Elevating Instructional Design by Incorporating Design Thinking Principles

Instructional design, a field of theory and practice established within education and corporate education training, is shifting in today's modern technological world. Once only focused on the content of the established curriculum and the traditional (paper, pencil) ways of presenting that information, now, instructional designers are faced with the challenge of leading the way for innovative e-learning training and solutions using the latest technology trends and tools. In this report, I will examine current instructional design models and their approaches, then compare the models to the design process of Design Thinking. This report will showcase the belief that utilizing the Design Thinking mindset within the established instructional design models will elevate the instructional design field and current learning solutions, therefore allowing for the instructional design field to continue to grow.