL) emerges as an interactive online methodology, it is necessary for instructional designers who want to develop this approach to understand the practices experienced designers of dPBL recommend. This phenomenological study examined the practices that designers of dPBL use and recommend. Ten experienced dPBL designers from seven countries participated in the qualitative study. Data were collected through semistructured telephone interviews in order to gather information about each individual's experiences using instructional design and designing dPBL. A listing of ten recommendations for designing dPBL is presented based on the information provided by the experienced designers.     

How Do Instructional‐Design Practitioners Make Instructional‐Strategy Decisions?

Many theories have been proposed to help instructional designers make instructional‐strategy decisions, yet it is not clear if these theories are actually used by ID practitioners. This study used a web‐survey to examine the design strategies of 113 ID practitioners. The survey asked respondents to rate how frequently they used learning or ID theories as well as 10 other design strategies, to help make instructional‐strategy decisions. Respondents were also asked how often they used different information sources to learn about new theories, trends, and strategies, and to respond to a set of contrasting statements depicting objectivist vs. construc‐tivist assumptions. The results indicate that ID practitioners most often rely on interaction with others both as a means of making instructional‐strategy decisions and of learning about new theories, trends, and strategies. Only fifty percent of the respondents said they regularly use theories when making instructional‐strategy decisions, using other design strategies more frequently instead; and most practitioners are eclectic in their underlying philosophical assumptions. Based on these results, we discuss implications for training and ongoing support of instructional designers.     

Behaviorism,Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective

The way we define learning and what we believe about the way learning occurs has important implications for situations in which we want to facilitate changes in what people know and/ or do. Learning theories provide instructional designers with verified instructional strategies and techniques for facilitating learning as well as a foundation for intelligent strategy selection. Yet many designers are operating under the constraints of a limited theoretical background. This paper is an attempt to familiarize designers with three relevant positions on learning (behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist) which provide structured foundations for planning and conducting instructional design activities. Each learning perspective is discussed in terms of its specific interpretation of the learning process and the resulting implications for instructional designers and educational practitioners. The information presented here provides the reader with a comparison of these three different viewpoints and illustrates how these differences might be translated into practical applications in instructional situations.     

“There’s got to be a better way to do this”: a qualitative investigation of informal learning among instructional designers

This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate informal learning among practicing instructional designers. Prior research has examined how instructional designers spend their time, make decisions, use theory, solve problems, and so on, but no published research has explored the nature and role of informal learning in instructional design work. Based on intensive interviews of practitioners in the field, this study produced eight themes organized according to two metathemes: (a) the nature of informal learning in instructional design practice and (b) instructional design as informal learning. Specific themes concerned what instructional designers learn through informal practical experience, how they learn it, and the meaning of this kind of learning for various aspects of their work. Overall, these results suggest that informal learning is a vital part of instructional design practice and that design itself can be thought of as a specialized type of informal learning. Other conclusions regarding informal learning in design are discussed and future directions for research are offered.     

Learning moves home

Residence halls at large institutions are increasingly becoming sites for powerful undergraduate learning experiences. A study of living‐learning programs at four research universities—the prelude to a nationwide project—tells an important story.     

Enhancing instructional design efficiency: Methodologies employed by instructional designers

Instructional systems design (ISD) has been frequently criticised as taking too long to implement, calling for a reduction in cycle time—the time that elapses between project initiation and delivery. While instructional design research has historically focused on increasing learner efficiencies, the study of what instructional designers do to increase efficiency during the design of instruction, including web‐based training, has not yet been fully examined. The purpose of this qualitative developmental study was to identify and understand the methodologies used by experienced instructional designers to increase the efficiency of the instructional design process. Data were gathered from 11 instructional designers working within two business and industry consulting firms that provide learning solutions to global clients. Results revealed 47 efficiency methodologies found within the four categories of design model, instructional design team member roles, instructional design processes and instructional design tools. Additionally, 14 supporting instructional designer competencies were found within the category of instructional designer knowledge, skills and attitudes.     

Discontent with parliamentary law in the Lok Sabha as reflected in charges against the speaker

The new instructional strategies being widely adopted at all levels of education depend for their rationale upon some long‐standing, well‐substantiated principles of learning. These four principles are explained and then discovered in the three most accepted instructional innovations in speech communication: mini‐courses, games and simulations and out‐of‐class learning experiences. The article also discusses pitfalls in each new method. The three methods are not calculated to lighten teachers’ work, but do provide alternative instructional techniques.     

