Instructional design: how do we know our learners?

This paper provides some background discussion to a workshop in which we will seek discussion on issues of evaluation and research of instructional design activity in distance and open learning. We question the theoretical underpinnings of instructional design and its appropriateness in open learning contexts. In particular, we question the usefulness of research containing limiting assumptions about how learners should appropriately use study materials. The workshop aims to raise these issues as a starting point for input to the development of an instructional design research and evaluation project which is currently being devised at Southern Cross.