Conversation as inquiry: A conversation with instructional designers

Abstract

Instructional designers regularly engage in a process of professional and personal transformation that has the potential to transform the culture of institutions through faculty-client relationships. Instructional designers promote new ideas and understandings in social contexts that include other designers and clients, among others. This research program attempts to understand this process, using narrative inquiry and instructional designers' stories of practice to explore two interconnected theoretical frames. One frame is methodological and offers a case for narrative inquiryas an alternative approach to research in educational technology. The second frame is practice-based, and uses narrative inquiry to explore the themes of reflexivity, voice, strong subjectivity and power/authority through the stories of three instructional designers.

A Special SME : An Integrative Literature Review of the Relationship between Instructional Designers and Faculty in the Design of Online Courses for Higher Education

“…In this type of relationship, instructional designers serve as mentors, helping faculty to develop the competencies of teaching in new environments using emerging technologies (Gerin‐Lajoie, 2015; McCurry & Mullinix, 2017; Scoppio & Luyt, 2015). Ritzhaupt and Kumar (2015) noted that in this mentorship role, instructional designers try to challenge faculty to think more critically about their teaching material, the intellectual and instructional needs of their learners, the accessibility of their materials, and the social and cultural influence of technologies considered for use in their teaching (Campbell et al, 2006; Pan et al, 2003; Simeon et al, 2007).…”

“…The last characterization of the relationship suggests a different relationship: instructional designers act as change agents (Campbell et al., 2006; Campbell et al, 2009; Schwier et al, 2007). In a change‐agent relationship, the purpose of instructional designers’ work is not limited to one course or project but is intended to make changes to individual learners, institutions, and to society at large.…”

Design thinking and the Deanly conversation: Reflections on conversation, community, and agency

“…This research for the original article (Campbell, Schwier & Kenny, 2006) was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.…”

“…An instructional design process in which faculty and designer work toward the "imagined future" of the designed learning environment is a "matter of growth" that "involves retelling stories and attempts at reliving stories" (p. 4). Elsewhere we have suggested ways in which this model could be visualised in graduate programs in instructional technology, for example, by involving beginning designers in structured "identity work" (Schwier, Campbell, & Kenny, 2006). Narrative implies relationships with moral dimensions -trust, reciprocity, reflexivity, plurivocality -that leads to critical reflection and has profound implications for practice and research.…”

The 10 Year Discussion

“…Fourth, Campbell revisits her 2006 co-authored paper, "Conversation as inquiry: A conversation with instructional designers" (Campbell, Schwier, & Kenny, 2006). The original article appeared in Vol 1, No 3 and its findings, woven through the idea of moral action, were based on stories collected from learning designers based in Canadian universities.…”