Strategies and Heuristics for Novice Instructional Designers as They Work with Faculty Content Experts in a University Setting

Abstract

Universities increasingly expect faculty to integrate technology in their teaching and deliver instructional materials in innovative ways. The responsibility for creating technology-enhanced instruction typically falls on faculty who want to deliver instruction more effectively and efficiently and on students who are hired or assigned to assist them. In creating an instructional technology product, faculty members usually serve as content experts and students often serve as technology developers. In this chapter, we describe the development process we have used in training and working with student developers and faculty-student project development teams. We outline critical issues instructional designers face when working with faculty content experts, and provide suggestions for becoming effective designers and overcoming the obstacles in this academic setting. We hope the strategies and heuristics discussed will assist novice instructional designers to become better prepared, avoid pitfalls, and find the design experience to be both challenging and rewarding.