Trends & Issues in IDT

Instructional Design in Business and Industry

One of the most common areas of instructional design is within the private sectors of business, industrial, and military settings.(Reiser and Dempsey, 2015) There has been steady growth of employee training in business, industry, and military settings since the 1980’s. The role that instructional designers take includes: being a sole designer, a team member/leader of a design team, or an external designer/consultant. All three roles require very different training and job descriptions. This can be an issue and area of difficulty that instruction designers face in business and industry. A challenge that instructional designers in the business industry face that related to me the most was working with the client. In chapter 18, Reiser and Dempsey state, “There are often differences in perceptions of the instructional design process between the client and the instructional designer.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 180) It is the responsibility of the instructional designer to educate the client on the process of ID in order to alleviate future frustrations and client understanding throughout the ID process. In other words, you must let the client know what to expect throughout the process so that there aren’t as many misconceptions or misunderstandings. This relates to me in the way that the student's in my classroom and their parents are in a way my clients. I must communicate effectively with my student's and parents so that we have a mutual understanding of what is expected in the classroom. Communication as a teacher is a key part of the job that takes time and dedication. Communication between clients in business and industry is just as important.

Instructional Design in Healthcare Education

The healthcare field is very broad. Most of us think of doctor’s offices or hospitals when we think of the healthcare field, but there is much more than that. It includes the medical field, it’s many specialty fields, the professions of veterinary medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health, public health, specialty groups, research centers, agencies and organizations that respond to disasters, industries involved in drug manufacturing, and many more. (Reiser & Dempsey, 2015) “When you take a pet to the vet, visit a pharmacy, eat in a restaurant, or by food at the grocery store, someone in the health sciences, either directly or indirectly ,has affected your life.” (Rieser & Dempsey, p. 198) Because of the various roles served in the health sciences field, there are varied settings where healthcare education take place. The most obvious being medical schools. Medical education in the United States includes three phases: undergraduate education, graduate education, and postgraduate education. (Reiser & Dempsey, 2015) Healthcare education is supported by research that proves that expertise is largely a function of previous problem-solving experience. “As expertise develops, problem solving becomes automatic.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 200)

As teachers, we are encouraged to design lessons for our students that are student centered and involve problem solving and critical thinking. These experiences in the classroom lead to greater ability to find solutions and greater expertise in areas of instruction. Our students learn by doing and we have to allow them and teach them how to think on their own for future success. Why would the instructional design for our health sciences industry be any different? Our healthcare professionals in all of their various roles must learn by doing and problem solving. In rewording the quote from chapter 20, the more experience you have problem solving certain situations the more automatic the problem solving becomes. I think we all can relate to this situation in which the first time we tried to compete a task that may have been difficult, caused some frustration and made us use problem-solving skills. However, in the circumstances that this same situation came up again, we already had the skills and knowledge to know how to solve the problem.

Instructional Design in Military Education

Today’s military training has changed because of the enhanced appreciate for the individual’s needs. Instructional designers today must produce training that meets the requirements of the military as well as the needs of the individual. “Today’s servicemen and women volunteer to serve their country, but they expect something in return.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 187) Lifelong learning in military education opens doors and provides opportunities for those who leave the service. Because of the sacrifices our servicemen and women make, instructional designers must make the effort to offer them the chance to have all of the tools they need to succeed, to grow, and to develop so that they can contribute to society after leaving the military.

In our classrooms, we must also offer lifelong learning to our students. Without the teaching our student's “life lessons” we are not giving them the tools they need to be good citizens in the real world. Yes, I only teach 8 and 9 year olds, but I still have the opportunity to teach them about being good community members, having good character, and treating others with respect. All of these are lessons that they can continue to use throughout their lifetime. LIfelong learning goes a long way.

Preparing for the Future

We can better prepare today's youth by teaching them not to be wasteful. We all learn that we should not let the water run as we brush our teeth, to not take longer than needed showers, and to turn off a light if it is not being used. There may not be a clear solution for the lack of resources our youth will face, but we can teach them skills to conserve for the future. In my observation the education system, curriculum, and instructional design are moving toward teaching more problem solving skills for our youth. As teachers, we are encouraged, if not forced, to design lessons that involve problem solving and critical thinking in the classroom. I do not believe we are where we need to be but, we are moving in the right direction.