3 Essential Questions for Instructional Designers

🎬The Power of Storyboarding in Instructional Design In this video, we see a fascinating sequence, a kid carefully bouncing a ball from one pan to another, each time adding a new pan to guide the ball’s path until it finally lands perfectly in a cup. ⚓ This simple act beautifully mirrors what happens in instructional design. Every effective educational material, whether a video, infographic, or lesson plan, needs a clear storyboard. ⚓ Just like the ball’s journey, a storyboard helps us plan the flow of learning , step by step, frame by frame. We decide where to start, how each part connects, and where we want learners to “land.” Without a storyboard, ideas may bounce in random directions, losing focus and impact. ⚓ A good storyboard ensures that every “bounce”, every visual, line of text, and transition, moves learners closer to understanding. It’s the invisible structure that turns creativity into clarity. 💭 Question to reflect on: If a ball can’t reach its target without a planned path, how can our learning content reach the learner without a storyboard? #InstructionalDesign #Storyboarding #LearningDesign #EdTech #TeachingInnovation #VisualLearning #DigitalPedagogy #Educators #LearningExperienceDesign

If you think instructional design is just about nice slides, think again. It’s about how people learn and how you make that learning stick. These are 7 principles that shape the way I design every learning experience: 1️⃣ Start with the end in mind Before writing a single slide, ask: What should the learner be able to do after this? Design everything around that outcome. 2️⃣ Make it relevant Adults don’t care about theory, they care about what helps them now. Link every concept to real workplace problems. 3️⃣ Chunk the content Our brains can’t process long lectures. Break your content into small, focused chunks each with one clear message. 4️⃣ Tell stories, not just facts Stories activate emotions and emotions drive memory. Use real cases, examples, and mini-scenarios. 5️⃣ Engage every few minutes Polls, short reflections, quick challenges — anything that keeps the learner active. If learners are silent for too long, you’re losing them. 6️⃣ Visuals over text A clear diagram beats a paragraph. Don’t decorate — illustrate. 7️⃣ Test and adapt No course is perfect the first time. Watch how learners interact and improve continuously. Great design isn’t about more slides — it’s about smarter learning. If you’re building training programs and want them to truly engage learners — I can help. #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #Training #EdTech #CorporateTraining #AdultLearning

This is fantastic advice. It's that quiet understanding that really makes a difference. Her take on design reflects the heart of a truly learner-centered experience. This insight is a good reminder to have thoughtful reflections throughout the entire process, which should always point back to the learner, their experiences, feelings and understanding.

As time has gone by and I continue to work in the instructional design field, this statement resonates more and more to me day by day. 👩💻Design of a course is integral. Yes, you hope learners go away with something, but it is how they apply what they learn and not check a box. 💸Development of learning takes time. It also takes money. Investing in great learning (even if it may take a little while to develop) is what is going to land your organization the profits needed to keep moving on. 💪Learners need the knowledge of skills they will be applying to tasks in their roles. These skills constantly change to become better and better. Updated technology. New process of completing a task. It is a never ending cycle of needing to develop more training to enhance these learners to perform at their highest capability. Lela S. brings up some more great points she has discussed that apply also to this quote. These 3 points I mention above are mine. What do you think about this quote? What resonates with you in contemplating it? #LearningandDevelopment #Design #Networking

There’s a big difference between working fast and working efficiently in instructional design. Fast means rushing to hit a deadline. You skip planning, shortcut reviews, and hope nothing breaks. It feels productive in the moment, but you end up fixing avoidable problems later. Efficient means having systems that let you deliver quality work quickly. You know your tools well, have templates that speed development, and catch issues early instead of after launch. Here’s what I’ve learned about working efficiently: Invest in templates and standards. Having consistent approaches saves hours on every project. When you don’t have to reinvent navigation or decide on button styles each time, development moves faster. Know your tools deeply. The difference between knowing Storyline basics and really understanding it is significant. Advanced features and shortcuts pay off on every project. Build review into your process. When you skip quality checks to “save time,” you just spend that time fixing problems later. Reuse intelligently. I had to create two sustainability courses for different business lines. The core content was essentially the same, but one needed a more serious tone and color palette, while one focused on investments and the other on lending. Instead of building two separate courses from scratch, I created one course and adapted it thoughtfully - adjusting the tone, color palette, and product focus for each audience. Both courses delivered exactly what each business line needed in a fraction of the time it would have taken to start over. That’s not cutting corners - that’s recognizing when the solution already exists and adapting it intelligently. Ask the right questions upfront. Fifteen minutes clarifying expectations saves hours of rework later. The reality is that most “urgent” projects aren’t actually urgent - they’re the result of poor planning somewhere upstream. But when you do have legitimate tight timelines, efficiency is what gets you through them without sacrificing quality. I’ve seen people who work fast burn out quickly because they’re always in crisis mode. People who work efficiently handle the same workload with less stress because they’ve built systems that support quality work at a sustainable pace. #InstructionalDesign #Efficiency #QualityWork #LearningAndDevelopment #ProcessImprovement

