EARLI SIG 6: Instructional Design
The Special Interest Group 6: Instructional Design (ID) is one of the
special interest groups of 
EARLI, the European Association for Research on Learning and
Instruction. This special interest group studies, evaluates, and
refines design problems related to the development and improvement of
instructional systems.
Instructional Design as an activity aims at the systematic choice of procedures, methods, prescriptions or advices in order to bring about effective, efficient and productive learning environments. It has attributes in common with other design endeavours, like architecture or engineering which build upon an extensive knowledge base for the problem analysis, the selection of key parameters and the choice of adequate procedures for problem solving or task fulfilment.
Instructional Design as an academic field tries to identify the circumstances and the goals for which particular instructional methods yield desired results. It does so with a broad range of methods, ranging from field-based action research to controlled laboratory experiments. The theoretical basis for research in instructional design is typically multidisciplinary, with contributions from cognitive psychology, educational psychology, sociology, philosophy and epistomology, management sciences, economics, computer science and many others.
Contact: k.scheiter@iwm-kmrc.de