Instructional Design Theory to Guide the Creation of Online Learning Communities for Adults

This paper recommends an instructional design theory with the objective of building an online learning community (48). The article captured my interest because I am responsible for establishing a learning community in my workplace to enhance the training skills of subject matter experts who do training as a fairly small part of their jobs. The goal is to foster participation, knowledge-sharing, and networking initiated by community members through this resource.

Snyder used the formative research method to develop her theory (49). This appeals to me because formative research is goal- and action-oriented, and lends itself to practical application and process improvement. It is the type of research behind action learning, group problem-solving and self-directed learning, which are elements of my program and have met with success in some of our leadership programs. Snyder’s theoretical framework is drawn not only from the field of learning communities, but also from the fields of adult learning theory, including icons such as Knowles and Mezirow, and constructivism (49). This is another plus for me, as I gravitated toward these areas in my Human Resource Development graduate studies.

The design theory Snyder recommends begins with a goal to “foster the sharing of information, knowledge, skills, and experiences among adults with common interests and goals through online communication, collaboration, and interaction” (50). The goal is backed by the values of a learner-centered environment, the power of synergy, respect, tackling practical problems, and self-directed learning (50-51). The theory goes on to offer a number of instructional methods, including multiple ways to learn content, public sharing of information, and a flexible learning framework to support individual goals, and shared leadership (51-52), linking these to the values. Snyder is speaking my language. She goes on to develop these methods in more specificity by listing situations in which each method works best. She even provides the gift of organizing this information into a handy table. At this point in my reading she has me hooked.


The remainder of the article drops off a cliff into questions which I had hoped would be answered. Now I become a little unhooked. Snyder wonders which web tools foster interaction and collaboration best, what types of tools can be used to establish community, and which web tools support which outcomes (52). For action-oriented research around online communities, I (perhaps wrongly?) expected at least some attempt to answer these questions. But at this point, I have reached the end of the article. There is no more meat. It also dawns on me that I haven’t seen any detail of exactly how Snyder collected and analyzed data during her research. Oops! She cites some very sound sources, but I’m left questioning how scientific her research was.
Snyder offers an array of instructional methods and situations that seem appropriate and practical in establishing a learning community, but more detailed research should be reviewed to corroborate her ideas and to examine the use of specific web tools in learning communities.



Snyder, Martha M. “Instructional-Design Theory to Guide the Creation of
Online Learning Communities for Adults.” Tech Trends 53.1 (2009): 48-53. Web. EBSCO. 23 May 2010.