Instructional Design (The Practical Way!)

You’ll kick things off by selecting a project to focus on throughout the course, building both a bespoke learning program and your own portfolio.

You’ll be introduced to the ADDIE model, a cornerstone framework in instructional design, and the backbone to the course structure.

Alongside this, you’ll explore a comprehensive set of tools that make up your ADDIE toolkit. These tools will equip you with practical skills and resources needed at each stage of the instructional design process. From needs analysis techniques and storyboarding templates in the Design phase to content development software and learner feedback methods in the Evaluate phase, this toolkit is designed to provide you with everything you need to apply the ADDIE model effectively in real-world scenarios.

In this module, you’ll develop a comprehensive understanding of various learning theories and frameworks, which are the backbone of instructional design decisions and the foundation of crafting effective learning experiences. We’ll delve into key theories such as behaviourism, which focuses on the impact of external stimuli on learning; constructivism, emphasizing the learner’s active role in constructing knowledge; social learning, which highlights learning through observation and social interaction; and cognitivism, centred on the inner workings of the mind during learning.

But it’s not just about theoretical knowledge. You’ll learn to masterfully integrate these theories into practical, real-world learning activities. This means you’ll be equipped to apply behaviourist principles to create structured, step-by-step learning modules, use constructivist approaches to design interactive and exploratory activities, implement social learning by fostering collaborative environments, and use cognitive strategies to design content that enhances information processing and retention.

The course is designed to transform your understanding of these theories from mere concepts into actionable strategies. By the end of it, you’ll be adept at weaving these theories into the fabric of your instructional design projects, ensuring that your learning interventions are not only well-grounded in educational theory but also highly effective and deeply engaging for learners.

Here, you’ll learn how consultation fits within each phase of the ADDIE model and the art of building solid client relationships – a key aspect of thriving in this field. Key areas include developing emotional intelligence to navigate diverse emotions and needs, handling challenging conversations with finesse, and mastering stakeholder engagement to ensure their needs are met throughout your projects.

You’ll also gain insights into effective collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs), turning their expertise into learner-friendly content. Understanding team dynamics is essential, and you’ll learn to harness each member’s strengths for cohesive project execution.

You’ll learn how to figure out which stakeholders to engage and when, communication strategies, and how to nail your role in project management.

Here, you’ll get to grips with the nuts and bolts of a Learning Needs Analysis (LNA). It’s like being a detective, uncovering the business objectives and pinpointing exactly what learning is needed to hit those bullseyes.

You’ll unravel the process of defining what learners need to know, and figuring out what knowledge, skills, and behaviours your learners already have under their belts to identify the gaps that need filling.

Get ready to become a master at verifying an LNA. It’s all about making sure you’re tuning in to the right feedback, nailing the identification of performance gaps, and designing a learning solution that’s just the ticket to bridge those gaps.

You’ll apply these insights to define the scope and objectives of your project, ensuring that it’s tailored to address the real-world challenges and requirements of your audience

Coaching Session #1

Dive deep into your learning needs analysis in an exclusive one-on-one session with our top-notch instructional designer!

Together, we’ll dissect your findings – the audience, current capability vs desired capability, and identified learning needs.

We’ll explore the next steps – how you’ll weave in critical considerations like audience, learning needs, guiding principles and scope into the fabric of your learning architecture.

This session promises insights, feedback and a dash of inspiration.

Dive into the heart of instructional design with Module 5: Design. This module forms the foundation of your instructional design journey, teaching you to craft powerful learning objectives and structure content that captures and holds attention. Explore key design principles to make your course materials resonate with a diverse audience. Learn the nuances of aligning content with learning outcomes, ensuring every element contributes to the educational goal. We’ll guide you through innovative strategies to make complex information accessible and engaging, blending theory with practical application.

This module is not just about creating courses; it’s about designing transformative learning experiences that inspire and educate. You’ll emerge with the skills to conceptualise and deliver educational content that stands out for its clarity, relevance, and impact.

Coaching Session #2

Let’s roll up our sleeves and dive into your high level design (HLD)!

Together, we’ll unpack your solution map, evaluating how each activity aligns with the targeted learning outcomes. We’ll confirm the content sets learners up to meet the learning outcomes, and ensure resources and topic timings are on point. We’ll discuss your embedding activity ideas to enhance learning transfer.

