The Future of Effective Evidence-Based Leadership in Digital Learning

Concurrent Session 6

Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Having traced the evolution of leadership and evidence-based management for distributed and virtual instructional design teams, we are constructing a model for the future of leadership in our field!  Exchange ideas about instructional design leadership, career pathways, and organizational development in higher education. What does it mean to be effective?

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Amanda Major, University of Central Florida

Amanda Major, Ed.D., CPLP, PMP enjoys contributing to instructional design initiatives and leading projects to enhance online higher education. Dr. Major has experience delivering results in a variety of learner-focused and client-oriented environments. Prior to arriving at UCF as an instructional designer Amanda taught online courses, oversaw online program management, participated in strategic planning efforts, developed policies, offered instructional design assistance, and improved business processes to contribute to quality online programs at a large, public, research-intensive University. Actively contributing to the field of online learning, she has presented at national and international conferences and has peer-reviewed publications about organizational development, as well as e-learning operations and projects in higher education. Dr. Major holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institution (PMI) and a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance certification from the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Additionally, she has earned certifications from the Online Learning Consortium and Quality Matters focused specifically on online learning in higher education. Her academic credentials include an Ed.D. in educational leadership, policy and law; an M.A. in industrial organizational psychology; and a B.A. in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in social psychological issues.

Co-presenter: Clark Shah-Nelson, University of Maryland - Baltimore

Clark Shah-Nelson serves as Assistant Dean of Instructional Design and Technology for the University of Maryland School of Social Work and is a doctoral student in Evidence-Based Management/Business Administration. Clark is an eLearning instructional design development professional with 25 years experience in educational technology innovations: teaching, designing leading award-winning online and distance learning teams for learning management platform implementation, training, end user support, professional development and engagement. He has presented at numerous online learning and ed tech conferences, was co-founder of the Blend-Online Educause constituent group, co-founding master chef of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Technology Test Kitchen, and has recently volunteered as Conference Co-Chair for OLC Innovate and Engagement Co-Chair for OLC Accelerate Clark has authored chapters on synchronous tools for teaching and learning support and co-authored a chapter on professional development installations. As a consultant, Clark has worked on several international projects in the realm of blended and online learning.

Extended Abstract

Interested in building a portfolio or taking next steps in your instructional design career? What are helpful activities and/or strategies to further your career and keep learning, growing and moving in instructional design? 

In this discovery session, we discuss these questions as well as some areas of growth that instructional designers can focus on to foster a move toward management and/or leadership, such as evidence-based decision-making yielding effective leadership practices, styles of leadership and principles of agile project management. Participants will be able to have a conversation with Assistant Program Director and/or Assistant Dean of Instructional Design about the trajectory of instructional design career paths as well as participate in a brief survey and view related resources.

Regardless of titles, those professionals in higher education institutions who utilize digital learning to continue operations during crises, leveraging innovative courses and programs via disruptive learning technologies, and serving as management consultants to enhance teaching and learning effectiveness could benefit from evidence-based management. Evidence-based management for instructional design-related teams serves as a catalyst for transparent, collaborative teamwork. Using sources of evidence as feedback loops for management enables agility and fosters organizational learning via knowledge sharing. This is particularly applicable to digital learning instructional design project leads or managers who are responsible for intervening. 

Tracing the career progression of instructional designers to digital learning leaders, we noticed that many develop onwards from their working relationship with faculty, improving or creating online courses, to leadership and management roles with an array of responsibilities (Chongwony, Garner, & Tope, 2020). They advance to developing policy, making enterprise-wide decisions, planning as well as execution of major projects, influencing leadership, aligning services with organizational vision (DeBlois, 2005; Shah-Nelson & Major, 2022), as well as creating practitioner-oriented scholarship (Linder & Dello Stritto, 2017). Realizing the need for continued organizational development of instructional design shops, we aim to create an evidence-based management model by reviewing trends in formal online learning leadership development programs in higher education programs and noting current developments in management theories. Access to this framework (via previous OLC Accelerate presentation) about the future of leadership and evidence-based management for distributed and virtual instructional design work teams will be made available to participants.

Using this framework as a starting point, we conducted a survey of 13 directors and senior instructional designers in November of 2022 about the climate of digital learning in instructional design related units. The leadership culture that permeated their workplace was predominantly democratic and transactional. That is, those surveyed experienced a culture in which predominantly participative leadership that encourages involvement and a structured approach with reward for following policy. These professionals indicated retention as their top leadership challenge. Other challenges include timelines, finding qualified applicants, and approaching burnout. Most work arrangements were regularly scheduled partial virtual work and in-person work. In general, respondents were satisfied with these work arrangements. Recommendations to manage current climates described by respondents are to:

  • Utilize a backlog to manage work priorities, 

  • Design/implement transparent project management/communication systems to manage work and facilitate ease of sharing the workload, and 

  • Negotiate the changing scope of work with realistic deadlines.  

Respondents' insights support and add confirmation of our model.

We seek further support of our model by involving participants’ in defining the instructional design leadership effectiveness. This conversation will begin with an essential question for understanding behaviors of leaders. The aim is to qualify and contextualize effectiveness by honing in on the leadership strengths and challenges of their instructional design team in cultural context. This insight should generate solutions and innovative development opportunities for organizations so that the future of digital learning can be collaboratively shaped. 

Insights from participants can offer a vision forward for both organizational development, structural enhancements, as well as strategies for advancing their own careers. This is an opportunity to exchange ideas about the following pressing questions:

  • What do managers and leaders of instructional designers do? 

  • What is “effective” about their actions?

  • What style of leadership permeates your workplace’s culture? 

  • What are leadership strengths and challenges for your instructional design team?

  • What are some developments you see in leadership and management?

    • What are some solutions for challenges in this current climate?

    • What innovations are emerging from this current climate?

  • What are useful strategies/ideas for IDs to move on the path toward management/leadership roles?

This contextual clarity as well as idea exchanges along with the visual of our model aims to illuminate the development of instructional design teams and organizations in higher education. 

 

References

Chongwony, L., Gardner, J., & Tope, A. (2020). Instructional design leadership and management competencies: Job description analysis. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 23(1). https://fuse.franklin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=facstaff-pub 

DeBlois, P. (2005, October). Leadership in instructional technology and design An interview. Educause Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2005/10/leadership-in-instructional-technology-and-design-an-interview

Linder, K., & Dello Stritto, M. E. (2017). Research preparation and engagement of instructional designers in U.S. higher education. [Research report]. Oregon State University eCampus. https://edtechbooks.org/-Zvc

Shah-Nelson, C., & Major, A. E. (2022, November 16). The Future of leadership & evidence-based management for distributed and virtual instructional design work teams [Express workshop]. Online Learning Consortium Accelerate 2022 Conference, Orlando, FL, United States. https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/olc-accelerate-2022-session-page/?session=11715&kwds=