An instructional design document serves as the bedrock of any successful educational endeavor. With this document, the complete designing, developing, and instruction-delivering process becomes efficient. This leads to subpar learning outcomes. Therefore, it’s essential for every organization to come up with a well-written instructional design document. This document acts as a roadmap, guiding educators and instructional designers in aligning their efforts with learning objectives and best practices.
Wondering how to write a design document? Worry no more! In this article, I’m going to discuss the instructional design document template in detail.
How to Create an Instructional Design Document?
An instructional design document is the outline or blueprint for an instructional project. It covers various aspects of a project, like course goals, learning objectives, instructional strategies, assessments, project timelines, and budgets.
Let’s discuss everything in detail:
Project Context
The instructional design document needs a clear project context. It gives a quick summary of the course and what it’s supposed to achieve. First, it highlights the purpose of the project and the intentions behind its development.
It can be anything from imparting new skills and deepening existing knowledge to addressing specific educational challenges. Then, the second part of the project context outlines the desired outcomes and competencies that learners are expected to achieve upon completion.
Project Requirements
Then, you need to provide an overview of project requirements. This includes things like how much money can be spent on the project (cost), when it needs to be finished (timelines), and any rules or guidelines that must be followed (standards).
For instance, the project manager may say, “We can only spend $10,000 on this project, and the project needs to be done by next month.” They may also add, “Make sure it meets these quality standards.” Clear and concise project requirements ensure everyone involved stays on the right track and you get the desired outcomes.
Learning Requirements
Learning requirements are an essential part of an instructional design document. It’s all about understanding the people who will be taking the course. This includes things like who they are (audience profile) and where they’ll be when they’re learning (learning environment). You get to know about the age, background, education level, and any special needs of the learner.
In addition, you get to know about the learning environment of the learner – whether it’s at their office, home, or somewhere public like a library. Having proper knowledge of these things beforehand helps you create content that suits their needs and interests.
Course Objectives
You must incorporate clear course objectives in the instructional design document. These include the specific knowledge or skills learners should acquire by the end of the course. Learning objectives are clear, measurable statements that guide instructional content and assessment. For instance, a course objective can be to teach coding to students.
Instructional Strategy
The instructional design document also necessitates a comprehensive instructional strategy being put in place. This includes decisions about how content will be presented (presentation patterns) and how learners will be engaged throughout the course, which is your media strategy. Common presentation patterns include linear (sequential) presentations (slides), branching scenarios, problem-solving exercises, and case studies.
Media strategy involves finding out how various multimedia elements are going to be used. These elements include audio, visual, and interactive components. For instance, audio clips can be used to provide additional explanations or examples. While visual aids such as diagrams or videos could help illustrate complex concepts more effectively.
Assessment Strategy
Also, add an effective assessment plan to your Instructional design document. You should have two types of assessment strategies:
- Formative assessments are evaluations made during the learning process to provide feedback. These monitor learners’ comprehension and skill development as they progress through the course. The ultimate goal is to find out student’s weaknesses and strengths and help them improve.
- Summative assessments are gathering feedback from students or learners at the end of an educational program. These assessments typically measure the extent to which learners have achieved the learning objectives. Exams, final projects, presentations, or portfolios are some examples of summative assessments.
Also Read: What is Formative vs Summative Assessment?
Project Sign-Off Sheet
Lastly, prepare the project sign-off sheet to finalize the project development course. It involves obtaining agreement or concurrence from all key stakeholders involved in the project. This sign-off signifies that everyone involved, including project owners, subject matter experts, instructional designers, and other relevant parties, are on the same page.
They all agree that the course content, structure, and delivery methods meet the established criteria and requirements.
Benefits of Instructional Design Documents
Let’s now look at the benefits of an instructional design document:
Presenting Proposed Training Solutions
The instructional design document provides a proposed training solution to the client or stakeholders. It provides a clear overview of the course structure, content, and instructional strategies. Hence, ensuring the project helps in making informed decision-making and aligns with client expectations.
Ensuring Coherence and Completeness
The IDD is a complete outline of the project or learning course. It has all the instructions, from course objectives to performance goals and assessment plans. This helps instructional designers and developers stay organized and focused on achieving the intended learning objectives.
Inviting Feedback
The instructional design document is the platform for inviting feedback about the design from various stakeholders. These include subject matter experts, instructors, and learners. Proper feedback ensures that the instructional design meets the needs and preferences of the target audience. In case there are issues, the feedback proves to be valuable in refining the output.
Final Thoughts
It’s essential to create an instructional design document before starting a new learning project. The instructional design document (IDD) covers almost every part of a project, from project context and project requirements to assessment plans. Not only this, but there’s also information about course objectives, performance measurement, and a project sign-off sheet. This ensures that everyone involved in a project is on the same track.
There are a few inefficiencies that offer above-par learning outcomes. The benefits of IDD are also plenty. You can expect proposed training solutions for clients, clarity in teamwork, and proper feedback to refine the project.
