When someone asks me what I do, the conversation usually goes a little like this:
Them: “So, what do you do?”
Me: “I’m an instructional designer.”
Them: “A structural designer?” [OR] “Interior designer?” [OR] “beg pardon?”
I’m still looking for that sound bite that will explain pretty closely what I do, but it’s not easy.
Why is it so difficult to explain?
Instructional Design is complicated. IDs have to combine:
- Learner profiles (knowledge, skills, and attitudes)
- Content (What people need to know, or know how to do)*
- Business needs and/or goals
- Performance context (How are learners (1.) expected to implement the information (2.) in order to achieve a positive impact on the business (3.)?)
* Of course, there’s another type of ‘content’ related to influencing attitudes—What psychologists call the “affective domain.” This is a pretty big topic, and we can deal with that later.
Let me know what you think.