Learning Experience Design vs Instructional Design (Part i)
The never-ending debate
Part 1:
Are you a learning experience designer (LXD) or an instructional designer (ID)?
Don’t worry, we’re all confused! Or have been unsure about it at one point.
It’s like the continuous question in men’s tennis, “Djokovic vs Federer vs Nadal, who is the GOAT?”
What makes them similar, what are their differences, what determines GOAT status?
And just like in men’s tennis, the L&D community has not come to a strong conclusion either! At least I don’t think so.
And for those of you venturing into the world of learning design it must be so confusing because there are even more titles out there, such as learning engineer, learning architect and, elearning developer.
Side note: We will ignore these job titles above for now. I only mention them to illustrate that even in the L&D community the math ain’t mathin’...
So, I’ve decided to get to the bottom of it all!
To set expectations, today’s newsletter will not give an answer to the LXD vs ID question. Before I can answer that question, I need to start at the root.
To break down the individual words, look at their meaning, and piece it back together.
Then look at some industry definitions, and read what the experts are saying.
Ready…play!
It's all "elementary my dear Watson"
Defining Instructional Design:
The definition lies in the etymology of it all!
Its meaning lies in the word "instruction", which, according to the Oxford dictionary, is defined as "a direction or order".
Therefore, ID’s “give direction or order”, when creating learning solutions, i.e “instruction”
Personally, there is a certain connotation the words "direct" and "order" conjure up within me. For example, “he issued instructions to the learner”.
It makes me think of authority figures, people in charge, whom I should be taking orders or directions from. Meaning...I have no control or choice, and I'm simply following a path that has been set and mapped out.
It reminds me of a process with step-by-step instructions. Everything is down to a science, like baking a cake.
One tablespoon too much or too little baking soda, and you'll be staring at a ruined cake through the oven window.
And that is exactly what instructional design is, a process with step-by-step instructions. Just like with a cake, add too much text content, and you can lose the learner’s attention.
So, you can see this is a very fine balance that one needs to achieve.
What the experts say
I guess I’m being a bit too dramatic. However, it’s the reason why I settled on LXD (as a job title) as opposed to ID. I felt like I had less freedom somehow.
Let’s look at what Tim Slade defines Instructional Design as. He says, “simply, instructional design is the process of applying solid learning theories in the design and development of effective and engaging training experiences or resources that help improve performance and deliver results back to the organization.”
I’m not saying he is wrong, but I do think, actually scratch that…I know that my work developing and designing online learning encompasses more than theories, learning practices, and step-by-step instruction, which Slade’s definition would seem to suggest.
However, let’s stop there. I don’t want to muddy the waters too much. At least not yet. HAHAHA
To live is to experience! Is that how it goes?
Defining Learning Experience Design:
The Oxford Dictionary defines an “experience” as “practical contact with and observation of facts or events”. For example, I learned a valuable lesson by going through such a painful experience.
The dictionary provides another definition being “an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone”. For example, “The session on diversity, equity, and inclusion, was an eye-opening experience”.
This definition makes me feel like learning occurs naturally, organically, and makes it seem that the experience is necessary even. Meaning, in order to learn the lesson, you have to have the experience.
It is essentially what LXDs do, create learning solutions based on experiences.
A simple to illustrate this point would be a child learning how to ride a bike. Falling off the bike would be an experience that child could learn from and use while acquiring the skills to ride the bike.
This confirms why I chose the title LXD. I felt more comfortable with the aspect of learning from experiences, because that allows more freedom.
What the experts say
It made me identify with Niels Floor’s a great deal when he said that, “learning experience design is the process of creating learning experiences that enable the learner to achieve the desired learning outcome in a human-centered and goal-oriented way”.
I’m not saying he’s wrong, but I also do know that to create effective learning solutions, there need to be processes and structure in place.
As you may see, one can’t have one without the other.
The inevitable fork in the road
So, what does this mean?
It means, we now have at least a definition of an LXD and an ID according to the industry experts. There is an overview what each of these entail.
Does it answer the question LXD vs ID who wins? Absolutely, not!
That’s what’s coming up next week.
I told you all that my work comes through in parts like Beyonce!
See you next Saturday
References:
Floor, N. Fundamentals of learning experience design. LXD.org. Retrieved April 5, 2024, from https://lxd.org/fundamentals-of-learning-experience-design/
Slade, T. What is instructional design. eLearning Academy Community. Retrieved April 5, 2024 from https://community.elearningacademy.io/c/knowledge-base/what-is-instructional-design
