Designing with Love

Jackie Pelegrin
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What does it take to design learning experiences that truly work? Join Jackie Pelegrin, an award-winning instructional designer, Grand Canyon University (GCU) adjunct instructor, educational consultant, and author, as she explores instructional design, e-learning, and AI integration. Expect actionable tips, real-world insights, and conversations with students, alumni, and industry leaders shaping the future of learning.

  1. 1d ago

    Designing for Adult Learners With Dr. Dwayne Wood

    The fastest way to ruin an adult learning experience is to start with a shiny tool and hope an outcome appears later. Jackie sat down with Dr. Dwayne Wood to get back to the foundations that keep instructional design effective, especially in online and asynchronous learning where motivation, time pressure, and cognitive load can make or break engagement. We dig into adult learning principles through a practical lens: problem-based and application-based outcomes that give learners a clear end state, relevance placed right up front (and ideally explained by learners themselves), and autonomy that offers real choice without creating analysis paralysis. We also talk honestly about discussion forums, why they turn into “check the box” activities, and what to look for in learning analytics when grades alone do not tell the whole story. Then we zoom out to the human side of learning design in an AI era. We share why “start with the learning outcome” is still the best rule for educational technology integration, how AI can add value when it supports reflection and feedback, and why self-direction is often misunderstood. Adult learners may be independent, but they still benefit from scaffolding, pathways, and simple supports like checklists that help them monitor progress. Subscribe for the rest of the mini-series, share this with an instructional designer or educator you know, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What adult learning principle do you think course designs overlook most? 📢 Call-to-Action: To keep learning from Dr. Dwayne Wood, visit the links in the show notes and connect with him online. And as you reflect on today’s episode, consider one adult learning principle you can apply more intentionally in your next course, training, or learning experience. 📖 Additional Resource: You can also visit National University to learn more about its programs and resources for adult learners, working professionals, and military-connected students.  Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Designing for Adult Learners With Dr. Dwayne Wood

  2. 5d ago

    Myth: Instructional Design is Just Making Slides

    Slides are the artifact everyone recognizes, and that’s exactly why the myth survives: if a stakeholder can only see the deck, they assume the work is decoration. Jackie closes out the Myths in Instructional Design and Education series by pushing back on “instructional design is just making slides” and naming what professional instructional designers actually do long before anyone picks a template. We walk through the hidden core of learning experience design: needs analysis, clarifying learning objectives, organizing content around performance, planning practice, building assessments, creating feedback loops, and checking accessibility. Jackie also unpacks why this misunderstanding shows up so often, especially when we’re invited in late and asked to “make it look nice,” or when information delivery gets mistaken for learning. A polished slide deck can still fail if it doesn’t help learners apply, transfer, and grow. Then, Jackie offers a simple myth reset challenge you can use immediately. Pick one deck, module, lesson, or training you’ve created or supported and ask: what is the learning goal, what should learners be able to do, and where do they get practice and feedback? From scenarios to job aids to performance support, we explore how to let the goal guide the format, so form follows function and the learning actually works. If this gives you a new lens on instructional design, subscribe to the podcast, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and learning leaders can find it. 🔗 Episode Links Please check out the resource mentioned in the episode. Enjoy! Myth Reset Case File: Beyond the Slides  Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Myth: Instructional Design is Just Making Slides

  3. Sep 20

    Multimodal Learning That Works With Dr. Dwayne Wood

    If your learners are exhausted before they even reach the content, the problem might not be motivation. It might be the mode. Jackie welcomes Dr. Dwayne Wood back for part two of the mini-series to unpack multimodal learning for adult learners and what it really means to design with intention instead of stacking more media on top of a course.  We dig into cognitive load theory and why the same concept can become easier or harder depending on how you present it. Dwayne shares concrete examples of “tool friction” in online learning and blended learning, where unfamiliar tech quietly steals attention from the objective. From there, we connect multimodal learning to Universal Design for Learning (UDL): giving learners smart options like transcripts alongside video, accurate captions, and accessible resources that work with screen readers. We also talk about common AI-related pitfalls, like infographics that look great but fail basic accessibility due to contrast, image-only text, or missing alternatives.  You will hear practical instructional design strategies you can apply without overwhelming yourself or your learners: pairing explanation with application, using dual coding effectively, and building discussion forums with a real purpose so they foster social learning rather than checkbox posts. We also name the mistakes to avoid, including trend-driven modalities, too many clicks, and assessments that inadvertently measure technical confidence rather than mastery.  Subscribe to Designing with Love, share this episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and instructional designers can build learning that is clear, flexible, and accessible. What is one modality you rely on that might be adding friction? 📢 Call-to-Action: If today’s conversation gave you ideas for making your learning experiences more flexible and engaging, be sure to visit the links in the show notes to connect with Dr. Dwayne Wood and learn more about his work in adult education, curriculum development, and instructional design. 📖 Additional Resource: You can also visit National University to learn more about its programs and resources for adult learners, working professionals, and military-connected students. Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Multimodal Learning That Works With Dr. Dwayne Wood

