THE INVISIBLE IMPACT: COLLABORATION WITH TEACHING FACULTY AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNERS

Abstract

This study sought to understand how instructional designers in medical and health professions education collaborate with teaching faculty with the design and development of learning events for health professions students. Successful collaboration depends on clear and effective communication between instructional designers and the faculty they support. This research also investigated instructional designers' perspectives on what barriers they may have encountered—especially with communication—and the teaching methods (e.g., tools, types of learning events, instructional design models) they use to help teaching faculty create curricula for students. The study also explored how these models and theories are used in practice.

To answer these questions, a mix of surveys and semi-structured interviews was used to gather data. The study's findings echoed earlier research, showing that communication with teaching faculty and subject matter experts is one of the biggest challenges for instructional designers. Other challenges—already noted in the field—include teaching faculty and subject matter experts not fully understanding the instructional designers' role and the lack of time to complete projects. Survey participants also often shared that they rarely use instructional design models throughout, from start to finish. Ultimately, this study aimed to bring greater awareness to the ongoing challenges that instructional designers face in higher education.