Instructional design may be just what you have been searching for if you enjoy creative problem-solving, empathic teaching, and strong communication – plus, this field offers excellent work-life balance while offering numerous well-paying opportunities!

Instructional designers provide engaging learning experiences to assist people in improving their work performance or developing new skills more efficiently and effectively. Earning a degree in this field could open doors to multiple careers and industries; continue reading to find out why you might benefit from getting one!

Learning theory

Instructional design encompasses creating training manuals or designing the courses your children take at school; this career encapsulates learning theory to craft effective teaching plans and is ideal for students and professionals who enjoy helping others learn.

Technology and automation present tremendous potential for further expansion in this field, creating exciting career prospects with ample job openings and work-life balance benefits.

Teachers with knowledge of learning theories can better tailor their instruction to meet students’ individual needs and readiness levels, creating successful classroom experiences that promote increased student achievement and retention. Furthermore, educators with such understanding can create assessments at critical learning junctures to track skill mastery levels and proactively correct struggling learners.

Technology

Technology has long been recognized as an integral component of learning environments and instructional designs because it improves learning outcomes and underpins pedagogical strategies used by designers.

Staying current in this constantly-evolving field requires staying current with technology to design effective learning materials. Earning an instructional design degree provides the necessary skillsets for staying informed of the latest trends.

Your educational programs will become more engaging when you combine various technologies and utilize them to produce effective and engaging learning materials. Furthermore, this program is flexible enough to complete on your schedule; online and asynchronous courses make completing it seamlessly.

Design

The design creates products, services, and experiences that meet customers’ needs and expectations. This encompasses various activities like research, development, and implementation.

Instructional design is an interdisciplinary field that draws from design, education, psychology, systems theory, and creative writing to produce online learning courses, face-to-face workshops, job aids, and other performance support solutions.

Today’s educators, schools, and higher education institutions seek out instructional designers who can develop innovative learning modalities that engage their students more in the course material. A highly qualified instructional designer can also be invaluable when transitioning in-person training into online or virtual learning environments; those holding an instructional design degree report high job satisfaction ratings with above-average salaries and good work-life balance.

Development

An instructional design degree can be an excellent way to enter the education and training industry, providing a thorough education on learning theory, technology, and real-life development experience.

Instructional designers are responsible for developing learning experiences that meet specific goals across various environments. Working closely with subject matter experts, instructional designers translate content using tactics such as games, videos, and exercises into learning experiences that meet these goals.

The instructional design process includes five phases — analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE). Instructional designers across various environments and learning spaces widely utilize this model.

Evaluation

Evaluation is one of the essential skills for an instructional designer, helping to improve your designs and ensure they will benefit learners.

Evaluation involves setting out evaluation questions and taking systematic steps to answer them. Evaluation can also be crucial for program managers to assess whether their programs function effectively or should cease operation or be expanded upon.

As an instructional designer, you will work closely with subject matter experts from various disciplines and industries to combine content with the instructional format to provide the optimal learning experience. This requires strong communication and cooperation.

John T. King

Ph.D. | Department of Education | University of Alabama