Real World Projects in an Advanced Instructional Design Course

Introduction This design case focuses on the redesign of Advanced Instructional Design, a capstone course taught in a Midwestern university's Masters of Training and Development program. The goal of the course was to have students integrate knowledge and skills from previous courses including needs assessment, introduction to instructional design and program evaluation. Historically, this integration process included case studies in instructional design and the design and development of a simulated instructional project. This article documents the process and outcomes of the course redesign incorporating a real world project from the instructor's perspective and reflections from four of the graduate students participating in this experiential course. Applying the principles of instructional design in a classroom simulated environment is unlike applying the same principles with a client, a deadline, and all of the constraints inherent in the process. Providing students with as close to a real world design experience as possible in one semester with a client willing to allow students into their company appeared unfeasible. Studies however, comparing two groups of designers, one in a business setting and the other in a university setting (Kirschner et al, 2002) indicated each group differed in their design focus, specifically on how they analyzed alternative solutions, and on their interaction and involvement with the client. As the faculty member Real World Projects in Instructional Design 3 teaching the course, my goal was to provide students with an experience that closely mirrored designing in a business setting. This course has been a part of the curriculum since the program's inception, with the goals remaining constant. Defining instructional design, analyzing the steps including needs assessment, goals and objectives, instructional strategies, evaluation and assessment are critical to all instructional designers. The question for me as the new instructor was how to assure students achieved these goals while giving them an experience closely emulating real world instructional design? I decided to redesign the course to include an instructional design project with a client, design groups, deadlines and deliverables. This decision began a journey affecting students, faculty, a company, and its employees. As stated above, the course goal and outcomes were predetermined. In the traditional course structure, these outcomes were achievable, but adding a real world design experience meant dealing with and balancing numerous additional variables including: 1. Available class time 2. A balance in the amount of course content and additional assignments 3. A company willing to allow …