ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate that instructional design is an ill-structured problem-solving process involving iterative processes guided by self-regulation from problem representation to generating solutions. It is argued that instructional designers must focus on the process of iterative problem representation and generating solutions, and as instructional design educators or trainers, we must engage students in complex instructional design problem solving activities. Through an ID case, we intend to illustrate the interrelationship between various concepts, including instructional design, ill-structured problem solving, self-regulation, and problem-based learning. We follow up the case by illustrating how the instructional design process is an ill-structured problem-solving process, and why it is important for us to assume the problem-solving mindset when approaching instructional design. Through a case study, this chapter also showcases how to develop students’ problem-solving mindset and guide them through ill-structured problem solving, which consists of iterative processes and multiple cycles of planning, execution, and reflection.