Principles and practices of designing narrative distance for transformative learning experiences

Narratives have a unique ability to grant listeners emotional and cognitive space in a way that encourages them to choose how they will make sense of a story. This effect, called narrative distance, also has the potential to help create transformative learning experiences. This article is a qualitative research study of experts who regularly design for narrative distance. Six experts from a variety of fields were interviewed about the principles and practices of designing for narrative distance with the purpose of discovering ways that instructional designers can better facilitate transformative learning experiences. A variety of principles and practices on how to create narrative distance are categorized under four themes: cognitive space, emotional space, invite change, and meaningful content. General comments are also given on the application of these insights to instructional design along with further suggestions for research.     

The Relationship between Students' Connections to Out‐of‐School Experiences and Factors Associated with Science Learning

This study examined the relationship between students' out‐of‐school experiences and various factors associated with science learning. Participants were 1,014 students from two urban high schools (secondary schools). They completed a survey questionnaire and science assessment describing their science learning experiences across contexts and science understanding. Using multilevel statistical modelling, accounting for the multilevel structure of the data with students (Level 1) assigned to teachers (Level 2), the results indicated that controlling for student and classroom factors, students' ability to make connections between in‐school and out‐of‐school science experiences was associated with positive learning outcomes such as achievement, interest in science, careers in science, self‐efficacy, perseverance, and effort in learning science. Teacher practice connecting to students' out‐of‐school experiences was negatively associated with student achievement but has no association with other outcome measures. The mixed results found in this study alert us to issues and opportunities concerning the integration of students' out‐of‐school experiences to classroom instruction, and ultimately improving our understanding of science learning across contexts.     

The role of design ethics in maintaining students' privacy: A call to action to learning designers in higher education

Maintaining students' privacy in higher education, an integral aspect of learning design and technology integration, is not only a matter of policy and law but also a matter of design ethics. Similar to faculty educators, learning designers in higher education play a vital role in maintaining students' privacy by designing learning experiences that rely on online technology integration. Like other professional designers, they need to care for the humans they design for by not producing designs that infringe on their privacy, thus, not causing harm. Recognizing that widely used instructional design models are silent on the topic and do not address ethical considerations such as privacy, we focus this paper on how design ethics can be leveraged by learning designers in higher education in a practical manner, illustrated through authentic examples. We highlight where the ethical responsibility of learning designers comes into the foreground when maintaining students' privacy and well-being, especially in online settings. We outline an existing ethical decision-making framework and show how learning designers can use it as a call to action to protect the students they design for, strengthening their ethical design capacity.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Existing codes of ethical standards from well-known learning design organizations call upon learning designers to protect students' privacy without clear guidance on how to do so.
• Design ethics within learning design is often discussed in abstract ways with principles that are difficult to apply.
• Most, if not all, design models that learning design professionals have learned are either silent on design ethics and/or do not consider ethics as a valid dimension, thus, making design ethics mostly excluded from learning design graduate programs.
• Practical means for engaging in ethical design practice are scarce in the field.

What this paper adds

• A call for learning designers in higher education to maintain and protect students' privacy and well-being, strengthening their ethical design capacity.
• A demonstration of how to use a practical ethical decision-making framework as a designerly tool in designing for learning to maintain and protect students' privacy and well-being.
• Authentic examples—in the form of vignettes—of ethical dilemmas/issues that learning designers in higher education could face, focused on students' privacy.
• Methods—using a practical ethical decision-making framework—for learning design professionals in higher education, grounded in the philosophy of designers as the guarantors of designs, to be employed to detect situations where students' privacy and best interests are at risk.
• A demonstration of how learning designers could make stellar design decisions in service to the students they design for and not to the priorities of other design stakeholders.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Higher education programs/institutions that prepare/employ learning designers ought to treat the topics of the designer's responsibility and design ethics more explicitly and practically as one of the means to maintain and protect students' privacy, in addition to law and policies.
• Learning designers in higher education ought to hold a powerful position in their professional practice to maintain and protect students' privacy and well-being, as an important aspect of their ethical design responsibilities.
• Learning designers in higher education ought to adopt a design thinking mindset in order to protect students' privacy by (1) challenging ideas and assumptions regarding technology integration in general and (2) detecting what is known in User Experience (UX) design as “dark patterns” in online course design.