The New ISD Applying Cognitive Strategies to InstructionalDesign by Ruth Colvin

S ome claim that instructional systems design (ISD) is irrelevant or passé (Gordon & Zemke, 2000; Zemke & Rossett, 2002). I disagree. In an age when the economy depends more on the brains than on the brawn of its workforce, and when training dissemination via the Internet is ubiquitous, training that optimizes organizational performance is more germane than ever. In a projection of a future that is already determined based on demographics, Peter Drucker predicts, “The productivity of knowledge and knowledge workers will not be the only competitive factor in the world economy. It is, however, likely to become the decisive factor, at least for most industries in the developed countries” (1997, p. 22).