What is Instructional Design? 

That is a question I get asked often. The following is the short version minus the theory and the numerous names of the founders of the field. I will post about that later.

Instructional design is the packaging of content to be learned in a way that is efficient, effective, and appealing to the learner.

Let’s break it down:

Instructional: instruction; training; learning

Design: to plan or arrange things in a certain way such as the packaging of content to be learned

Efficient: most quickest way possible

Effective: successful in producing a desired outcome

Appealing: desirable or interesting

Why is this important?

If you run an organization you will spend time training your people. This training time takes away from productivity and hits on the old saying, “Time is money.” Now to take away from this training time with out an appropriate instructional strategy intervention could cost in quality or safety. One way to responsibly and safely reduce time spent training is to design the learning in such a way that is efficient, effective, and appealing. This is where the Instructional Designer comes in! They will save you time and save you money. 

-Brandon Moss, MA, NREMT, PhD Candidate – Instructional Design & Development

President & CEO