What is instructional design? Exploring the core principles

Instructional design, a field dedicated to creating effective learning experiences, has evolved over the decades. The field began to take shape in the 1950s with B.F. Skinner’s innovative ideas on programmed instruction, which emphasized breaking learning into small steps, incorporating frequent questions and providing immediate feedback—principles that still underpin modern teaching models.¹ By the 1970s, instructional design embraced systems information processing models and integrated emerging media like filmstrips to enhance learning experiences.¹

Fast forward to the digital age. A McKinsey report found the number of learners using massive open online courses between 2011 and 2021 skyrocketed, from 300,000 to over 220 million.² With the increased demand for accessible education, organizations need trained instructional designers to bridge pedagogical theory with cutting-edge technology^.3,4 Whether you’re designing for online, hybrid or traditional settings, instructional design theory can help to expand your knowledge of cognitive science, the latest instructional strategies and digital tools.⁴ With this expertise, you will be prepared to create educational experiences where all learners can thrive. 

In this blog post, we’ll delve into the role of instructional designers, explore popular instructional design models and examine emerging trends shaping this dynamic field’s future.

What’s the role of an instructional designer?

Instructional designers play a vital role in transforming raw content into structured, engaging learning experiences—a task that requires creativity, strategy, and continuous improvement. To stay at the forefront of this evolving field, instructional designers must actively expand their knowledge and skills through advanced education, professional development and networking. As an instructional designer, your work has a direct and measurable impact on learner success, ensuring educational materials are accessible, aligned with individual learning styles, and meet the goals of both educators and organizations.

Instructional designers create:

• Training courses
• Instructional manuals
• Video tutorials
• Online courses
• Multimedia learning packages

Instructional designers might work in:

• Public or private education
• Higher education
• Government organizations
• Healthcare organizations
• Corporate environments
• Educational psychology
• Tech companies

By blending educational theory, cognitive psychology, design principles, and cutting-edge technology, instructional designers create environments where learners can truly thrive. Key responsibilities include conducting thorough learner analyses, selecting instructional methods that align with the content and designing assessments to accurately measure student progress. Through these efforts, instructional designers develop impactful learning experiences across a wide range of educational and professional settings.

Principles of instructional design

During the instructional design process, you might collaborate with different stakeholders—subject matter experts, graphic designers and multimedia specialists—to produce comprehensive learning solutions. To ensure you are creating effective, high-quality learning experiences, let the core principles of instructional design be your guide. These principles ensure instructional design remains learner-centered, goal-oriented, and data-driven.⁵

The instructional design process typically follows five key principles:^5,6

• Learner-centered focus: Address the needs, experiences and skill levels of learners. This principle involves assessing learner characteristics to ensure the instruction is relevant and effective for diverse audiences
• Clear objectives: Establishing well-defined learning goals and outcomes is crucial for developing instructional materials and assessments. Clear objectives ensure that the learning experience is purposeful and measurable
• Active learning: Incorporate interactive and participatory methods to engage learners and enhance retention. Activities that involve learners actively contribute to deeper understanding and application of knowledge
• Continuous feedback: Implement regular assessments and feedback mechanisms to monitor progress and improve instruction. This allows for ongoing refinement and adjustment based on learner performance and needs
• Scalability and flexibility: Ensure that instructional designs are adaptable to various formats and contexts, such as in-person, hybrid and online environments. Flexibility in design allows for effective adaptation to different learning scenarios and needs.

Types of instructional design models

The principles of design are closely tied to many instructional design models, such as ADDIE, which provide a structured approach to designing and implementing learning programs. The most widely used models for instructional design include:^6,7

• ADDIE: Follows a structured, linear process with five key steps: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Each step builds upon the previous one to ensure a comprehensive learning experience
• Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction: Based on behaviorist principles, this model consists of nine stages, including gaining attention, presenting content and providing feedback. Adapt instructional strategies to various learning scenarios, ensuring learners are actively engaged and supported throughout the process
• Merrill’s Principles of Instruction: Outlines five principles to promote active learning through real-world problem-solving. Principles include task-centered learning, activation of prior knowledge, demonstration of skills, application and integration
• SAM (Successive Approximation Model): Provides an agile, iterative approach to instructional design, allowing for rapid prototyping and feedback loops. It’s ideal for projects requiring flexibility and frequent revisions

While each model offers different methodologies, they all share the common goal of improving learning outcomes. When choosing a model, instructional designers need to carefully consider the project’s goals and complexity, learners’ needs and the resources available for content creation. 

Application in educational settings

Instructional design is used extensively in educational settings to enhance the learning experience. In K-12 schools, instructional designers work to create curricula that cater to diverse learning needs, utilizing digital tools to engage students. In higher education, instructional design is pivotal in developing online courses, interactive lectures, and assessments that cater to in-person and distance learners.³

While traditional teaching often focuses on the delivery of information, instructional design places more importance on how learners interact with the content. This shift promotes deeper engagement and retention, making learning more accessible and effective in various educational settings.

What tools are commonly used in instructional design?

For many instructional designers, one of the most exciting parts of the role is keeping up with new technologies. Christy Tucker, founder of Syniad Learning, says that today’s designers don’t always have the luxury of working with large multimedia teams and often must create eLearning content themselves.⁸ By leveraging commonly used tools and technology, instructional designers can streamline the content creation process, designing interactive environments with the learner in mind.⁹

Popular instructional technology include:^8,9

• E-Learning authoring tools: Rise and Storyline are tools used to design, develop and publish digital learning experiences. Rise offers pre-built templates, ideal for quickly creating courses that look great on any device. Storyline allows for highly customizable courses with more advanced interactivity, animations, and branching scenarios
• Learning management systems: Platforms like Blackboard, Canvas and Moodle allow instructional designers to organize and deliver courses, track learner progress and provide assessments
• Video and audio editing software: Camtasia and Adobe Premiere create video lectures, instructional tutorials and multimedia content that enhance the learning experience
• Graphic design tools: Canva and Adobe Photoshop are often used to design visual aids, infographics and other training materials that make learning content more accessible and engaging

When applying for instructional design jobs, designers need to be prepared to show prospective employers what they can do. With a portfolio, an instructional designer can discuss projects where they used technology to create dynamic, learner-focused content. 

Emerging trends in instructional design

From artificial intelligence to data analytics, new trends are transforming how instructional materials are created and delivered. AI and machine learning personalize learning experiences by analyzing learner behavior and adapting content in real time.¹⁰ Augmented and virtual reality, which offer immersive, experiential learning, are transforming how learners interact with educational content.¹⁰ In fields such as healthcare and engineering, this development is especially promising as learners can gain practical skills through simulations. Through actionable insights into learner performance, designers can leverage data to refine course content, tailor learning to meet diverse needs and improve the overall effectiveness of programs.¹⁰

Elevate your impact on education

Interested in enhancing your instructional design skills? Want to become part of a network of innovators? By pursuing the online Master of Science in the Learning Sciences (MSLS) degree at SMU, you can open doors to new opportunities, and you won’t have to leave your current role. 

SMU’s fully online program is designed for professionals who seek to deepen their expertise in instructional design, data science, and immersive learning technologies. Through a dynamic curriculum, you’ll gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools and methodologies, empowering you to shape the future of education and training. Whether you're designing corporate training programs, creating video tutorials for the web, trying to improve the learning resources available for students using a learning management system, SMU's program can give you the skills and inspiration you need to get started.

Don’t wait to start moving up. Schedule a call with one of our admissions outreach advisors today.