A Day in the Life of an
Instructional Designer

Introduction

Your Task

The Process

Evaluation

Conclusion

Resources

Full Web Quest

Teacher's Notes

The Forum

Introduction

You have just been hired by, Creative Designs, an Instructional Design company specializing in producing courseware for academia and industry.

As a new hire, you have not yet dipped too deeply into the field of Instructional Technology, yet you are about to become...

...An Instructional Designer.

An instructional designer is someone who performs consulting and development chores necessary to create instructional materials. An Instructional Designer's responsibilities typically include:

• Gathering and analyzing information about content and skills
• Determining performance objectives based on the results of information gathered
• Writing the blueprint and draft materials for the course
• Ensuring that all components of the course adhere to the master design of the course
• Organizing the test sessions and training the instructor
• Preparing the materials for the reviews required at each stage of the instructional design process
• Making revisions specified by the project manager or sponsor

George P. Burdell, the company's project manager, calls you and a few other newly hired employees into his office for your first meeting as a team. You enter the office where your other team members are already sitting around the small conference table. You are nervous as you are eager to make a good impression on your new boss and co-workers, but picking up on the energy in the room, you become excited about the prospects of this meeting as well. You wonder just what is going on and why you are in here. After all, you're just a newbie...

To find out, click on Your Task to begin your web quest.

Your Task

You and your teammates are now seated around the table in George's office. You listen intently as your project manager, George, explains that the Board of Directors is disappointed in Creative Designs' recent crop of learning programs, noting that they are often missing the learning goals of their clients. Because of these recent miscues, the Board has decided it is time to make fundamental changes to its current instructional design methodology.

While the Board is eager to adopt a new methodology, it is not interested in trading one process for another without seeing evidence that the new methodology adopted will indeed be a vast improvement over the company's current design practices. However, current project deadlines prevent the company from pulling together a more seasoned team to do this all important research and analysis.

George announces that it falls to you and your teammates to put together a package that will provide the Board substantial evidence that your team's design model is just what the company needs as its approach to instructional design.

To your relief, you learn that George has taken some time to identify numerous popular approaches and philosophies driving today's instructional design practices from which you can immediately begin to research and act on. You also learn that your team will be primarily focused on utilizing the ADDIE design model in your team's activities.

In an effort to win the Board's approval and ensure your company's long-term success, you have been charged with the following task:

You will be doing initial research on latest trends, philosophies, research, and thinking on instructional design and formulating an argument for why ADDIE is the right design model for your company to adopt.

George believes that when you have accomplished the above, you will have learned much about the field of Instructional Design and will be ready to actually put your new knowledge to work in developing a course curriculum utilizing your newfound knowledge.

So, there you have it. Rather than a dream team of seasoned professionals, it is up to your "green" team to solve an ailing design process and restore the company to profitability. But how is your team going to accomplish this feat?

Move on to The Process to learn more.

The Process

Background

After a break to digest the news conveyed to you and your green team, you return for a second, more in-depth meeting where George explains the details of his expectations for your team. As project manager, George will be keeping all members of your team focused on the task at hand and guiding your teams towards producing the results needed by the Board of Directors, but expects the team members to organize themselves and divide up the work to be done as appropriate.

As you have learned, Creative Designs is in the business of creating new curriculum for their clients to help them meet their learning goals, whether in the classroom or in private sector industries. The Board of Directors believe they know a thing or two about how new curriculum should be designed and developed, after all, they have built an entire corporation doing this for a living. However, because of recent customer complaints and falling revenue, they are looking for fresh ideas. Since you will need to be able to speak the language the Board knows and understands, you will be doing some initial research on the Instructional Design field and then pulling together key components of your research into a persuasive argument in favor of choosing ADDIE over the other design models available.

George goes on to explain that he has identified several key areas of Instructional Design that your team will be researching and presenting to the Board of Directors. Your team's first task is to assign one or more team members to each key area of Instructional Design and meet the objectives in each dossier.

