What is an ID? A survey study

Abstract

Instructional design positions in higher education require greater depth and breadth of knowledge, skill, and general competencies than the qualifications found in typical job descriptions and published industry competency sets (e.g., ibstpi). The eDesign Collaborative Research Team, a part of the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), wished to explore the discrepancies that exist between commonly identified competencies and those deemed necessary by instructional designers (IDs) actively working in higher education, as results could be informative for administrators, managers, and designers alike as the design field expands. The major competencies found in the literature and coded by the researchers after collecting survey responses included collaboration, communication, theoretical knowledge, problem-solving, course design and development, management (i.e., project management), research and analysis, technological expertise, ongoing learning, leadership, relationship management, evaluation, marketing, ethical and legal considerations of design, faculty development, and editing/proofreading. The participants rated these competencies and explored the relationship of the highly rated competencies with the actual work performed by the participants. Likewise, the study sought to explore the participants’ career plans, goals, and access to professional development. The results showed that a majority (56%) described the ID role as a mix of both faculty and content development. When asked what they would rather be doing with their time, an even mix between working more with faculty and working more on content development was observed. Many individuals also mentioned an interest in working more with technology and innovative projects. Collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs), content experts, faculty, and instructors was by far the most valuable competency, both in importance and time spent. Research and marketing seemed to be least important and garnered the least amount of employee time.