Making the move into Instructional Design

Are you a technical writer? Do you find yourself looking around wondering how much longer there will be a demand for your skills in the marketplace? Have you seen your department shrink or heard of others disappear entirely, perhaps due to layoffs or outsourcing? Maybe you've started thinking, "I need to expand my skill set so I don't feel as exposed to one industry."

Look no further than instructional design, the development of instructional/training materials and activities. While tech writing still currently has a few opportunities, the future of instructional design is very good, Stephen Van Esch argued in his presentation "Moving Into Instructional Design", presented to our local STC chapter at one of our recent education evenings.

What you need to learn

So what do you need to know for instructional design? It is mastery of design concepts and principles that enables an instructional designer to create positive learning outcomes, says Stephen. He sees two key areas where you should develop your knowledge: instructional design frameworks and learning objectives.

1. Instructional design frameworks

The first step is to familiarize yourself with frameworks such as ADDIE. ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate), is an industry-accepted yet customizable instructional design framework. The knowledge of this process framework will help you plan and stay on track when developing training projects.

ADDIE makes sure you've completed all necessary steps and haven't forgotten anything (like evaluation!) Yet, since it's just a framework, ADDIE also provides flexibility and customization of steps, depending on the needs of the project. Finally, ADDIE provides the needed structure for collaboration and review with stakeholders throughout the process with tools such as storyboards, which prevents rework.

2. Learning objectives

Another essential skill is learning how to craft effective learning objectives. Learning objectives are powerful tools and the basis for successful training content. A model like Bloom's Taxonomy, which identifies six levels of learning (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create), helps instructional designers classify learning objectives and best organize content to facilitate learning.

Well-written objectives use targeted verbs for measurable learning objectives, leading to effective training that addresses the actual problem. Additionally, learning objectives help keep you on task, informing your development of training content. Referring back to them ensures that all that's needed (and only what's needed) gets included.

You can tailor learning objectives according to your training audience's needs and context of learning. For example, when developing training for the corporate world, Van Esch recommends focusing only on the three levels of Remember, Apply, and Analyze, since the corporate context tends to have a more compressed learning time and specific demands than traditional education environments.

What you don’t need to learn

You might be asking yourself: “OK great. I know what I need to learn. What else do I need to know before I jump in?” Actually, according to Stephen, it’s what you don’t need to learn that may be to your greatest advantage. As a technical communicator, you already have a lot more to bring to the table than you might realize — a baseline of skills that you can leverage when entering instructional design:

• Communication: You know how to communicate concepts in concise and clear terms. This is your biggest advantage.
• Working with SMEs: You know how to work and collaborate with technical experts and engineers.
• Organizing information: You know how to organize information into logical blocks, determine a logical flow, and help ensure information findability.
• Audience analysis: You understand how to identify and analyze your users and maintain a user-centered perspective.
• Process: Documentation tends to be process-driven (planning, review), so you already know how to bring logic to the process of creating something.

So, as a technical writer you're already ahead! You just need to take the plunge. Once you're familiar with the frameworks and principles of instructional design (such as ADDIE, Bloom's taxonomy, and learning objectives), you can expand your existing writing skills to encompass this new field. You'll be equipped to produce training that truly hits the target, helping your learners improve their performance and get the job done.

By Bea H.