Instructional Systems Design
This week we explored Instructional Systems Design (ISD) as a whole and completed a Career Cluster Survey to determine if our interests align with the field we are pursing.
Career Cluster Survey Reflection
For fun I had my son (18) take the Career Interest Survey at the same time I did. I like a lot of varied things so I was curious to see where those multitude of likes would place me. Surprisingly, the results do align with what I've always thought is the career for me. My 1st and 2nd differed only by 1, Human Services and Education and Training, respectively. And Arts, A/V Technology, and Communications came in 3rd. Actually, it's a pretty convenient cluster for the field I work in and for the Masters I hope to attain. As a reminder, I work as Curriculum Quality Assurance Tester for Edgenuity and Weld North Education. I sit on the tail end of the Design model of Curriculum Product Development but I really enjoy what I do.
My son also nabbed Human Services, and Arts, A/V Technology, and Communications but his 3rd was Manufacturing. It was fun to see his results, too. It intrigues me how they make these types of tests and how accurate they can be. I think these types of tests are great ice breakers and discussion starters for training events or beginning modules for any type of course.
I've embedded the PDF of my results from the Survey below.
ISD Similarities and Differences in Higher Education versus Corporate Environments
My Takeaway
What is ISD?
There are numerous definitions for Instructional Systems Design (ISD). Basically, in the Education or Learning sector, ISD includes a systematic process for the development of a successful training program. Dr. Jill Hagenberger gave a precise definition of the term in a podcast interview conducted by Doug Brteck. Dr. Hagenberger said that ISD is "the intentional manipulation of strategies for the purpose of increasing the probability that learning will occur."
ISD as a concept has been prominent for 25 years now and primarily uses the ADDIE design framework. although any framework such as Dick & Carey or the Briggs Model can also work depending on the setting, be it corporate or academia. A primary challenge to successful ISD seems to be gaining buy in from faculty in higher education environments or from SMEs and workers in corporate settings.
Shifting Definitions
When there are a variety of terms that seem to have shifting definitions I have a difficult time distinguishing between them. In the first week, one of the suggested articles to read was "Learning design: Reflections upon the current landscape." I read the entire article hoping to gain clarity on terms, but I still came away unsure of how to define and distinguish Learning Design, Instructional Design, Curriculum Design, Technological Educational Learning, Instructional Systems Designer, etc. There seems to be a lot of cross over.
The lack of a common language makes it challenging to move forward in theory. If my definition differs from yours, then my extrapolation or practice derived from my definition may not be understood by you. Without that base structure of agreement for the definition of terms how can we communicate? Valuable time is lost in translation and a subsequent failure to move the conversation forward. Also, in the job market, it can make it difficult to ascertain if a job opening actually applies to your skills when terms are used that I define differently perhaps then the prospective employer does.
However, there is a plus side to this shifting-definitions situation. It's exciting to know there is room (within reasonable parameters) to define these terms according to the work in which we engage. Meaning that, so long as our definition applies, it can still be legitimate. This seems to provide wiggle room for thought and creative expansion on ideas.
In the podcast, Dr. Hagenberger clarifies a distinction between two terms, Instructional Designer versus Instructional Developer. And I agree with her definitions. She explains that the Instructional Designer focuses on analysis, detailing the learning objectives, the assessment methods, and the instructional strategies that will best enhance learning/performance transfer to the target audience. While the Instructional Developer takes that 'blueprint' made by the designer and creates the multi-media product. She says the Instructional Designer is more like the architect while the Instructional Developer is the production specialist. Perhaps in larger projects there may be separate individuals who perform these duties, but I see many instances in which the project ID is both the architect and the production specialist.
Curiosity:
In the podcast the AGILE eLearning Development Model combined with SAM (Successive Approximation Model) was mentioned and I'm very curious about this process that has become more common in the learning industry these days. I will add notes when I have time to explore this more.
Sources:
ISD Podcast [Interview of Dr. Jill Hagenberger by D. Brteck]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4j5djF4z7E&feature=youtu.be.
General Course Content