What Is Instructional Design?

How It Can Enhance Your Materials

In simplest terms, instructional design is the process of presenting information in a manner that makes it easy to understand and learn.

A "complete" instructional design process includes everything from analysis of learning needs and goals through the development of a system to meet those needs.  However, instructional design can be applied to any part of a project.

Factors that an instructional designer takes into consideration when developing materials include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Type of information to be presented

• Complexity of the information to be presented

• Characteristics of the learners/trainees (educational level, experience, age, health, cultural concerns, language concerns, etc.)

• Resources available (time, funding, personnel, space, equipment, etc.)

• Possible methods of delivery (classroom instruction, self-instruction, distance learning, Web-based instruction, computer-based instruction, etc.)

• Learning styles of the learners

We typically use the accepted "ADDIE" model of instructional systems design--Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.  However, we can adapt our model to fit your needs if they differ from this.