The success of any business starts with how it trains and develops employees and staff to carry out its mission and objectives. Workplace instructional design (ID) is the structured design of training content and educational materials for employees, staff, partners or customers that meet the needs of both the business and the learner. Since they create the content that achieves the desired outcomes, instructional design professionals need to be familiar with and understand the business goals, what knowledge the learner needs to perform at the desired level and what the learner hopes to get out of the educational training experience.
An online Master of Arts (M.A.) in Management with a concentration in Workplace Instructional Design from Avila University can strengthen a student’s ability to define an organization’s educational needs, develop instructional materials and implement engaging learning solutions. Students in this program will learn to design, apply and manage industry-specific educational programs that develop personal and professional growth to facilitate dynamic learning experiences optimized for a company’s goals, challenges and culture.
The Influence of Learning Theories on Workplace Instructional Design
While there are multiple frameworks and models for instructional design, the ADDIE Model of Instructional Design is used frequently. The acronym stands for analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate. Designed in 1975 by the U.S. Army, this model lets instructional designers create a more personalized learning experience by focusing on the learning objectives, needs and desired outcomes by organizing them in stages. The content focuses on the learner’s needs, resulting in desired behaviors and business success.
The systematic approach of using learning theories to design instruction models can advance the framework for appealing, effective, reliable and consistent education. No matter what learning theory an instructional designer uses as the basis for learning — such as cognitive, behavioral, constructivist or connectivist — the theories help instructional designers understand how people learn, how people stay engaged and motivated and how learners can retain information.
Effective instructional design begins with assessment and analysis to identify the needs of the learning audience. By understanding the performance needs and business goals, instructional design professionals can segment the information into more easily digestible sections to complete the overall learning objective. An instructional designer can produce a well-rounded group of learners by utilizing formal learning with organized training sessions, scheduled classes and a well-organized curriculum, and informal learning that employs peer-to-peer learning, conversations, social media use and email.
Professionals can vary the content delivery to accommodate the schedules and needs of the employees, staff or customers. Some people may benefit from organized instructor-led sessions, including in-person training in a classroom or remote e-learning classes. Others may thrive in an environment involving on-the-go mobile learning with social learning, short videos and other engaging formats. Blended learning involves both in-person and remote learning approaches and may be optimal for new staff to embrace instruction models and form cohesion more easily throughout an organization.
About Avila’s Master of Arts Degree
Instructional designers are in high demand in educational and business settings due to online skill development and the increase in virtual learning. Students in Avila’s online M.A. with a concentration in Workplace Instructional Design program will take classes in organizational behavior and development, financial decision making, instructional design technology and trends in instructional design. Graduates are qualified to pursue careers such as training manager, instructional designer and e-learning manager.
Learn more about Avila University’s online M.A. in Management with a concentration in Workplace Instructional Design program.