  4. Sep 16

    Myth: Class Size Doesn’t Affect Learning Quality

    Class size is not a harmless detail; it’s a force that quietly rewrites the learning experience. When a course jumps from 15 learners to 75, the same discussion prompt can turn into noise, feedback timelines can stretch, and learners can feel invisible even when the content is strong. In this episode, Jackie is tackling a stubborn myth in instructional design and education: “Class size doesn’t affect learning quality.” She breaks down why this belief sticks around, including how class size is framed as an administrative problem rather than a learning design problem, and how technology makes scale look deceptively easy. Yes, your LMS can enroll hundreds. Yes, automated quizzes can grade instantly. But scalable delivery is not the same as scalable support, and learning quality depends on interaction, communication, and timely guidance, especially in online learning and blended learning environments. Then, Jackie shifts into what to do about it with a scale-aware design approach. We talk through concrete supports that make large classes work better without pretending they’re small: clearer instructions, smaller discussion groups, peer review with criteria, rubrics and exemplars, FAQ spaces, stronger navigation, multiple ways to ask questions, and layered feedback plans that combine automated feedback, peer feedback, and instructor feedback where it matters most. If you want a practical way to audit your own course, workshop, or training, Jackie gives you a set of questions to run this week and a simple “choose one improvement” challenge. Subscribe to the podcast, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and instructional designers can design for scale with care. 🔗 Episode Links Please check out the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy! Myth Reset Case File: Class Size and Learning Quality Quality Matters: Class Size in Online Courses Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Myth: Class Size Doesn’t Affect Learning Quality

  5. Sep 13

    Generative AI and Curriculum Design With Dr. Dwayne Wood

    Generative AI is moving from “helpful tool” to something that can quietly shape how people think, write, and learn, and that changes everything about curriculum design. I sit down with Dr. Dwayne Wood, an experienced educator and curriculum developer with a background in military instruction, to unpack what generative AI in education actually means when you care about real learning outcomes, not just faster content production. We dig into the uncomfortable middle ground between banning AI and letting it run wild. Dwayne explains why domain knowledge matters so much when learners use AI, how hallucinations and bias slip through when output looks polished, and why foundational courses may need tighter boundaries than advanced coursework. We also talk about the hidden risk for our profession: skill erosion. If instructional designers outsource the “why” behind design decisions, we can lose the expertise that makes learning experiences work in the real world. From there, we get practical. We focus on backward design, alignment, and authentic assessment as a way to make AI use measurable and defensible. We explore strategies for adult learners, including experiential learning cycles that surface misconceptions, reflective prompts that build transfer of learning, and course policies that reduce anxiety and deadline pressure that can drive irresponsible AI shortcuts. If you’re building academic curriculum, corporate training, or workforce education, this conversation will help you decide when to use AI, when not to, and how to keep critical thinking at the center. Subscribe for the rest of the mini-series, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find it. 📢 Call-to-Action: Want to explore how Generative AI is shaping academic curriculum? Visit the links in the show notes to connect with Dr. Dwayne Wood, learn more about his work, and continue reflecting on how AI can support thoughtful, human-centered curriculum design. 📖 Additional Resource: You can also visit National University to learn more about its programs and resources for adult learners, working professionals, and military-connected students. Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Generative AI and Curriculum Design With Dr. Dwayne Wood

  6. Sep 9

    Myth: Interactivity Requires Fancy Tools

    Interactivity is one of those words that sounds obvious until you try to design for it. If you’ve ever felt pressure to add branching scenarios, animations, or expensive eLearning interactions to prove a course is “engaging,” we’re calling that myth out directly: interactivity does not require fancy tools. In this episode, Jackie walks you through why this belief has lasted in instructional design and education, especially when stakeholders equate visual polish with learning value. We unpack the hidden problem behind click-heavy courses that still feel passive, and we draw a clear line between decorative interactivity and purposeful engagement. The real measure is not how much learners touch the screen. It’s whether they are thinking, deciding, practicing, reflecting, and applying in ways that match the learning goal. You’ll leave with practical, low-tech strategies you can use in online learning, classroom training, blended learning, and professional development: reflection prompts that actually drive insight, quick scenarios that create decision-making, self-checks with meaningful feedback, and simple discussion structures that move learners from exposure to performance. Jackie also shares a myth reset challenge to help you review one lesson or module and redesign it around the learner actions that matter most. If you find this helpful, subscribe to the podcast, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more instructional designers and educators can build better learning experiences. What’s one “simple” interaction you’ve used that created real engagement? 🔗 Episode Links Please check out the resource mentioned in the episode. Enjoy! Myth Reset Case File: Low-Tech Interactivity  Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Myth: Interactivity Requires Fancy Tools

