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Introduction
Instructional design plays a crucial role in shaping effective learning experiences. It is a growing field with career opportunities across many industries. Instructional designers analyze needs, develop educational materials and courses, and evaluate their effectiveness. The roles and environments for instructional designers are diverse. Someone who needs help creating interesting learning materials can contact an instructional designer. These experts work with others to determine what is needed for learning, set goals, and create engaging materials. They use their knowledge of how people learn, educational ideas, and technology to make learning experiences fun and effective. They also think about different ways in which people learn, how to test what they have learned, and how to keep up with new educational tech trends.
What are the responsibilities of instructional designers?
According to the article “What Is The Role Of The Instructional Designer?” by Bhavya Aggarwal, "Instructional Design and the Instructional Designer's profile are integral and indispensable to the burgeoning eLearning space” (2016). some of the critical responsibilities commonly associated with an instructional designer role:
·Conducting needs assessments and analyzing goals/requirements for learning initiatives: Instructional designers identify what skills or knowledge learners need to gain and ensure the instruction meets those needs.
·Designing curriculum and learning materials: They plan and design the framework and content for courses, training programs, or other instructional materials. This includes outlining learning objectives, structuring courses, developing activities and content, and creating assessments.
·Applying instructional design theories and models: Instructional designers incorporate evidence-based theories and models of learning, such as Bloom's Taxonomy, Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction, and the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) model. All of these models inform practical instructional approaches.
·Developing appropriate instructional strategies: Based on the goals, subject matter, and target learners; instructional designers determine what methods will facilitate learning effectively, from lectures, case studies, gamification, and simulations.
· Storyboarding course contents: They develop storyboards to outline how a course, training, or learning program will progress and provide guidance for developing the materials.
·Producing multimedia content: Instructional designers often create, review, and integrate multimedia content into courses catered to facilitate learning, including videos, screencasts, infographics.
·Evaluating and revising materials systematically: Through feedback surveys, assessments, and speaking to instructors and learners, they refine the instruction to close gaps and improve results.
The overall role focuses on applying theories of instruction and learning to optimize the design, development, and delivery of impactful learning experiences.
Instructional Design Across Different Fields
Instructional design is often associated solely with educational contexts, but its reach extends further. As technology transforms our vocational landscape at an extraordinary pace, all industries must ensure their workforce stays competitive. Instructional design offers the tools to rapidly prepare employees with the skills needed regardless of background or experience, contributing to universal professional excellence across vastly different fields.
Business & Industry
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In the business and industry, instructional designers are instrumental in developing training programs that enhance employee skills and performance. They create engaging content, leverage technology, and implement learning strategies to align with organizational goals. According to Tracy and Morrison (2012), “The most prevalent applications of instructional design now occur in a corporate setting” (p.184). In business settings, instructional designers create training programs for employees, this includes new hire onboarding, ongoing skills training, compliance programs, and more. They incorporate technology-based learning like online earning modules. Instructional design in business focuses on developing the workforce.
Military Education & Training Environments
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Instructional designers in the military develop training programs for soldiers. "Instructional designers play a significant role in the transformation to accommodate the needs of today’s service members and move military from today to the military of tomorrow” (Bratton-Jeffery & Jeffery, 2007, p.187). Within military contexts, instructional designers contribute to designing and delivering training programs for military personnel. These programs cover various topics, including technical skills, leadership development, and strategic planning. Instructional designers in this field blend pedagogical principles with the unique challenges and requirements of military training environments focusing on readiness and safety. Instructional designers in the military leverage simulators and virtual reality systems.
Health Care Education
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The healthcare industry encompasses far more than just hospitals and clinics. It is a vast system of diverse organizations and professionals working to improve health outcomes through care delivery, medical innovation, health education, preventative services, supportive communities, accessible treatments, and more (Locatis, 2007). In healthcare, instructional designers create programs to train medical professionals. This includes new medical device usage, electronic health records software, diagnostic procedures,
bedside manner training, and more. They focus on patient outcomes and care quality. Instructional designers are critical to advancing healthcare by applying their expertise in instructional and curriculum design, learning theory, and program evaluation to elevate clinical training and patient education. Whether developing engaging simulations for surgical residents, creating easily comprehensible discharge materials for diverse literacy levels, or facilitating communication skills workshops to discuss complex diagnoses compassionately, instructional designers embed evidence-based educational design and quality improvement processes into health professions training and patient care resources. This drives better decision-making capabilities among healthcare teams, empowers patients with enhanced health literacy, and fuels a cycle of continuous learning and refinement across the healthcare field.
P-12 Technology Integration
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Technology integration is a pivotal focus for instructional designers in P-12 education. As learners increasingly rely on technology inside and outside the classroom, instructional designers must evaluate new tools that stimulate engagement and comprehension while aligning them with core subjects (Lowther & Ross, 2007, p.208). Instructional designers also coach educators on marrying curriculum goals with emerging tech that empowers students to take ownership of knowledge applications. Instructional designers for P-12 schools assist teachers in effectively integrating technology into the classroom by designing technology-enhanced lessons. They train teachers on using interactive whiteboards, laptop carts, tablet devices, and educational software. Instructional designers focus on integrating technology into the curriculum. They design and implement digital learning resources, ensuring educational technology enhances student engagement and learning outcomes. This chapter explores the evolving role of instructional designers in navigating the intersection of technology and P-12 education.
Higher Education Roles
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Instructional designers fill many roles in higher education institutions. "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” (Litchfield et al., 2007, p.25). They support faculty in developing online courses, designing multimedia resources, providing technology integration guidance, maintaining learning management systems, and ensuring accessibility standards are met. It explores their diverse responsibilities, such as curriculum development, faculty support, and e-learning initiatives. Instructional designers in higher education intend to improve the student learning experience across curricula and at critical transition points. They play an integral role in evolving institutional instruction to support educational excellence.
Conclusion
Instructional design careers can be found in diverse sectors, showcasing the versatility of professionals in creating effective learning experiences. Whether in corporate settings, military environments, healthcare education, K-12 institutions, or higher education institutions, instructional designers contribute significantly to shaping the future of education and training. As technology evolves, instructional designers will play a pivotal role in adapting and innovating to meet the ever-changing demands of learning environments. The field will continue growing as technology-enhanced instruction is increasingly valued across industries.
References
Aggarwal, B. (2016, May 12). What is the role of the instructional designer? eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/what-role-of-the-instructional-designer
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.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (p.187–196). Boston: Pearson.
Litchfield, B. C., Albion, P., Nemoto, J., Dempsey, J. V., & McDonald, J. (2007). Five university roles for designers from three nations. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (p. 218-226). Boston: Pearson.
Locatis, C., & Dempsey, J. V. (2007). Performance, instruction, and technology in health care education. In R. A. Reiser (Ed.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (p. 197-207). Boston: Pearson
Lowther, D. L., & Ross, S. M. (2007). Instructional designers and P-12 technology integration. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (p. 208-217). Boston: Pearson.
Tracy, M. W., & Morrison, G. R. (2012). Instructional design in business and industry. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology 123(p. 178-186). Boston: Pearson.
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