Myth: Instructional Design is Just Making Slides

Closing the Myths Series

Hello, and welcome to the Designing with Love Podcast. I am your host, Jackie Pellegrin, where my goal is to bring you information, tips, and tricks as an instructional designer. Hello, instructional designers and educators. Welcome to episode 153 of the Designing with Love Podcast. Today we're closing out our series called Myths in Instructional Design and Education, where we have unpacked common beliefs that shape how we design, teach, train, and support learning. Throughout the series, we have questioned familiar ideas about online learning, accessibility, technology, teaching, learning styles, content, assessments, engagement, AI, interactivity, and class size. In the last episode, we challenged the myth that class size does not affect learning quality. We talked about why class size shapes the design conditions for feedback, interaction, connection, and support. For this final episode, we're ending with a myth that many instructional designers have probably heard, felt, or pushed back against at some point. Instructional

The Myth About Making Slides

design is just making slides. This myth can show up when people only see the final deliverable, the slide deck, the module, the handout, the course shell, or the training materials, and miss the thinking behind it. But instructional design is not just making something look polished. It is about designing learning experiences that help people move from where they are to where they need to be. So grab your notebook, a cup of coffee, and settle in as we explore this topic together. Today's myth is instructional design is just making slides. At first, this idea can sound understandable. Slides are often one of the most visible parts of the learning experience. When a course, webinar, workshop, or training is finished, people may see the slides, the visuals, the layout, or the final materials. And yes, instructional designers may create slides. We may build presentations, e-learning screens, facilitator guides, learner guides, job aids, visuals, videos, activities, and resources. But those deliverables are not the full work. They are the visible result of deeper design decisions. A slide deck might show the content, but it does not show all the questions that shaped the learning experience. What problem are we trying to solve? Who are the learners? What do they already know? What do they need to be able to do? What barriers might get in the way? What practice will help them improve? What feedback will help them adjust? How will we know whether the learning worked? Those questions are instructional design. Slides may be part of the output, but they are not the whole profession.

Why the Myth Keeps Showing Up

So why has this myth lasted for so long? One reason is that final products are easier to see than the design process. People may not see the needs analysis, conversations with subject matter experts, revisions, alignment work, accessibility checks, feedback planning, or evaluation decisions. They may only see the final slides. Another reason this myth persists is that instructional design is sometimes brought in too late. If a project already has content, a deadline, and a request to make it look nice, the role can get reduced to formatting. In those situations, the designer may be treated more like a slide decorator than a learning partner. This myth also persists because content is often mistaken for learning. If people believe the goal is to simply deliver information, then slides can seem like the main product. But learning is not just information delivery. Learning requires attention, meaning, practice, feedback, support, reflection, and application. A beautiful slide deck can still miss the mark if the learning experience does not help learners do something meaningful with the content. Visual design matters. Clear slides matter, strong materials matter. But instructional design is not just about how the materials look, it is about how the learning works.

Designing Learning, Not Content

Here's where we need to shift the conversation. The issue is not that slides are unimportant. Slides can absolutely support learning. The issue is that slides are only one piece of a larger learning experience. A more accurate way to think about it is this. Instructional design is not just making slides. Instructional design is the intentional process of creating learning experiences that help learners reach meaningful goals. That process may include analyzing needs, clarifying outcomes, organizing content, designing practice, building assessments, creating feedback opportunities, planning accessibility, supporting facilitators, and evaluating results. Sometimes the final product is a slide deck. Sometimes it is an online course. Sometimes it is a workshop. Sometimes it is a job aid, checklist, coaching guide, performance support tool, podcast episode, video, scenario, activity, or curriculum. The format can change, the purpose stays the same. We are trying to help learners understand, practice, apply, and transfer what they are learning. That means instructional designers are not just asking, what should this slide say? We are asking, what should this learning experience help someone do? That is the difference between designing content and designing learning. So what does this mean for us as instructional designers, educators, trainers, or learning leaders?

