instructional designer

Definition

An education specialist who helps faculty create effective courses using learning theory and technology, translating 'I've taught this way for 30 years' into something resembling evidence-based pedagogy. The faculty whisperer.

Example Usage

The instructional designer diplomatically suggested that perhaps a 200-page syllabus might overwhelm students on day one.

Origin

Emerged as a profession in the 1970s with the rise of educational technology

Fun Fact

Instructional designers often have advanced degrees in education but report to IT departments because universities can't figure out where they belong.

Source: Educational technology and faculty development services

Related Terms

Intermediate

emeritus

The academic equivalent of a luxury retirement package, where a professor gets to keep their prestigious title after officially retiring, usually with minimal actual responsibilities. It's Latin for "having served one's time," which is academia's way of saying "you can finally stop grading papers but still come to faculty meetings if you're really bored." The title lets distinguished scholars continue using university resources and office space while younger colleagues eye their parking spot.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

Student-Centered

An educational philosophy that puts students at the center of the learning experience, as opposed to the traditional model where they were more of an inconvenient byproduct. It sounds revolutionary until you realize it basically means letting students talk more and the teacher talk less.

🎓 Education / Academia

Beginner

adjunct faculty

Part-time professors hired on a per-course basis with minimal benefits and no job security, essentially the gig economy workers of higher education. They teach the same courses as tenured faculty but for a fraction of the pay, making them academia's favorite cost-cutting measure.

🎓 Education / Academia

Advanced

recapitulation

In music theory, the section where the composer basically says 'remember all those themes from the beginning? Here they are again!' The third act of sonata form where familiar melodies return home after their development section adventure. Classical music's version of 'previously on,' except fancier and with more violins.

🎓 Education / Academia

Advanced

brown envelope research

Academic research covertly funded by industry or special interests who have a stake in particular outcomes, often disguised to appear independent. The findings mysteriously align with the sponsor's commercial interests while maintaining a veneer of scholarly objectivity.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

Peer Review

The academic process where your research is evaluated by anonymous colleagues who may or may not be nursing a grudge from that conference in 2014. It's quality control run by people who are simultaneously your competitors, which works about as well as you'd expect.

🎓 Education / Academia

Translate This Term

See “instructional designer” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

that GOOD shit

When you get that great bud, smoke, or hooch that is the best, the VERY BEST, a cut above the rest, especially when it ...