Why this exists
Most workplace learning fails the same way: clever content, the wrong learner, no plan for what the learner can do afterwards. This unit fixes the first three things you control as a designer.
By the end of this unit- Describe the difference between training and instructional design.
- Write a learning objective that is observable.
- Name the five stages of the workflow used in this practice.
Training is not learning
Training is what the trainer delivers. Learning is what changes in the learner. Instructional design is the bridge between the two — the deliberate work of arranging content, practice, and feedback so the change actually happens.
What you are designing
You are designing three things at once:
An outcome
What the learner can do that they could not do before. Observable, not vague.
A path
The shortest sensible route from where the learner is now to that outcome.
A practice
Enough retrieval and feedback to make the outcome stick when the learning is over.
Start with the learner
Design begins with someone specific. Not an org chart. Not a job title. A person, with a job, with constraints, with a phone in their hand at 4pm. If you cannot picture them, you cannot design for them.
Three questions before you write a word
Who exactly?
Where and when will they meet this?
What will be different afterwards?
Take a piece of training you have either built or sat through. Can you answer all three questions for it? If not, that is where the design needs more work.
Mobile-first is not a slogan
Most workplace learners will open content on a phone. Plan for the small screen first. Short paragraphs. Headings that work as labels. Images that mean something at thumb-width. If it works on a phone, it works everywhere. If you design for a desktop, you build twice.
Rule of thumbForty-five words is the working maximum for a paragraph in a workplace learning unit. Hit it most of the time. Allow yourself an extra sentence when it earns its place.
Learning objectives that are useful
A learning objective is the contract between you and the learner. If you cannot tell whether they hit it, it is not an objective — it is a hope.
The shape of a good objective
A useful objective has three parts: the verb the learner can do, the thing they will do it to, and the condition under which they will do it.
Verbs that work, verbs that do not
Observable verbs. You can tell whether the learner did them.
Identify, list, describe, explain, demonstrate, apply, classify, compare, prioritise, plan, design, evaluate, debug, calculate, draft.
Unobservable verbs. They live in the learner's head. You cannot grade them.
Understand, know, appreciate, be aware of, learn about, be familiar with, grasp, get a feel for.
If you find yourself writing "understand", stop. Ask what the learner would do to prove they understand. That verb is your real objective.
Bloom, lightly
Bloom's taxonomy is a ladder of verbs from recall at the bottom to creation at the top. You do not need to memorise it. You do need to notice when every objective in your course sits on the bottom rung. A unit made only of "list" and "identify" is a quiz, not a course.
Which of these is the strongest learning objective?
The five-stage workflow
Most projects fail not because the design was wrong but because the work was done in the wrong order. The order below is what production teams actually use. Skipping a stage costs you twice in the next one.
Plan and storyboard
Agree outlines and objectives with the editor and project manager. Build a storyboard document, section by section. Specify every asset: audio scripted, images described, videos timed.
Proofread
A qualified proofreader, briefed on the project, with access to the style guide. Their changes go back into the storyboard, not the build.
Build and produce assets
Build the unit in the platform from the storyboard. Assets can come in late as long as they are signed off before the review.
Review
Editor reviews the build against the storyboard and the review checklist. Most changes should already be settled in the storyboard.
QA
Project manager runs a final pass against the brief. If the early stages were done well, this stage is fast.
This workflow is taken from production guidance for the Rise 360 platform but the shape is universal. Plan, write, check, build, sign off.
Which stage do you tend to compress or skip? What does it cost you downstream?
End of Unit 1
You should now be able to:
- Describe the difference between training and instructional design.
- Write a learning objective that is observable.
- Name the five stages of the production workflow.
Continue to the unit review.
Unit review
Four questions about what you have just read. Choose the best option in each.
Which statement best describes instructional design?
Which is the weakest verb for a learning objective?
Why is "start with the learner" the first principle?
Which stage of the workflow comes immediately after planning and storyboarding?
End of module
You have completed Foundations of Instructional Design. Next: Digital Learning Design Principles, which turns these foundations into the rules you apply when designing for a screen.