A beginner's guide to instructional design

Instructional design helps you create learning content that is structured, purposeful and easier for Learners to understand.

Whether you are building employee training, customer education or online courses, understanding the basics of instructional design can help you create more effective eLearning materials.

In this article, we explain what instructional design is, where it came from, why it matters, and which common instructional design models are worth knowing.

What is instructional design?

Instructional design is a structured process for designing, developing and evaluating learning materials and learning experiences.

It involves understanding the needs of Learners, defining learning objectives, selecting suitable teaching strategies, creating content, and assessing whether the training has achieved its intended outcomes.

Good instructional design uses evidence-based principles from learning, cognition and education to help Learners acquire knowledge, build skills and apply what they have learned.

The origins of instructional design

The origins of instructional design can be traced back to the early 20th century, but it became especially important during the Second World War.

Military training needed to be delivered quickly, consistently and effectively. This led to more systematic approaches to training design, including models that focused on analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation.

Over time, instructional design developed further by drawing on psychology, education, human-computer interaction and workplace training. Figures such as Robert Gagné, Benjamin Bloom and Edgar Dale helped shape many of the principles still used in learning design today.

Benefits of instructional design

Applying instructional design principles can improve the quality, consistency and effectiveness of your eLearning. Key benefits include:

1. Improved learning outcomes: Instructional design helps align training content with clear learning objectives, making it easier to create focused materials that support understanding and retention.
2. Efficiency and consistency: A structured design process makes it easier to create reusable templates, assessments and learning assets, helping you save time and keep training consistent across different courses.
3. Engagement and motivation: Instructional design encourages the use of scenarios, activities, multimedia and interaction, helping Learners stay engaged and actively involved.
4. Personalisation and adaptability: Instructional design can support more personalised learning experiences by considering Learner needs, feedback, analytics and different levels of support.
5. Effective use of technology: Instructional design helps you use technology with purpose, whether that means adding video, quizzes, simulations, feedback, branching scenarios or other interactive elements.

Do you need an instructional designer for every eLearning project?

An instructional designer can greatly improve the quality and effectiveness of an eLearning project, but you do not always need one for every course.

For smaller projects, simple awareness training or basic internal courses, you may be able to use templates, authoring tools and a clear course structure to create effective learning materials yourself.

For larger, more complex or high-stakes projects, an instructional designer can add significant value. They can help analyse Learner needs, define objectives, structure the content, design assessments and make sure the course supports measurable outcomes.

Common instructional design methods

Instructional designers use a range of models and methods to structure the learning design process. Common examples include:

ADDIE model

ADDIE stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. It is one of the most widely used instructional design models and provides a clear step-by-step framework for creating learning experiences.

SAM

SAM stands for Successive Approximation Model. It is a more agile approach that focuses on rapid prototyping, collaboration, feedback cycles and continuous improvement.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy helps instructional designers classify learning objectives by cognitive level. It is useful when deciding what you want Learners to do with the knowledge they are gaining.

1. Knowledge: Recalling or remembering information, such as facts, definitions or key details.
2. Comprehension: Understanding and explaining information in your own words.
3. Application: Using knowledge in new situations or applying it to practical problems.
4. Analysis: Breaking information into parts and understanding patterns, relationships or categories.
5. Synthesis: Combining ideas or elements to create something new.
6. Evaluation: Making judgements based on criteria, evidence or standards.

Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction

Robert Gagné's model outlines a sequence of instructional events that can help improve learning. These include gaining attention, explaining objectives, recalling prior knowledge, presenting content, guiding Learners, eliciting performance, giving feedback, assessing performance and supporting retention.

Conclusion

Instructional design is a practical discipline that combines learning theory, structure and technology to create better learning experiences.

By understanding the fundamentals of instructional design, you can create eLearning that is clearer, more engaging and more useful for your Learners. Whether you work with an instructional designer or create training yourself, these principles can help you build more effective online courses.