Running head: INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN SHORT ESSAY

Instructional Design Short Essay Week 3

Eva Morris
IST 522 Instructional Design
Professor Dr. Jeanne Farrington
September 13, 2016

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN SHORT ESSAY

In my opinion, there are four categories of training: great, good, mediocre, and bad.
Having worked in corporate over the past ten years, I have experienced all four of them.
Unfortunately, most training I attended ended up being mediocre, with no lasting effect or
meaning to my job. Many times I stepped into the classroom, enthusiastically awaiting the new
knowledge I was about to learn, only to find myself leaving at the end of the training wondering
what I had just learned or how it will be applicable to my position at work. My aspiration is to
become involved again in the corporate field, most likely as a corporate trainer, but not to make
the same mistakes that I was exposed to as an audience member. The goal I have is to never train,
instruct, or educate learners in a mediocreor worse, badway. Of course, nobody is perfect,
but this is where instructional design will really help me get closer to achieving this goal.
The ADDIE Model
In his article In Search of the Elusive ADDIE Model, Molenda (2003) appropriately
describes ADDIE not as a model but as an umbrella term. This expression is very fitting, as
mostif not allinstructional design models are based on ADDIEs core elements. ADDIE
consists of five phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Coming
from a project management background where success of a project is based on another 5-phase
process (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing), this model
strikes a chord with me. A crucial factor of both 5-phase models is that, although the models
often appear linear on paper, they are not linear in the real world. There is a lot of iteration
between the different phases, which I believe is one of the biggest arguments as to why ADDIE
is still going strong after over 40 years. Its systematic approach to instructional design provides a
consistent basis, yet allows for enough freedom for each ISD model based on ADDIE to be

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN SHORT ESSAY

unique and flexible enough. At the same time, its iterative nature ensures the highest possible
quality of the final product.
How Instructional Design Can Help
There is so much more to training, instructing and educating learners than just presenting
the learning material. Mediocre or bad training does not have to happen. Instructional design is
there to prevent that. Following and applying its systematic approach to my professional work
will make me a better, more effective and efficient Instructional Designer, regardless of the
industry. If instructional design is done properly, it can make a world of a difference for the
individual employee, the organization, and ultimately the organizations bottom line.
The simplest of a discovery at an early stage, whether the root cause will or will not be
solved through training or training alone, yields major results. Knowing the audience, who the
audience will be, understanding how they might learn, what their needs are, and how best to
connect with them, all of these elements have a significant impact on the learning outcome. Yet
this is something that is frequently overlooked when the instructional design process is not
followed. Picking the best method of training or selecting the right media for conducting the
training; following the rules as outlined by instructional design will lead to higher quality of
learning experience. Lastly, the collection, processing and analyzing of data plays a major,
integral role in instructional design, and the results will ultimately determine whether the
outcome was a success or failure. These are a just a few different examples to improve the
learning experience if instructional design is being followed.
Instructional design principles will assist me in all the different phases, taking most of the
guessing out of the work and help me make the right decisions from beginning to end. In short,
instructional design will make my work more meaningful, relevant, and lasting.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN SHORT ESSAY

References
Molenda, M. (2003). In Search of the Elusive ADDIE Model. Performance Improvement,
May/June 2003.
Piskurich, G. M. (2015). Rapid Instructional Design: Learning ID Fast and Right. Hoboken,
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.