Instructional Design Resources

What is an instructional designer and what skills are required to enter the profession?

An instructional designer designs and develops learning materials using instructional theories, strategies, resources and technologies to expedite the learning process.

The International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (ibstpi®) has provided the following list of competencies, categorized as essential, advanced and managerial.

An instructional designer, per ibstpi, should be able to:

  1. Design and develop instructional interventions and materials (essential)
  2. Identify and describe the target population (essential)
  3. Effectively communicate their thoughts (essential)
  4. Provide data driven solutions (advanced)

Access the complete list of instructional designer competencies.

Learning and Instructional Theories

Project Management Resources for Instructional Designers

Instructional resources

Best Practices

Emerging Topics

Professional Development Opportunities

Books on Instructional Design

  • Ten Steps to Complex Learning: A Systematic Approach to Four-Component Instructional Design (3rd Edition) by Jeroen J. G. van Merriënboer, Paul A. Kirschner
  • Principles of Instructional Design (5th Edition) by Robert M. Gagne, Walter W. Wager, Katharine Golas, John M. Keller
  • Instructional Design (3rd Edition) by Patricia L. Smith, Tillman J. Ragan
  • Designing Effective Instruction (7th Edition) by Gary R. Morrison, Steven M. Ross, Howard K. Kalman, Jerrold E. Kemp
  • Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (4th Edition) by Robert A. Reiser, John V. Dempsey
  • Learning to Solve Problems: An Instructional Design Guide by David H. Jonassen
  • Web-Based Learning: Design, Implementation and Evaluation 2nd Edition by Gayle V. Davidson-Shivers, Karen L. Rasmussen, Patrick R. Lowenthal