Sharpen ID Skills with Paula O'Brien's ADDIE-Aligned Journey

Video discussion boards or text based threads? As instructional designers, we often default to text-based discussion boards. They feel structured and familiar. But there’s a strong case for integrating more audio or video discussions instead. As one article explains, “speaking activates this loop, reducing cognitive load and freeing bandwidth for deeper reasoning.” When learners talk through their ideas, they are not just responding — they are processing in real time. Audio and video discussions invite thinking out loud. They capture tone, pauses, uncertainty, and developing insight in ways text often edits out. As the article puts it, “Voice is fast. It’s human. It reveals our thoughts before we edit and polish them.” If our goal is deeper learning rather than perfectly crafted posts, creating space for spoken reflection may help learners clarify their reasoning, spot gaps, and build confidence in their understanding.

Instructional Designers don’t just create courses — they shape how people think, learn, and perform. 🧠✨ Behind every effective learning experience is an Instructional Designer who blends strategy, empathy, creativity, and performance thinking. These 20 strengths of an instructional designer represent the skills that truly matter in today’s learning and development ecosystem — from learner empathy and assessment design to systems thinking and learning advocacy. If you work in instructional design, learning experience design, L&D, corporate training, or education, this is a powerful reminder of the value you bring every single day. 💡📚 Whether you’re designing for performance, engagement, accessibility, or impact — these strengths define what great instructional designers do best. 🚀 💬 Which strength do you rely on the most in your work? #instructionaldesign #instructionaldesigner #learninganddevelopment #learningexperience #corporatetraining #elearning

🎯 What makes a great Instructional Designer? It’s not just about mastering tools or writing learning objectives. It’s about finding the balance between design, technology, and people. This visual sums it up perfectly: 🔵 Core Instructional Design Skills – Understanding learning theory, analyzing needs, and setting clear objectives. 🟠 Technical & Digital Learning Skills – Using LMSs, authoring tools, and multimedia to bring ideas to life. 🟢 Soft Skills – Communicating, collaborating, and solving problems with empathy and strategy. The most effective Instructional Designers sit right in the middle of this Venn diagram, where creativity meets structure and technology meets humanity. 💬 Which of these areas do you think most L&D teams need to strengthen in 2026? 👉 https://hubs.la/Q040rKQP0 #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #eLearning #LXD #CareerGrowth #SkillsDevelopment

Re-reading Understanding by Design (for the first time in almost two decades!) as I co-write a chapter on instructional design, and I’m struck (again) by why this work continues to be foundational to Learning and Development. A good reminder that strong learning experience design isn’t about trends; it’s about fundamentals done well. Feeling lucky to write about work that matters. What learning design principles have stood the test of time in your work? 

Instructional Designers don’t start with slides… they start with thinking. 🧠➡️🎨 What we design depends on what we want learners to understand, decide, and demonstrate. 🎯 Great instructional design isn’t about decoration — it’s about choosing the right learning strategy for the learning goal. 📚 What we teach 🧩 How we structure it 👁️ What learners can show When strategy leads, learning becomes clearer, measurable, and more meaningful. This is where learning experience design, training strategy, and cognitive science come together to improve: ✅ learner engagement ✅ knowledge retention ✅ performance outcomes 💬 How do you decide the best way to represent your learning goals? #instructionaldesign #learningstrategy #learningexperiencedesign #corporatetraining #elearningdesign #lxd #traininganddevelopment #edtech

Here are two quick tips for beginner instructional designers: 1. Understand Your Audience: Before creating any instructional material, take the time to analyze and understand the needs, preferences, and learning styles of your target audience. Have conversations with stakeholders and those involved to gather insights. This understanding will inform your design choices and help create more effective and engaging learning experiences. 2. Utilize a Structured Framework: Use established instructional design models like ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) or SAM (Successive Approximation Model) to guide your process. These frameworks provide a systematic approach to designing effective learning materials, ensuring a focus on continuous improvement and alignment with learning objectives.

Want to sharpen your instructional design skills? Looking to build an ID portfolio with work you can actually use? ATD Nashville’s Instructional Design SIG is back, and Session 1 kicks off a full ADDIE-aligned journey designed to build real instructional design capability from concept to creation. Hosted by Paula O'Brien, MHR, M.Ed., PMP, this experience blends learning science, practical application, and portfolio-building opportunities for L&D professionals at any stage. 📅 Monday, February 16, 2026 ⏰ 5:30–6:45 PM CST 📍 Zoom (link provided upon registration) 💰 Members & Non-Members: FREE with registration In this session, you’ll: • Explore the foundations of learning science • Understand the impact and value of instructional design • Review core learning theories including Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, Adult Learning Theory, and Bloom’s Taxonomy • Set the stage for a multi-session experience that builds toward tangible learning assets Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions to get the full ADDIE-aligned experience. ➡️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/eu8Cyape

Most learning problems aren’t actually “training” problems. They’re clarity problems. Alignment problems. Design problems. In instructional design, the real work often happens before a single slide is built: * Asking better questions * Understanding performance gaps (not just content gaps) * Designing experiences that respect time, context, and how adults actually learn I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how effective learning design is less about more content and more about intentional decisions—what to include, what to leave out, and how to guide learners toward real behavior change. Curious how others in L&D and instructional design are approaching this: What’s one design decision you’ve made recently that had an outsized impact on learner outcomes? #InstructionalDesign #LearningExperienceDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #AdultLearning #WorkplaceLearning #PerformanceImprovement #HumanCenteredDesign

If you're in L&D or Instructional Design and feel like you're learning in circles — these 3 platforms will change that 👏 Most free content online scratches the surface. These go deeper. 1️⃣ ATD — Association for Talent Development 🔗 td.org Stop guessing what "good" looks like in talent development. ATD gives you the global benchmark — research, certifications, and frameworks used by the best in the field. 2️⃣ The Learning Guild 🔗 learningguild.com If you've ever designed something and wondered "is this actually working?" — this is where you find evidence-based answers. Real research. Real practitioners. No noise. 3️⃣ The eLearning Designer's Academy 🔗 elearningacademy.io Struggling to move from theory to execution? Tim Slade built this for exactly that gap. Practical resources and courses that help you do the work — not just understand it. The difference between a good instructional designer and a great one? They never stop learning how to design learning. #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #LXD #eLearning #TalentDevelopment #WorkplaceLearning #ProfessionalDevelopment

Knowledge extraction: The biggest challenge in subject matter expertise The most valuable organisational knowledge typically resides with subject matter experts who lack instructional design skills. This creates a fundamental bottleneck in course creation: Instructional designers don't possess the subject expertise Subject experts lack course creation capabilities Traditional collaboration is time-intensive for both parties Our analysis reveals this knowledge extraction challenge as the primary bottleneck in 73% of corporate learning operations. CourseAgent addresses this challenge through guided knowledge extraction that allows subject matter experts to contribute their expertise without becoming instructional designers. This approach transforms the expert-designer relationship from sequential handoff to parallel collaboration—dramatically reducing development time while improving content quality. How does your organisation currently handle the knowledge extraction challenge? #KnowledgeExtraction #SubjectMatterExperts #CourseCreation #ExpertiseTransfer