Being an Effective Instructional Designer Essay - 4

Being an Effective Instructional Designer - Essay Example Competency in the field of instructional design depends on the ability to provide effective implementation of instructional products and programs. It is considered as an important competency. According to Richey Fields, Instructional designer need to use evaluation data as a guide for revision of products and programs. It is important for them to ensure that their products are programs are updated as and when needed. They also should ensure that the instructional products and programs are revised and changed according to changing policies and the need of the time. (10 Qualities of the Ideal Instructional Designer) There are various things that an effective instructional designer needs to consider. According to Covey, an instructional designer needs to be pro-active. Pro-activity is considered as the ability to adapt to changing situations through one’s own choices. It’s about solving solutions instead of waiting for others to solve the problems. Instructional designers should be proactive especially when in the business field. They need to be pro-active and observe business trends and build health relations. They need to be proactive and make sure that instead of waiting for clients to come down with requests, they should keep up with their business well enough to anticipate their needs. The next most important part of an instructional designer’s job is emphasis on performance analysis. It is considered as the single most important competency for success in this field. Thus conducting first-rate performance analysis is a very important aspect of this field. In a lot of cases, managers will be pressurized to take a shortcut to direct action. However this strategy should be discouraged and an action should follow an analysis. Thus the lesson here is to ensure that the customers are given what they need instead of what the instructional designer perceives that they need. Instructional designers need to ensure that they have the end mapped in t heir mind before they begin. Thus it is important for instructional designers to pursue clear-cut rules and understand the business goals that need to be accomplished. They should know what exactly do the clients expect in the end? Where does the organization stand today and how far have they reached? The objectives and development work should follow the mission set before them. As mentioned in the aforementioned paragraphs, it is important to do performance analysis by instructional designers. It is even more important to do this performance analysis creatively for them. It is often observed that the model for performance analysis used by writers tends to be very simple and does not highlight the complexity associated with human performance problems. The point of emphasis here is that one should think out of outbox. One should think in terms of the the competencies that the client needs to possess for the instructional design to be used successfully? Should the routine performance appraisals and job descriptions be followed or should other means of feedback be pursued? One should be willing to pursue why? (William J. Rothwell, 2008) The next point of emphasis for instructional design field is the need to educate managers about performance analysis.