When Instructional Design is like those UI/UX pics

No matter how much I plan my lessons, students surprise me with the various ways they each learn

While for some students, veering off the path I intended just means they’re going for the obvious shortcut, for others, I credit them with being innovative. I’m usually pretty impressed when I realize that some students pick up on information in their own way and immediately forge new and interesting ways to solve problems, and in ways that I wouldn’t have anticipated.

In those cases, I gain insight from students in a way that I think is similar how User Interaction and User Experience designers do when they test their designs on various users.

If I pay enough attention — and if I allow myself to become the learner again — I can fine tune my approach and add important details that help all the types of thinkers in my course.

All designs can be (and eventually will be) redesigned. Yet because I’m a lesson planner and not any of the city planners who created the paths in these photos, I’m in a much more flexible position to adapt without the overhead of city politics, bureaucracies and budgets.