I overlooked multiple things when planning my instructional design project I wish I had noticed sooner rather than later. 

First, I should have asked if my target learners had already undertaken a project management workshop as part of their training as newly elected Sangguniang Kabataan council members. It was only in the middle of planning that I was reminded that if I were to conduct my instructional design project on project management, it would be counterproductive to do so if they already had training on the said topic. I immediately asked the SK chairwoman about it as a follow-up question; according to her, they haven’t received training on project management yet. I felt relieved because that meant I did not have to start from the beginning but this is an overlook on my part that I wish I had done better on. This should have been asked in the needs assessment but I unfortunately forgot to include it in the set of questions. In the future, I must ensure that all necessary and relevant information will be probed on in the interviews to prevent issues like this from recurring.

Second, I should have considered the matter of the content expert as soon as possible. I already have a clear plan of what my instructional design project would look like starting from the type of material I will use, the flow of the content, and the tentative date I am planning to implement it. However, I should have started thinking about the person who will evaluate my material and the one who will teach or implement it to my target learners. This is my most pressing and challenging problem as of now because I lack the network to find a suitable person. This is one of my shortcomings.

Third, and finally, I wasted so much time thinking that an instructional design would be less complex than doing research— making me a bit complacent. I believe this is due to the fact that I viewed instructional design as a project with fewer phases than research. By following the ADDIE model, I have five (5) stages to take on and finish i.e. Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. I naively compared it to the many processes of research starting from developing a research proposal to the actual writing of a paper. This is a consequence of my unfamiliarity with the instructional design process. I have experience in creating instructional materials such as worksheets, flipcharts, models, and multimedia presentations but I realized how vastly different they are from my senior project as this current one requires more complex thought and detail.

I could never turn back the time and fix these problems. I still have no solution for the second overlook, and I could only treat the first and third ones as valuable learning experiences. However, I am finding ways to solve the issues that my project encounters to prevent them from worsening. To do this, I communicate with my classmates and consult our Faculty-In-Charge for advice. Technical knowledge of the instructional design process is crucial for my senior project, but so is maintaining connections with other people to reduce one’s burdens.