Establishing Effective Relationships Between Faculty and Instructional Designers

Faculty routinely engage the assistance of instructional designers when designing and developing courses. To build trust and respect between faculty and instructional designers, each has to realize that they are working toward a common goal—providing students with active learning experiences that facilitate deep learning. This relationship is important as each brings much to the table. While college instructors are highly qualified subject matter experts, few have gone through any sort of teacher education program. Instructional designers, on the other hand, are often highly-educated in learning theory. Given the potential for creating powerful learning experiences for students, a strong working relationship between faculty and instructional designers is vital.