ABSTRACT
There appears to be a rise in the number of people who identify themselves as an instructional designer but rarely practice true instructional design. Instructional design is a complex process that requires more than writing objectives, publishing training manuals, and placing lesson plans online. Many so-called instructional designers lack a degree of expertise to practice true instructional design. The focus of this dialogue is that an effective instructional design model will have a high correlation between the amount of complexity contained within that instructional design model and the amount of complexity contained in the learning space being addressed by the instructional design process. Spaces dedicated to intentional learning are extremely complex, and any process used to satisfy the needs of intentional learning spaces must be equally complex. This idea is consistent with the law of requisite variety, which contends that in order to properly facilitate the quantity and diversity of a situation, you must have an equal quantity and diversity of responses. Requisite variety offers a rationale for matching the complexity of an end result with the complexity of means used to accomplish a goal. The learning product that is developed is the end. The means used to accomplish a goal is the process. Therefore, it becomes imperative that people who offer their professional moniker as instructional designer truly have the expertise to effectively practice the inherently complex process of instructional design.
