How being a former teacher influences me as an instructional designer

First, you don’t need to be or have been a teacher to be a good instructional designer. Let’s clear that up right away. There are so many other skills that go into the role (tech know-how, interpersonal skills, perhaps training facilitation, etc.) that pedagogical experience isn’t necessarily an overriding factor contributing to success. That being said, I think consciously drawing from your experiences as a teacher is of a definite benefit.

When I was a teacher (both in middle school and at the college level), I wanted to get students’ attention right from the start of the lesson. This was particularly crucial in teaching middle school. The lessons had a flow and energy that they didn’t seem to have otherwise. To do this, I’d start with a provocative question or some engaging media or something of that sort. I do this same thing in my ID work. If I’m creating a learning module I try to start it off with what I call “a shot of learning”, embedded in my larger learning. Think of this as an espresso to go with your cup of coffee. A lot of times this will be a short animated video that will play before the larger learning begins.

Something else that I do is switch things up. Nobody likes it when learning gets stale, and that’s especially noticeable in the classroom. When you see yourself losing the students’ attention then you know you’ve got your work cut out for you to get it back. In ID work you have a range of tools at your disposal. Avoid relying too heavily on one. One tool may work great for something but not so much for something else. It’s very important that you have a reason for the medium you’re using apart from “this is how I’ve always done it.”

As I said, there’s no requirement for having been a teacher to be an effective instructional designer. But just as anyone should be leveraging their prior experience in their current work, pedagogical expertise can prove quite helpful in making instructional design decisions.