Merrill's first principles of instruction (FPI) are considered as fundamental principles for improving instructional effectiveness regardless of context, approach, or audience. However, very little research explores in detail the process of implementing FPI in course design. In this case study, we provide specific descriptions of how we applied…

We have explored designers having empathy for the audience of focus, designers using empathy as a means to an end, and designers using empathy to deliver a meaningful design deliverable. Our research has evolved from studying how designers reflect on their own design context and the audience's given circumstance to designers acting on moments of…

The Purdue Repository for Online Teaching and Learning (PoRTAL) was developed as an Open Educational Resource (OER) for graduate students and faculty in higher education settings to enhance their online teaching skills and strategies. The PoRTAL team used a design-based research approach (DBR; Wang & Hannafin, "Educational Technology…

In this paper, using a feminist autoethnographical approach, I explore personal experiences as an Afro-Latinx woman studying, teaching, and researching in the instructional design and technology (IDT) field. This feminist autoethnography serves to self-reflect on how, as a woman of color, I have navigated the IDT field as a graduate student and…

The authors present insights from the creation of an "Industry Liaison" (IL) role in a graduate program in Instructional Technology. An analysis of learner questions posed to practicing designers showed masters candidates' concerns fell into four areas: rejections and acceptance in the workplace, career logistics, technological skills,…

The effectiveness of positive psychology interventions relies heavily on participants' buy-in and personality traits. The Best Possible Self (BPS) intervention asks participants to envision their ideal future, supposing that everything goes smoothly. The BPS shows salient effects in improving subjective well-being in laboratory settings. In this…

Although teaching and learning centers (TLCs) and instructional design departments are still considered separate entities at many universities, there are indicators that more collaboration is occurring between these two departments. This article offers a personal narrative and an exploration of current trends and research to suggest that TLCs are…

Although using specific guidelines to structure course participation in online courses can boost learner engagement, research suggests that learners' overreliance on these standards can lead to superficial participation. As a result, alternative methods for participation assessment, such as ungrading or self-assessment, are increasingly being…

This study was conducted to investigate concept mapping as an instructional technique to help student designers tackle complex issues in instructional design. Specifically, this study focuses on three dimensions: perceived learning, collaborative learning, and usability. We examined how student designers perceived the use of Cacoo as a concept…

Integrating authentic learning opportunities into online courses can be particularly challenging. These challenges have contributed to a lack of examples (i.e., case studies) of how online instructors have successfully integrated authentic learning into their courses (Vo et al. 2018). This article fills this gap by describing the process of…

This study focused on student-content interactions and engagement in an online graduate course. Student descriptions of their experiences and learning processes in relation to digital course resources were examined to understand how and why resources were used. Fourteen students provided detailed explanations of their use and perceived value of…

This paper offers lessons learned from a partnership between the Texas A&M School of Innovation (I-School) and the Texas A&M Educational Technology program. Taking on the I-School as a "client," online graduate students in an Advanced Instructional Design course spent a semester designing the first of a set of online educational…

Though it is well-accepted that Task-Technology Fit theory is a useful framework for examining university student success in online courses, the effectiveness of the theory has rarely been studied with graduate-level students or with a sample representing more than a few universities or programs. The current study investigated learners' perceived…

The factors that influence and impact graduate students in the context of their career decision-making within an instructional design graduate program remain unexplored. This mixed methods study captured actual career-related difficulties of graduate instructional design students through a conceptual framework based on Bandura (1986) and Lent et…

This article presents the results of a collective case study exploring how K12 practitioners perceive the interaction of systems thinking, creativity, and learning from failure within their professional practice. In order to identify K12 practitioners who were well-versed in systems thinking, we targeted students within an instructional design and…