Instructional Design: Case Studies in Communities of Practice

Instructional designers hold the responsibility of selecting, sequencing, synthesizing, and summarizing unfamiliar content to subject matter experts. To successfully achieve legitimate participation in communities of practice, instructional designers need to utilize a number of communication strategies to optimize the interaction with the subject matter expert. Instructional Design: Case Studies in Communities of Practice documents real-world experiences of instructional designers and staff developers who work in communities of practice. Instructional Design: Case Studies in Communities of Practice explains the strategies and heuristics used by instructional designers when working in different settings, articulates the sophistication of communication strategies when working with subject matter experts, and provides insight into the range of knowledge, skills, and personal characteristics required to complete the tasks expected ofthem.

Michael J. Keppell is Associate Professor and Head of the Centre for Learning, Teaching and Technology (LTTC) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He has been the Director of three innovative educational technology units over the last 12 years and has worked as an instructional designer on over 200 technology-enhanced initiatives in areas as diverse as coal-mining, medicine and teacher-education. His expertise lies in his ability to combine the operational and development tasks of educational technology with the academic study of curriculum, instructional design and evaluation. His current research interests at the Institute focus on technology-enhanced authentic learning environments, blended learning, peer learning, problem-based learning and learning-oriented assessment.