Instructional Designers on the Borderline: Brokering Across Communities of Practice

Abstract

This chapter examines the unique role of instructional designers within the university setting, particularly when their knowledge is combined with leadership positions to broker across communities of practice. In their role as brokers, they coordinate multi-disciplinary projects and collaborations that foster connections across communities of practice, acting effectively as language translators. The instructional designer has an influential position in an organisation when they can utilise their multi-disciplinary perspective to create new possibilities for innovative design and professional development. This borderline position needs to be carefully managed as it is a precarious balance between being accepted as a change agent, and being ineffective. This chapter will outline a case study that examines the role of an instructional designer in influencing institutional change through the introduction of blended learning.