Instructional Design

In the CAM apprenticeship process, the instructional designer is the architect who translates defined competencies and real job tasks into clear, sequenced learning experiences and assessments. By working with employers and mentors, they align on-the-job learning with related instruction so apprentices progress through coherent, competency-based milestones rather than ad hoc tasks. Using structured methods similar to project management—planning scope, timelines, resources, and quality checks—the instructional designer ensures each apprenticeship pathway is organized like a well-run project, delivered on time, and easy for both employers and regulators to understand and approve.

In our context, an instructional designer is the architect who translates CAM’s competencies and apprenticeship tasks into clear, sequenced learning experiences and assessments that employers and apprentices can use. This role sits right at the intersection of CAM, apprenticeship, and project management.

Brief definition of an instructional designer

Designs learning experiences and materials (modules, job aids, practice tasks, assessments) that build specific skills and competencies.
Works with subject-matter experts and employers to align real work tasks with learning objectives.
Uses structured processes like ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) to make training systematic and outcome-based.

Why this is this critical for CAM and apprenticeships

For CAM, you are defining observable competencies and performance levels for the client.

The instructional designer:

Turns each competency into learning objectives, practice activities, and evidence of mastery that fit real job tasks (cognitive apprenticeship: modeling, coaching, scaffolding, reflection, exploration).
Ensures that on-the-job learning, related instruction, and assessments are coherent rather than a random mix of tasks.
Builds reusable templates so each new employer/apprentice pathway is consistent with your CAM framework.
Builds acceptable, measurable metrics that ensure training efficiency.

For an apprenticeship, the instructional designer:

Aligns OJL tasks, related instruction hours, and milestones so they satisfy RAP standards and employer needs.
Creates documentation (outlines, matrices, rubrics) that make your programs easy for DOL, WIOA partners, and employers to understand and approve.

How it fits into a CAM apprenticeship

What is an instructional designer

Assessment of curriculum that we design

No training can be effective without understanding the results of the training. CAM uses the Kirkpatrick model, which is a four-level framework for evaluating training and curriculum based on its real impact, not just completion. It looks at learners’ immediate reactions to the training, what they actually learned, how their behavior changes on the job, and the final results for the organization (such as performance, quality, or other key outcomes). By using these levels together, it helps designers and project managers see whether a program is effective and where it needs to be improved.

The Kirkpatrick model is a framework for evaluating training using four levels:

Reaction – how participants feel about the training (satisfaction and perceived relevance).
Learning – what knowledge, skills, or attitudes they actually gained.
Behavior – how their on-the-job behavior changes after training.
Results – the impact of the training on organizational outcomes like performance, quality, or ROI.

Using the Kirkpatrick model when managing projects and building curriculum keeps training tightly aligned with real-world results. It pushes you to design backward from impact rather than just delivering content.

Why it matters for project management

It clarifies success criteria at project kickoff by defining desired behavior and results (Levels 3–4), which then guide scope, requirements, and stakeholder expectations.
It supports ongoing project control by giving you structured checkpoints (reaction, learning, behavior, results) to monitor whether the training solution is actually solving the business problem, not just being completed.

Why it matters for curriculum design

It ensures the curriculum is outcome-based: you design learning objectives, activities, and assessments that directly support the behaviors and results you want in the workplace.
It prompts you to build in evaluation tools at each level (surveys, tests, behavior checklists, KPIs), so you can refine the curriculum over time using evidence rather than guesses.

For CAM and apprenticeship, this means every module and project is judged not only by how apprentices like it or what they can recall, but by how their on-the-job performance and employer outcomes actually improve. Training can be effective without understanding the results of the training. CAM uses the Kirkpatrick model, a four-level framework for evaluating training and curriculum based on their real impact, not just completion. It looks at learners’ immediate reactions to the training, what they actually learned, how their behavior changes on the job, and the final results for the organization (such as performance, quality, or other key outcomes). Using these levels together helps designers and project managers see whether a program is effective and where it needs to be improved.

When working with our clients, we have to figure out how to build their curriculum. For that process we use the ADDIE model. ADDIE is a structured instructional design model that guides the creation of training and curriculum. It stands for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. You start by analyzing needs and goals, then design the learning plan, develop the materials, implement the training with learners, and finally evaluate how well it worked so you can improve it.