[quoting Gillespie, 26 Jul 95] Except that in each new system change project I was involved in, I spent less and less of my time developing training and documentation materials, and more and more of my time developing performance support structures and materials, and helping the organizations manage the change process itself.
Lori's experience is also evident in a book called FutureWork: Putting Knowledge to Work in the Knowledge Economy, by Charles D. Winslow and William L. Bramer (1994, New York: The Free Press). In this book, Winslow and Bramer, who both work for Andersen Consulting, describe what they call "Integrated Performance Support" environments as essential to meeting the challenge of supporting the learning and performance of today's "knowledge workers." They represent "Integrated Performance Support" as a convergence of the following six disciplines:
Novice designers need to start somewhere. ISD and its underlying behaviorist learning theory is a good place to start. They can then add cognitive and constructivist learning theory to the base to have a more fully formed and articulated model of learning that they can use to design the most appropriate instructional strategy and environment for the particular learning need and environment in which they are working.
I dislike having to disagree with someone as experienced and talented as Lori, but I would argue that novice instructional designers (perhaps better called performance technologists) may suffer from too early a focus on "ISD and its underlying behaviorist learning theory." Ideally, they will learn about design (including ISD), performance technology, learning theory (behavioral and cognitive), management, evaluation, etc., within constructivist learning environments. The best design courses with which I am familiar combine substantive "project-based, hands-on, working with real clients" experiences with in-depth readings and a few (mercifully few) expertly prepared and delivered lectures. In today's "Infocosm" (defined by Winslow, Bramer, and their Andersen Consulting colleagues as "an electronic cosmos or world teeming with information and knowledge"), I doubt that we can afford to treat cognition and constructivism as add-ons to the preparation of designers and other professional contributors to the "Infocosm." In my opinion, novice designers must experience alternative learning theories, contemporary design models (e.g., rapid prototyping), and integrated performance support from day one of their professional development if they are going to be effective in the 21st Century.
By the way, Lori, thanks for reminding us that NSPI (National Society for Performance and Instruction) has changed its name to ISPI (International Society for Performance Improvement). That's a step in the right direction, isn't it?