Instructional Designer: Reporting for Duty!

Instructional design careers and opportunities

Instructional Design in Business and Industry

Since so many companies are offering remote employment that allows their employees to work from around the globe, the component of training and best equipping the employees is more important than ever. For this reason, instructional design can no longer just be viewed as a task that produces training, but rather “is now associated with analyzing human performance problems, identifying root causes of those problems, considering a variety of solutions to address the root causes, and determining as and implementing the appropriate solutions” (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2018 as cited in Tracey & Morrison, 2012) . In corporate settings, instructional design careers can consist of titles like team leader, content creator, project manager, graphic artist, and more. In some of these roles, instructional designers are tasked with working with companies and clients to bring unity and success in ways that positively impact the corporation (Tracey & Morrison, 2012). According to the text, most instructional design positions are being offered in these corporate settings.

Military Education and Training Environments

Instructional designers have a place within the military education field as well. Through this field, instructional designers work to address serious issues within the training fields of the military and offer suitable solutions that impact participants from the classroom to the battlefield. The fact that instructional design is rooted during WWII still makes it a relevant career choice today. While the role has evolved in its orientation, instructional designers are still needed to help develop training through modern technology that best supports the diverse needs of the military (Bratton-Jeffery & Jeffery, 2007). By using their knowledge of learning theories and models, instructional designers are beneficial in developing quality training and offering long range planning solutions when needed.

Health Care Education

Instructional design within the healthcare field can be very promising simply because it is such a wide and broad field. The fact that we immediately assume medical professionals are educated leave plenty of space for instructional designers to be involved in the field. Because the science and technology of healthcare is constantly evolving, there is always a need for continuing education to best train medical professionals on best practices in their field (Locatis, 2007). The work involved with instructional design is often centered around a conflict-resolution model. Instructional designers are often used to help organizations identify a problem and then develop steps to solve the problems. This set of skills make instructional designers very useful in the medical field. Also, both fields of instructional design and the medical field operate through the use of research-based methods. For this reason, instructional designers can be helpful in designing educational opportunities through research-based approaches.

P-12 Technology Integration

As the role of technology has become more prevalent in the public school system settings, instructional designers are needed more than ever. Because of the steady presence of devices within learning, “instructional designers have aligned their efforts to help teachers meet the challenges of integrating new technologies into the classroom while maintaining the key focus of improving student learning” (Lowther & Ross, 2007). There are three types of instructional design process that are applicable to the public school environment: systems, product, and classroom. Within systems development, products are created using computer assisted technology to integrate technology into learning. Product development is the creation of computer based curriculums that can best serve students in learning. This can range anywhere from digital tutorials to educational games for students to practice key skills. Operating at the classroom level allows instructional designers to examine various learning models and decide the best steps for technology integration with learning.

University Roles for Designers

At the university level, instructional designers are used to design instructional programs that best support their diverse learners. Unlike the P-12 setting, learners at the university level come from many different cultures and range in age and experience. Because of this, it is important that instructional designers operating at this level understand best practices to support their learners using research-based models of learning and theory (Litchfield et al., 2007). The text demonstrated the many different roles of instructional designers from different areas of the world. While some things differed between the roles, many things remained constant. Most of them focused on what needed to be taught and then explored the best ways to teach it. A few of them addressed their role in faculty development and assisting faculty as they analyze their students and plan for further instruction. Others work to create online learning environments that support collaboration and learner-centered instruction. Either way, a career at the university role is definitely one that is here to stay and will only continue to grow.

Works Cited

Bratton-Jeffery, Mary F., & Jeffery, Arthur B. (2007). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology / edited by Robert A. Reiser, John V. Dempsey. (2nd ed.). Merrill.

Locatis, Craig, (2007). Reiser RA, Dempsey JV, editors. Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill/Prentice Hall; 2007 (second edition). p. 197-208.

Lowther, Deborah L. & Ross, Steven M., (2007). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology / edited by Robert A. Reiser, John V. Dempsey. (2nd ed.). Merrill.

Tracey, M. W., & Morrison, G. R. (2012). Instructional design in business and industry. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Instructional design and technology (3rd ed., pp. 178-186). Columbus, OH: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.