Instructional Design in the Real World

When a new task is at hand that we have not encountered before, we undoubtedly begin to look for instructions or training on how to complete the task. Sometimes we find the instructions make the task much easier to complete, while at other times we find ourselves even more lost after trying to follow the instructions. For our first assignment in our Instructional Design course, we were asked to find examples in the real world. As I began to look for examples of instructional design in the real world, I came across two examples: instructions on how to find the correct elevator in a hospital, and instructions on how to put a charcoal grill together.

The first example I encountered was a chart in the hospital that explained how to find the desired elevator. Actually, I should back up here and start from the beginning. I went into a hospital knowing that I needed to get to the eleventh floor. My first thought was to find the elevator. There were signs clearly marking the hallways with arrows pointing to the elevators. I followed the first set signs I saw and they took me right to the elevators! I was so excited that I found it so fast! I then went to push the button for the eleventh floor and found that this particular elevator only went up to the third floor. I immediately backtracked to the main lobby to look for some sort of chart or diagram that might help me find the correct elevator and there on one of the main walls was a huge diagram of the floors and the elevators to use to get to those floors. I could see very quickly that the purple elevators were the only ones that went to the eleventh floor. I then looked a little closer at those signs that I had followed at the beginning and saw that they were also color coded. I quickly found the purple arrows and was directed to the correct elevator.

In this first example, the goal of the training was to help you get to your desired location in the hospital. The diagram displayed a list of the floors and had the floors color coded based on the elevators which made this very effective way to guide new patrons like myself through the hospital. This experience caused me to learn three things right from the beginning. First, when you are in a new facility, look for a diagram of the building to help you get to your desired location. Second, the use of colors on the chart made it very obvious which elevator to use no matter what language you spoke. But lastly, I will never forget that when I go to this particular hospital, the elevators to do not all service the same floors and I will look for the diagram from the beginning!

The second example of instructional design that I found was the set of instructions to put the new charcoal grill together that I just purchased. I was pleased to find that the instructions were very easy to follow. These instructions written step-by-step directions with pictures of each step along with pictures of the hardware to be used for each step. Each part was clearly labeled just as it was referenced in the directions. Also, the hardware was shrink-wrapped to a piece of cardboard labeled with the same symbol that was used in the pictures. 

In the second example, the goal was to assemble a new charcoal grill. The instruction booklet was well thought out giving step by step instructions with detailed pictures. This was another very effective way of providing directions for the user. Once again, I learned three key points from this experience. First, the added pictures along with the steps made each set of directions easy to visualize and then carry out. Second, I learned that labeling parts and then staying consistent with the labels in the directions will keep confusion at a minimum. Last, I learned that minimizing the amount of information given in each step allowed for small successes along the way to help minimize frustration.

As I begin to plan future training sessions, I can see that instructional design can help improve the quality of the final goal. Including text, visual descriptions, and labels increases the effectiveness of the instruction.  I look forward to actually working through the process to increase the level of my trainings that I offer to the teachers in our school district.

References

Piskurich, G. M. (2006). Rapid instructional design: Learning ID fast and right. John Wiley & Sons.