An instructional designer is a lucrative career where people can earn above-average salaries, maintain an excellent work-life balance, and have high job satisfaction. The market to hire instructional designers is growing every day, so if this career aligns with your interest, you should learn the required skill set. You can find a purpose in this field as instructional designers help people, giving them a fulfilling feeling.
What is an instructional designer?
Instructional designers create engaging learning experiences. They create effective e-learning, face-to-face workshops, job aids, and other performance support solutions by drawing on practices from education, psychology, creative writing, design, etc. A teacher’s job is to deliver a lecture to a live audience, while instructional designers collaborate with subject matter experts to design and develop a learning experience. In addition, they interview SMEs, write instructional content and develop storyboards into interactive e-learning experiences. As an instructional designer, you will learn about new industries, master new technologies, and explore different fields.
How to become an instructional designer?
If you feel like being an instructional designer is the perfect fit for you, you should work towards developing your skill set to land an ideal job. It would be best to learn various things like design theory and visual composition, build your instructional design portfolio and network with other designers. Scroll down to explore more about how you can become an ace instructional designer.
- Instructional design- ADDIE Model
ADDIE stands for analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. It is an instructional design model that covers every part of the design process. In the first analysis phase, a needs assessment is conducted to determine if training is required to resolve the issue. In the next phase, you design the instruction by writing objectives, interviewing experts, and storyboarding the learning experience. In the third phase of implementation, you deliver the learning experience to the audience. During the last phase of evaluation, you analyze the learning and revise the intervention to maximize its effectiveness.
- Mapping
In mapping, you identify a clearly defined business goal which helps to determine worthy employees who must perform to achieve that goal. One main benefit of action mapping is that it keeps you focused on the actions to be performed on the job and not just mere information that subject matter experts think employees should know.
- Behaviorism
Behaviorism focuses on external, measurable behavior. It includes modern thinking surrounding compensation, praise, completion certificates, etc. It is based on the psychology that you can increase the frequency of a behavior by rewarding people and decrease it by punishing people for performing it.
- Kirkpatrick’s evaluation
This model includes four levels. The first level is ‘reaction,’ which is how learners feel about the training and whether they enjoyed it. You can collect this data via interviews; if the results are negative, it will help you reconsider your approach. Level two is ‘learning,’ which helps you understand whether learners acquired new skills and knowledge. Level three is ‘behavior,’ which tells if learners are using their newly acquired skills in their respective jobs. This data can be collected through direct observation or from an employee’s supervisor. The last level refers to the ‘results’ produced by the initiative. Modern L&D departments tend to skip this level due to its complexities, but evaluating the process is important.
Instructional designers are significant in the process of learning. They can develop an entire course, redesign it, or create training material like student guides, etc. In addition, they need to possess a versatile skill set to create practical learning courses. Some skills required by them are creativity, communication skills, people skills, research skills, time management skills, and flexibility.