Making Sense of Crisis: Instructional Designers’ Experiences with Emergency Remote Teaching

Abstract

Following the transition to e-learning due to COVID-19, instructional designers (IDs) went into action to prepare faculty for distance education using new technologies and pedagogical approaches. The purpose of this qualitative study was to interpret how five members of an ID team at a U.S. higher education institution made sense of their experiences designing and implementing faculty-training courses to aid the emergency remote transition. Using sensemaking theory (Weick, 1988), this study explored their collective meaning-making process through collaborative multistep narrative and thematic analysis. The themes progressed on a storyline depicting their immediate action in response to the crisis, their felt emotions considering the challenges they encountered, their interpretations of collaboration and implementation, and their retrospective feelings of success. Implications of findings will contribute to continuity planning to inform future iterations of faculty-training courses as well as approaches to change and/or crisis impacting online instructional innovation within higher education.

Instructional Design Made Easy! Instructional Design Models, Categories, Frameworks, Educational Context, and Recommendations for Future Work

“…The authors of [ 19 ] used LITTLE in their study, which refers to learner-centered, inquiry-based, technology-enriched, trophy-driven, literature-guided, and evidence-based [ 20 ]. The authors of [ 21 ] used the sensemaking theory to study blockchain-based online education. The authors of [ 22 ] implemented a design-based research method.…”

“…[ 18 ] online education platforms for e-learning, ref. [ 21 ] virtual learning environments, ref. [ 23 ] courses integrated with the web, ref.…”

“…Moreover, 16% ( n = 5) differed across various samples, for example: Ref. [ 21 ] faculty-training courses, ref. [ 35 ] university faculty member, ref.…”

“…There are, nonetheless, clear indications of high scientific activity in the USA, with 13 articles representing 42% of the total publications. Studies [ 19 , 21 , 24 , 25 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 45 , 47 ] were all carried out and published in the US. There have been just two investigations undertaken in Turkey [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], two more in Australia [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], and two in Indonesia [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Studies [ 19 , 21 , 24 , 25 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 45 , 47 ] were all carried out and published in the US. There have been just two investigations undertaken in Turkey [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], two more in Australia [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], and two in Indonesia [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. In the interim, 12 papers were published globally, accounting for 39% of the articles examined: Ref.…”