Simple Instructional Design May Result In More Learning

Is it True that Simple Instructional Design May Result In More Learning?
How could it be possible that less instructional design may result in more learning?  Sometimes, less is more when it comes to adult learning and corporate training strategies.

The Four Typical Corporate Training Design Steps
Once clear business and learning outcomes have been identified, most instructional designers follow four age-old steps to make a corporate training session happen:

1. Subject-matter experts share the applicable content and knowledge
2. Instructional designers put an approach together to learn in the flow of work, practice, and reinforce new skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes.
3. Facilitators deliver the training (hopefully at least 70% is experiential learning)
4. Participants master it — hopefully through relevant practice, performance tests, and helpful performance feedback.

“Right” vs. “Wrong” Instructional Design
Done right, this instructional design approach is focused, efficient, and directly tied to real business outcomes. It clarifies priorities, accelerates development, and engages participants because the learning is clearly relevant to the work that matters most.

Done wrong, this same old-school approach becomes slow, expensive, and disconnected from reality. It can drag on for weeks — or months — chasing completeness over impact, overlooking the true business need, and ultimately disengaging participants with content that feels academic, outdated, or misaligned with how work actually gets done.

Taking a Learner-Led Approach to Learning Design for Simple Instructional Design

One proven way to increase both speed and impact is to shift from expert-led instruction to a learner-led design model. In this approach, participants are not passive recipients of content — they become contributors, subject matter experts, and, at times, facilitators within the learning process itself.

A learner-led instructional design approach requires participants to actively shape both the learning materials and the intended outcomes. That involvement drives deeper ownership, sharper relevance, and faster application on the job. Instead of consuming prepackaged content, learners grapple with real challenges, surface practical insights, and co-create solutions that reflect how work actually gets done.

The result is more effective learning that scales. Because the content is grounded in participant experience, it can be adapted quickly across roles and audiences with far less upfront effort from instructional designers, facilitators, and formal subject matter experts — without sacrificing rigor or impact.

A Simple Instructional Design Example
Here is a straightforward way to apply a learner-led approach. Rather than having a subject matter expert present content to a passive audience — cue the glazed eyes — ask participants to create a list of questions designed to stump the expert during a facilitated Q&A session.

To do this well, participants must first understand the topic, identify gaps, and think critically about what really matters in their work context. The learning happens before the session, during the discussion, and after — not just during a slide presentation.

This learner-led instructional design approach dramatically reduces preparation time for subject matter experts, eliminates many “death by PowerPoint” moments, and shifts time toward experiential, high-engagement learning. More importantly, it positions participants to learn with and from each other. It is a practical example of how learning can be faster, cheaper, and measurably more effective when learners are actively involved in creating the experience.

The Bottom Line
To reduce project risk while staying tightly aligned to business priorities, the smarter move is to give learners partial design responsibility within a clear, well-defined instructional framework — not full ownership of the design. This balance preserves rigor and focus while unlocking speed, relevance, and engagement. When learners help shape the experience, learning accelerates and transfer improves. So the next time someone asks whether less instructional design can lead to more learning, the answer is yes — when it is done intentionally. There is, in fact, a better way.

To learn more about learner-led training design principles, download Research-Backed Faster, Better and Cheaper Instructional Design Best Practices

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.