Promoting Instructional Designers’ Participation in Free, Asynchronous Professional Development: A Formative Evaluation

Instructional designers (IDs) are continually seeking opportunities to share teaching and learning design strategies and learn from their fellow IDs. An application of Community of Practice (CoP) has allowed instructional design professionals to participate in an open learning setting as a way to continue their professional development (PD), share thoughts and ideas, and keep up on the trends and issues related to the field of instructional design. This formative evaluation examined semi-annual, CoP-based PD opportunities held openly in Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), which gathered IDs from around the world to participate in online discussions, presentations, and other knowledge-sharing activities without any cost. Data were collected from the LMS usage log and corroborated by insights from co-founders of the group, presenters, and participants of PD obtained through an anonymous survey. Findings show that the lack of time, issues with trust, bonding, and open communication, as well as less-favored activities influenced ID’s participation in the PD events. Implications for improving the CoP-based PD events are additionally presented.