Roles and Responsibilities

Now it's time to meet with your team and decide who will take on what area. George says that you may have to share research responsibilities if more than four people end up on your team or that some members might have to take on two roles if you end up with less than four people. Teams change and you have to be flexible, but be sure to get the job done!

Once you've decided what areas you are going to tackle, click on the links beside each area listed below to see the dossier for that area and learn how you will conduct your research for this project.

Each of the team members will be gathering information in a different area of Instructional Design and present that information back to the team. Your team will then formulate an argument for why your company should replace its existing methodology with ADDIE. The tasks can be divided up as follows:

	The Taxonomist will look at definitions of Instructional Design and explain how ADDIE addresses the key characteristics of the definition of Instructional Design. When you rejoin your team, your role will be to ensure your team's argument utilizes a vocabulary the Board of Directors is likely to understand.
	The Modeler will look at different models of instructional design and create a table of the different models, their advantages and disadvantages and their appropriate application and will subsequently identify where ADDIE fits in with this matrix. When your team comes back together, your role will be to ensure your team builds an argument that favorably pits ADDIE against the various popular Instructional Design models available.
	The Philosopher will look at different Theories of Instructional Design and determine which theories and approaches are best as the driving force underlying ADDIE. When your team regroups, it will be your role to ensure that your team's argument accurately and consistently promotes the theories and practices that produce superior learning effectiveness.
	The Media Specialist will look at different kinds of supporting media for use in instructional technology and their appropriate use and show how the ADDIE model incorporates selection of media into the very design process. When you meet with your team to build your argument for ADDIE, it will be your role to ensure your team's arguments effectively demonstrate the appropriateness of ADDIE for addressing the various media and forms of delivery of instructional materials.

With the four roles defined, George has sent your team down the hall to begin the arduous task of deciding who will take on which roles and begin researching the various areas of Instructional Design. Remember, you may have to share research responsibilities if more than four people end up on your team or you may have to tackle multiple roles if your team is fewer than four people. Just be sure to address all the areas or the Board of Directors may not be too impressed with the end results.

Once you have decided what roles each of you are going to tackle, click on the links for each role listed above to learn how you will conduct your research for this project.

Some of your work here will be done alone, but as George said, you must communicate. Instructional Design areas overlap, so you will have to decide, as a team, how to keep in touch with other.

As you work your way through your task and visit the various resource links, keep your area of research in mind. Don't hesitate to refresh your memory about your research by returning to your dossier. Work from the perspective of your role. But, also keep the big picture in mind.

You want to develop a cohesive presentation supporting your argument in favor of the ADDIE model. This is where communicating with your teammates as you progress will truly pay off. Teamwork is the key!

Once you have completed all the tasks in the dossiers above, return to this page where you will then work as a group to formulate your argument in favor of adopting ADDIE as the company's new design methodology.

Formulate an Argument in Favor of Adopting ADDIE

Now that each of you has become an expert in one or more components of Instructional Design, your team will put together all of the information you have garnered to create a cohesive and persuasive presentation that will convince the Board of Directors to support use of the ADDIE model.

Begin by setting up a Brainstorming session with the goal in mind to determine the best way to present your case to the Board. If you are not familiar with this kind of activity, see the following site for some guidelines.

• Brainstorming Guide

You will need to create a credible presentation (lasting no longer than 15 minutes) using what you have learned that will convince Creative Designs to replace its existing methodology with ADDIE.

A good synopsis of the components of a good persuasive argument can be found at the following site:

• Persuasive Arguments

In addition, everyone should be prepared to answer the hard questions, to look at the criticisms of traditional Instructional Design theory. So, as a team, look at these articles and work through the following exercises:

• What is Instructional Design Theory? and An Attack on ISD
• List 5 major criticisms of traditional ADDIE theory.
• List 3 alternate approaches to designing instruction and explain how they overcome the problems with traditional ID theory.
• Now, establish a strategy to defend your choice of ADDIE over any other model of Instructional Design.

Now the team is ready to stand before the Board…no longer the “green” team.

Evaluation

Conclusion

Instructional Design Models

Learning Theory in ID

Media in Instructional Design

Glossary