LDT 500A - Foundations in Instructional and Learning Design | University of San Diego Online Degrees

Course Overview

Course Description

This course focuses on the field of instructional and learning design. Students will examine foundational theories of learning and cognition, the instructional design process, and human-centered design thinking strategies. By identifying real-world instructional challenges, students apply research-based approaches to solving knowledge and skills gap problems that occur in a variety of workplace, education, and organizational settings. In this foundational course, students actively engage in various instructional design process activities that build professional competency. The course learning experience includes an introduction to AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM for productivity and self-regulated learning.

Student Comments

Creating the ID document was the most valuable assignment. It was great to see how the module activities each week were building into the final project.
-Spring 2022 Student

I like that we get to experience what it will be like for us once we enter the Instructional Design world. I like the hands on and interactive experience and that we get to connect with other students. I also really appreciate that Dr. Evans is so helpful and really connects with each of us to give us feedback regarding our work.
-Spring 2022 Student

I think that our course was designed well to make sure that everything included is helpful to our future careers.
-Spring 2022 Student

Being able to put everything we learned together in a sample document was very valuable to me. It gave us a sample of what we would be doing as instructional designers in the future.
-Spring 2022 Student

Reviewing how to approach the instruction from a behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist perspective gave me a different perspective and it was fun approaching a task from all these different approaches.
-Spring 2022 Student

I truly felt like each aspect of the course was well intended and contributed to my learning.
-Fall 2021 Student

The case study and the final ID document were both very practical in seeing how the design process is fleshed out in the real world.
-Fall 2021 Student

I think the entire course provided a baseline understanding of each process of the instructional design creation. The objectives and goals section helped me the most, as it was entirely new.
-Fall 2021 Student

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the technical requirements for this program?

You must own or have unrestricted access to a computer for this program. Courses will utilize a variety of technologies and multimedia. To complete course activities and to access course content, please verify that you have the following technologies and plug-ins available:

Computer: 16 GB, 1.5 GHz Speed I7 + 500 GB external memory (preferably SSD hard disk drive) PC suggested
- Mac users will need to (1) download a PC emulation software such as VMWare Fusion in order to access the required program software and (2) have access to Windows 10 or newer
Browser Plug-ins: Windows Media Player, QuickTime and Adobe Reader
Recommended Browsers: Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome (You will want to have 2 browsers for software testing and viewing)

What is the weekly time commitment of the MS-LDT program?

Built with working professionals in mind, this asynchronous online program can easily fit into your week. On average, coursework will require between 10-20 hours per week on reading, researching and completing class assignments. While coursework will vary per professor and course, students will generally have one main assignment due on a weekly or biweekly basis and will be expected to participate in classroom discussion boards. Professors are always willing to proactively discuss any scheduling challenges that may arise during your time in the program.

Who is teaching in this program?

Our instructors are subject matter experts. They are instructional design practitioners and online instructors who are fully aware of the needs of adult learners and online students. Learn more on our MSLDT faculty page.

What is the difference between the Group Discussions and the Discussion Board Forum?

Group Discussions are typically graded assignments posted to a discussion board embedded in each module. They require an original post and a response to peers by the end of the week. Discussion Forum is an open discussion on a variety of topics related to the course. The Discussion Board feature in Canvas is used as the platform for these online conversations.

Would a potential employer value a Master of Science over a Master of Education in LD/ID?

A potential employer is not likely to value one degree over the other because they are more interested in demonstrated knowledge, skills and abilities more so than whether your degree is in LD or ID. Employers requiring or preferring that applicants have a master’s degree will be explicit about the skills they are seeking and typically will not distinguish between types of degrees such as MS, MA or MEd degrees.

What is the difference between instructional design and learning design?

Instructional design involves creating learning experiences and materials to affect change in knowledge, skills, or attitude. Learning design utilizes approaches from instructional design, user-experience design, and design thinking to create these learning experiences.

Why was “Learning Design” chosen to use in the title of this degree instead of “Instructional Design?”

Learning Design was chosen for the degree title to reflect a shift in the industry that is more inclusive of adaptations to the systematic design of instruction that is found in traditional ID. Learning Design combines instructional design and design thinking to promote a more human-centered and creative thinking approach to designing learning solutions.

What is the tuition for the MS-LDT degree program?

Tuition for the MSLDT program is $735 per unit. With a total of 30 units, the full cost of tuition for the program is $22,050.

Tuition amounts shown on this website, or in other university publications or web pages, represent tuition and fees as currently approved. However, the University of San Diego reserves the right to increase or modify tuition and fees without prior notice and to make such modifications applicable to students enrolled at USD at that time as well as to incoming students. In addition, all tuition amounts and fees are subject to change at any time for correction of errors. Please note that the displayed tuition covers only the cost of courses, and additional expenses such as books and other fees are not included.

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