Digging deeper now, we’ll uncover the methodologies and learning theories that underpin your HLD, discussing how they shape and strengthen your design.

We’ll dissect other key HLD elements like learning materials and assessment methods to ensure your solution is solid.

Last but not least, we’ll review your Post-implementation evaluation strategy to make sure it’s primed to measure the program’s success in helping learners achieve their objectives.

Module 6: Design for Face-to-Face, elevates your ability to create interactive and engaging classroom experiences. Focused on maximising the unique benefits of in-person interactions, this module equips you with techniques to foster active participation, discussion, and collaboration. Delve into strategies for using physical space effectively, harnessing group dynamics, and incorporating hands-on activities. Learn to create a vibrant learning environment where learners are not just passive recipients but active contributors.

We cover everything from crafting engaging lectures to facilitating group work, ensuring your face-to-face courses are dynamic, participatory, and memorable. Whether you’re designing workshops, seminars, or full-length courses, this module provides the tools to make your face-to-face instructional designs as effective and enjoyable as possible.

In Module 7: Design for Virtual, you’ll explore the challenges and opportunities of virtual instructional design. This module teaches you how to craft virtual learning experiences that are not just informative, but also engaging and interactive. Learn to navigate the nuances of remote learning, from maintaining learner attention to building a sense of community online. We’ll guide you through selecting and using various digital tools to create interactive and immersive virtual courses. Discover how to make your virtual classrooms as lively and participatory as their physical counterparts.

This module is about breaking down the barriers of distance, using technology to connect and engage learners wherever they are. You’ll gain the skills to create virtual learning experiences that are accessible, inclusive, and genuinely engaging.

Module 8: Design for eLearning is your gateway to mastering digital education. In this module, you’ll learn to create compelling eLearning courses that leverage the best of multimedia, interactivity, and flexible learning paths. Delve into the art of designing for self-paced learning, ensuring that your courses are accessible, user-friendly, and effective. Understand how to employ various eLearning tools, from video and animation to interactive quizzes and simulations. We’ll explore strategies for personalising learning experiences, catering to different learning styles, and ensuring that your content is engaging and impactful.

This module is about transforming educational content into experiences that are not just consumed but interacted with and enjoyed. You’ll emerge with the expertise to create eLearning experiences that are as effective as they are engaging, suitable for a wide range of learners.

Here, we’ll connect the insights from the Analyse and Design phases to craft learning materials that truly resonate with learners and facilitators alike.

Learn to create impactful content by building on existing materials and diving into further research. Gain invaluable insights into engaging subject matter experts (SMEs) to infuse their expertise into your materials.

We’ll guide you on mastering the art of writing with the perfect tone, language, and level of detail to captivate your audience.

And the real magic? User testing – test your content with a select group of learners, immerse yourself in their interactions, soak up their feedback, and fine-tune your masterpiece.

Coaching session #3

In this session, you and your coach will delve deep into your learning materials.

They’ll review and provide invaluable feedback on all your resources, from the intricacies of the Facilitator and Learner guides to the visual appeal of PowerPoints and the practicality of Job aids.

Navigate the complexities of eLearning development with confidence, drawing from expert insights.

This session is tailored to ensure every piece of content you produce not only meets the standard but exceeds expectations.

Get ready to smoothly transition your learning program into capable hands!

In this section, you’ll discover the art of running an effective ‘train the trainer’ session. Equip facilitators with a comprehensive view of the entire program and show them where their sessions fit in. Walk them through the relevant resources and activities they’ll lead.

Learn how to engage leaders’ support in transferring the learning from the program to the job by facilitating embedding activities, such as coaching session.

Dive into the nitty-gritty of prepping for a pilot, executing it, and gathering invaluable feedback. Master the skill of distilling those insights to fine-tune your program, paving the way for a successful, impactful launch.

Step into the Evaluate phase, where you’ll leverage Kirkpatrick’s robust evaluation model to gauge the effectiveness of your learning program.

With a commitment to ongoing improvement and evolution, and with a wealth of data collection tools at your disposal – from questionnaires and confidence-competence assessments to focus groups and observation checklists – we’ll capture the insights needed to optimise the learning experience.

The evaluation data will bring the ADDIE Model full circle, enriching the Analyse phase with invaluable insights.