Choosing the Right Learning Tool

It means we need to move from deliverable-based thinking to learning experience thinking. Instead of asking, what size do we need, we might ask, what problem are we trying to solve? Instead of asking, how can we fit all this content into a deck? We might ask, what do learners actually need to understand, practice, or apply? Instead of asking, how can we make this look better? We might ask, how can we make this work better for learners? This shift helps us protect the deeper value of instructional design. For example, if learners need to make decisions, we may need a scenario instead of another explanation slide. If learners need to make pause, take two. If learners need to remember a process, we may need a job aid instead of a long presentation. If learners need to build confidence, we may need low stakes practice with feedback. If learners need to apply a skill, we may need a realistic task, not just a list of steps. If learners need support after training ends, we may need performance support, follow-up, or coaching prompts. Sometimes a slide is the right tool, sometimes it is not. The key is to let the learning goal guide the format. Instructional design is not about creating more materials. It is about create pause, take two. Instructional design is not about creating more materials, it's about creating the right learning support for the goal, the learner, and the context.

Myth Reset Challenge for Designers

Here's today's myth reset. Instead of believing instructional design is just making slides, remember that instructional design is about shaping learning experiences that help people understand, practice, apply, and grow. Slides can support that work, but they do not define the work. Strong instructional design includes analysis, alignment, accessibility, practice, feedback, assessment, collaboration, and evaluation. This week, look at one slide deck, module, lesson, training, or course, and ask yourself, is this simply presenting information or is it helping learners move toward a meaningful outcome? That question can help us keep the focus where it belongs, on learning, not just deliverables. Today, we challenged the myth that instructional design is just making slides. We looked at why this belief has lasted, what it gets wrong, and how we can replace it with a broader and more accurate understanding of the work. Your myth reset challenge this week is to review one learning deliverable you have created, taught, used, or supported. Ask yourself, what is the learning goal? What should learners be able to do by the end? Does this resource give learners enough practice, feedback, or support? Is the format helping the learning goal, or is it simply presenting content? What could be added, removed, revised, or redesigned to better support learning? Then, choose one improvement you can make. Maybe you add a practice activity, simplify a slide, create a job aid, revise the objective, add a reflection prompt, build in feedback, improve accessibility, or replace a content heavy section with a scenario. The goal is not to stop making slides, the goal is to make sure every design choice serves the learning.

Form Follows Function in Learning

This brings us to the end of our myths in instructional design and education series. Across the series, we have challenged myths that can quietly shape our decisions if we do not pause and question them. We have looked at myths about online learning, accessibility, technology, teaching, learning styles, content, assessments, engagement, AI, interactivity, class size, and now the role of instructional design itself. And if there is one thread running through all of these episodes, it is this. Good design requires us to look past the surface. Before I conclude this episode, here is an inspiring quote from architect Lewis Sullivan. Form ever follows function. That quote is a helpful reminder for this final myth because slides, tools, visuals, and materials are forms. They matter, but they should follow the function of the learning experience. In instructional design, the function is not to make something look impressive. The function is to help learners understand, practice, apply, and transfer what they are learning. When we remember that, we can approach our work with more clarity, more purpose, and more care.

Share the Series & Support

If this episode or this series gave you something to think about, I'd love for you to share it with another educator, instructional designer, trainer, or learning leader who is ready to rethink what really works in learning. And don't forget to check out the final companion myth reset case file for this episode. It will help you investigate the myth, review the design shift, and apply this week's challenge to your own course, lesson, module, slide deck, or training experience. Thank you for joining me today as we close the final case in our Myths and Instructional Design and Education series. As you move forward, I hope this series encourages you to pause before accepting a familiar belief as fact. Sometimes the best design decisions begin when we question what we have always assumed to be true. Until next time, keep learning, keep questioning, and keep designing with love. Thank you for taking some time to listen to this podcast episode today. Your support means the world to me. If you'd like to help keep the podcast going, you can share it with a friend or colleague, leave a heartfelt review, or offer a monetary contribution. Every act of support, big or small, makes a difference, and I'm truly thankful for you.