  7. Sep 6

    How to Design Digital Training That Changes Behavior With Erick Prospero

    Shiny training is everywhere right now, and a lot of it still fails the moment learners go back to work. We sit down with e-Learning strategist and Ninja Tropic CEO Erick Prospero to get honest about what “engaging” digital learning actually means when outcomes are on the line. If your organization is adding video, animation, gamification, or AI tools and hoping that fixes attention and performance, this conversation gives you a sharper standard: engagement only counts when it drives a real purpose, changes behavior, and connects to measurable business metrics.  We unpack the real work that happens before the first slide or storyboard: training needs analysis, defining the business problem, identifying learner behaviors, and linking lag metrics (the results leaders care about) to lead metrics (the actions that predict those results). Erick also makes a strong case for why “eye candy” is not automatically the enemy. Visual quality, user experience, and story structure can shape credibility and brand perception, whether you sell courses externally through associations or deliver internal corporate training. The difference is using aesthetics to support legitimate practice instead of replacing it.  Then we go deep on AI in e-learning and instructional design. Eric shares a practical way to adopt AI without drowning in tools: find your capacity gap, learn a little about everything, then master a small tool stack. We also explore why AI-powered simulations and chatbots can create more realistic practice than classic branching scenarios, plus what still requires strong human judgment, like alignment, guardrails, and ethical design.  If you want to build modern digital learning that actually moves the needle, subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more instructional designers can find it. What part of your learning process needs the biggest upgrade right now? 🔗 Website and Social Links: Please visit Erick Prospero’s website and social media links below. Erick Prospero’s Website Erick’s LinkedIn Page Erick’s YouTube Channel 📢 Call-to-Action: Visit this YouTube channel called Microlearning Examples to find great resources for building dynamic online training.  Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    How to Design Digital Training That Changes Behavior With Erick Prospero

  8. Sep 2

    Myth: AI Will Replace Instructional Designers

    AI can generate a course outline, a script, and a quiz in seconds, so it’s easy to wonder if instructional designers are next on the replacement list. We slow that fear down and look at what’s actually happening when AI enters the learning design workflow, and why “fast content” is not the same thing as effective instruction. We unpack the myth “AI will replace instructional designers” and name the reason it sticks: AI outputs are visible, while the real work of instructional design often isn’t. I talk through what sits beneath the deliverables: understanding learners, analyzing needs, aligning with real goals, building practice and feedback, collaborating with stakeholders, supporting accessibility, and evaluating whether learning happened. AI can support pieces of this, but it can’t own the responsibility, the trade-offs, or the human judgment required to design learning that is accurate, inclusive, ethical, and useful. Then we shift into partnership thinking. Instead of asking “Will AI take my job?” we ask better questions: Which tasks can AI support? Which decisions require human expertise? How do we review AI output for accuracy, bias, accessibility, privacy, and alignment? You’ll leave with a simple weekly challenge to audit one place you use (or want to use) AI and make one concrete improvement, whether that’s a stronger prompt, more context, or a clearer review checklist. If you found this helpful, subscribe to the podcast, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and learning leaders can design with care in the age of AI. 🔗 Episode Links Please check out the resource mentioned in the episode. Enjoy! Myth Reset Case File: AI and the Future of Instructional Design  Send Jackie a Text Join PodMatch!Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show 💟 Designing with Love + allows you to support the show by keeping the mic on and the ideas flowing. Click on the link above to provide your support. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee is another way you can support the show, either as a one-time gift or through a monthly subscription.  🗣️ Want to be a guest on Designing with Love? Send Jackie Pelegrin a message on PodMatch, here: Be a guest on the show 🌐 Check out the show's website here: Designing with Love 📱 Send a text to the show by clicking the Send Jackie a Text link above.  👍🏼 Please make sure to like and share this episode with others. Here's to great learning!

    Myth: AI Will Replace Instructional Designers
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About

What does it take to design learning experiences that truly work? Join Jackie Pelegrin, an award-winning instructional designer, Grand Canyon University (GCU) adjunct instructor, educational consultant, and author, as she explores instructional design, e-learning, and AI integration. Expect actionable tips, real-world insights, and conversations with students, alumni, and industry leaders shaping the future of learning.

Information

  • Creator
    Jackie Pelegrin
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    155
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Designing with Love
  • Show Website
    Designing with Love