The Science of IDeL

The world of Instructional Design & eLearning abounds with myths, advertorials, pseudo-religious dogma, echo chambers, contrarianism, counter contrarianism, and assumptions presented as fact.

In this chaotic context, how do we practitioners distil what really works to improve our practice?

One way is to focus on evidence. The scientific method – despite its flaws and limitations – is designed to separate the signal from the noise. Hence, we should take more notice of the empirical research that’s available to us.

If you feel as passionately about this topic as I do, I invite you to join me for an evening of sharing and caring among like-minded professionals…

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Click “Attend” to secure your seat at the table.
2. Arrive on the night armed with a source of evidence (eg journal article, industry report, or perhaps the results of your own in-house experiment).
3. Prepare to share at least one finding that is practical (we can apply it in our own roles) and is supported by data (qualitative or quantitative).

In the immortal words of W. Edwards Deming, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.”