There’s been a lot of conversation lately about whether portfolios are fair or industry standard in instructional design and learning & development. Rather than debating the philosophy, I think it’s worth talking about something *practical and solution-oriented*: 👉 What makes a portfolio truly valuable, for both candidates and hiring managers? What are some of your best practices and solutions for creating a portfolio? Here are a few best practices I've learned, and I'm curious to hear your perspective as well: 1️⃣ Show your thinking, not just your tools. It’s less about whether you used Rise, Storyline, or Canva, and more about how you approached the problem. Include short explanations: What was the need? Who was the learner? What decisions did you make and why? 2️⃣ Protect confidentiality, but show capability. If your past work is under NDA, create sanitized or simulated examples. Redact company names, change visuals, or build a short demo that mirrors your process. Employers understand this, it’s about evidence of skill, not specific content. Or get creative and create your own solution to a real-world problem. 3️⃣ Tell the story behind the solution. Pair each project with a concise write-up or visual walkthrough. Show how you analyzed needs, collaborated with SMEs, or adapted based on feedback. This builds trust in your process. 4️⃣ Keep it simple and accessible. A clean Google Site or Notion page can be just as effective as a custom website. The goal is clarity and professional presentation, not flashiness. 5️⃣ Update regularly. Your portfolio should evolve as your career does. Even one strong, recent project can demonstrate current capability. A portfolio isn’t just about “proving” you can build, it’s about reflecting how you think as a learning designer. *Curious, what’s one thing you wish more portfolios did well? What are your solutions and best practices when it comes to creating your portfolio?* I’d love to hear from other professionals who review or maintain portfolios in L&D.

Instructional design isn’t about content—it’s about transformation. Use the Double Diamond to make sure you solve the right problem, the right way: - Discover: Understand your learners before designing anything. - Define: Clarify the real learning gap, not just the topic. - Develop: Prototype learning experiences, not slides. - Deliver: Measure behavior change, not completion rates.

The Tip of the Iceberg in Instructional Design We often hear the phrase “Tip of the iceberg,” meaning what we see is just a small part of something much deeper. As an Instructional Designer, I feel this phrase perfectly fits the way we create storyboards. When I design a storyboard, I put a lot of thought into creating onscreen text that aligns with the narration, keeping it content-based, visually appealing, and well-supported with infographics and interactivities. But the two slides where I pour in the most thought and creativity are the Learning Objectives and Summary slides. Learning objectives slide This usually appears at the beginning of a course. The objectives are written as short, crisp lines, often not even full sentences. Yet, these few words represent the depth of the entire course. Each objective is like the tip of the iceberg, hinting at the larger ocean of knowledge that lies beneath. Summary slide At the end of the storyboard, we highlight key learning points again, just a few lines. But behind those short sentences lies everything the learner has absorbed, understood, and connected throughout the course, the vast part of the iceberg that remains unseen. In both cases, what the learner sees on screen is simple and clear, but what lies beneath is hours of analysis, design thinking, and creative effort. That’s the beauty of Instructional Design: It’s not just what’s visible on the surface, but what’s thoughtfully built underneath. #ID #Instructionaldesign #elearning #Learningobjectives #summary #keylearningpoints #tipoftheiceberg

Instructional Designers: You Are Architects of Learning We don’t just create courses. We design change. In performance, in understanding, in outcomes. And yet, it’s easy to forget just how much strategy, creativity, and psychology goes into this work. Every click. Every animation. Every piece of content. It’s mapped with purpose - grounded in learning theory and powered by real-world results. If you’re currently piecing together tutorials and second-guessing every design decision… pause. 🔁 Reframe this: Instructional design isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being intentional. Whether you’re transitioning careers or deepening your craft, remember: �� You can learn the tools. ✨ You can build a portfolio that makes hiring managers say “wow.” ✨ You can design learning experiences that actually move people. And you don’t need a second Master’s degree to do it. You just need the right roadmap, and the courage to start. #InstructionalDesign #IDOLAcademy #LXD #LearningDesign #CareerChange #DoItMessy #MondayMotivation

The biggest misconception about Instructional Design Instructional Design is often misunderstood as simply creating slides, adding animations, or developing “boring” eLearning modules. But in reality, it’s so much more than content creation — it’s about solving real performance challenges through learning. At Thinklab, we see great Instructional Design as the intersection of: 🔹 Strategy – understanding the true learning need. Are the materials from SMEs aligned with the learners’ level and context? 🔹 Empathy – knowing the learners and their realities. Do all the details need to be shown? How challenging should the assessments be? 🔹 Creativity – designing experiences that engage with purpose. We encourage creativity, but always with clear intent and learning value. 🔹 Measurement – tracking how learning influences performance and behavior. While it’s ideal to measure behavior change, we also recognize the limitations—especially when relying solely on eLearning. (Just our two cents.) At the end of the day, effective design doesn’t start with software — it starts with purpose. That’s what turns training into meaningful learning. 💬 What’s the biggest myth you’ve encountered about Instructional Design? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #LXD #eLearning #PerformanceImprovement #CorporateLearning #LearningStrategy