• Learning needs analysis (LNA) discovery session in Miro: Before writing your learning needs analysis, you need to run a process of discovery to inform this document. We have created a Miro Board with interactive activities you can use to collaborate with your stakeholders and subject matter experts to understand needs and gather data.
• Learning needs analysis (LNA) template (abridged): Template to conduct a learning needs analysis directly, aligned with the methodology introduced in the LNA guide.
  There are two versions – an abridged version for smaller projects and an extended version for large-scale projects and complex learning needs.
• Learning needs analysis (LNA) guide (abridged)
  ‘How to’ guide for conducting a learning needs analysis, using the LNA template (abridged).
• Learning needs analysis (LNA) template (extended)
  Template to conduct a learning needs analysis, directly aligned with the methodology introduced in the LNA guide.
  There are two versions – an abridged version for smaller projects and an extended version for large-scale projects and complex learning needs.
• Learning needs analysis (LNA) guide (abridged)
  ‘How to’ guide for conducting a learning needs analysis, using LNA template (extended).
• Learning needs analysis (LNA) validation tool
  A guide to support instructional designers in validating identified needs.

• Learning architecture template
  Template to summarise the findings from the learning needs analysis (LNA), illustrate the recommended solution and outline the next steps.
• High level design (HLD) template
  Template to create a ‘map’ of the design and development requirements, to enable and implement the learning strategy.
  Includes a template for developing an evaluation approach to determine the effectiveness of the program.
• High level design (HLD) eLearning template in Rise 360
  High level design template in Rise 360 to help you create a skeleton for an eLearning solution.
• High level design (HLD) microlearning template in Rise 360
  High level design template in Rise 360 to help you create a skeleton for a microlearning solution.
• Rise 360 storyboard template
  Template to detail a Rise 360 eLearning program in Word format.
• Video storyboard
  Template to visually plan and map out the sequence and elements of a video. Use it to provide a detailed blueprint of the video’s narrative, visual elements and audio, ensuring the production team has a clear vision to follow.
• Quick reference guide: Learning outcomes
  A quick reference guide on using Bloom’s revised Taxonomy to craft clear, measurable learning outcomes, ensuring learners achieve targeted cognitive levels.
• Quick reference guide: eLearning tips
  A quick reference guide on how to create impactful, accessible eLearning programs.
• Activity cards: Sample pack for face-to-face delivery
  A selection of activity cards for face-to-face delivery from our activity cards pack.
• Activity cards: Sample pack for virtual delivery
  A selection of activity cards for virtual delivery from our activity cards pack.

• Facilitator guide template
  Facilitator guide template, including an overview of the program and detailed session plan.
  Includes a worked example extract.
• Learner guide template
  Learner guide template, including learning activities and key content.
• Assessment book template
  Assessment book template to develop relevant and effective assessment questions/tasks to evaluate participant learning against learning outcomes.
• PowerPoint presentation template
  PowerPoint presentation template to summarise key learning and discussion points, visuals, and video links.
• Job aid template
  Job aid templates (or Quick Reference Guide) to summarise key information for participants to readily reference on the job.
  Includes worked examples.
• Thinking aloud testing template
  Template to capture key stakeholders (identified as reviewers and approvers) feedback on changes required to the learning materials developed.
• Empathy map
  Template used to step into the learner’s shoes and see the design from their perspective.
• Leader kit template
  Template to provide leaders with an overview of the program, as well as key discussion points and tips on ways they can assist their people to apply their developing knowledge, skills, and behaviours on the job.

• Train the trainer template
  Template to up-skill trainers in the delivery of the learning program.
• Trainer feedback tool: Evaluating learning materials
  Template used by instructional designers to provide constructive feedback to trainers on their delivery of learning materials for effective and engaging learning experiences.
  
• Instructional designer feedback tool: Evaluating trainer delivery
  Template used by instructional designers to provide constructive feedback to trainers on their delivery of learning materials for effective and engaging learning experiences.
  
• Learner feedback tool: Evaluating learning experience
  Template used by learners to capture feedback from the pilot phase of a program. Findings will be used to improve both delivery and development for a seamless learner experience.

• Questionnaire templates
  Questionnaire templates, based on the evaluation approach established in the Design phase. Used to review the effectiveness of the learning program and materials.
• Focus group session template
  Template to facilitate a review of the effectiveness of the learning program and materials with a focus group.
• Observation checklist template
  Template to observe shifts in knowledge/skills on the job post-learning program.
• Evaluation report template
  Simple evaluation report template to communicate key evaluation findings to business stakeholders.