ID PROJECT LAB

The Real Reason Learning Instructional Design Is So Hard

Instructional design managers say that the biggest gap on their teams isn’t software skills. It’s the ability to apply instructional design theory and learning science to real-world projects.

And that’s because most learning paths only teach you pieces of the process:

• Most instructional design courses teach you concepts.
• Most graduate programs ask you to read theory.
• Most YouTube videos show you parts of the process.

But none of that prepares you for what really happens when:

• A stakeholder drops a training request on your desk
• You’re handed messy, incomplete data
• You need to interview SMEs and extract meaningful insights
• You’re trying to uncover the real performance problem
• You must justify whether training is the right solution
• You have to design instruction that actually helps people improve performance

This is the gap the ID Project Lab was built to solve.

A Realistic, End-to-End Instructional Design Experience

Instead of learning theory in isolation, you’ll practice each step in a realistic scenario — the way IDs actually work inside L&D teams.

By the end, you’ll understand the theory and you’ll know how to apply it confidently in real instructional design work.

The Closest Thing to Doing the Job (Without Being on the Job)

Most people only read about instructional design theory and process. Inside the Project Lab, you’ll work through:

• Realistic constraints
• True performance problems
• Actual data (quantitative and qualitative)
• AI-powered SME interviews & stakeholder conversations
• Genuine trade-offs and decision points
• Professional ID deliverables, from design docs to storyboards

It’s the closest thing to doing the job without being on the job, whether you’re:

• brand new to instructional design,
• exploring the field, or
• already an ID who wants to be more effective in your role.

Show Your Work in a Professional Portfolio

Each project in the lab results in professional instructional design deliverables, such as needs assessment reports, instructional design documents, and storyboards, that you can feature in your portfolio.

At the end of each project, you’ll receive guidance on how to present your work clearly and effectively so your process and reasoning shine through.

What Makes the Project Lab Different

Most instructional design courses teach theory.

The Project Lab teaches you how to think and act like an instructional designer.

This isn’t a course where you “learn and forget.”

This is a hands-on instructional design simulation designed to help you:

Practice the full ID process, end-to-end

Experience the entire workflow from the moment a training request arrives to delivering your final storyboard.

Make real decisions with real constraints

Interpret data, evaluate trade-offs, justify your choices, and follow a structured workflow (the same habits effective IDs use every day).

Build confident professional judgment

Learn what to do, but also understand the how and why behind every decision in the process.

Become more effective on the job

Gain frameworks, templates, and practice that translate into clearer analysis, more strategic design decisions, and bigger business impact.

What's included

A Deep, Structured Learning Experience for Serious Growth

The ID Project Lab gives you the structure, depth, and guided practice you'd expect from an advanced instructional design program, but with far more real-world application.

To support your practice, you’ll also learn how to apply proven ID frameworks and principles, including:

ADDIE

A structured, end-to-end workflow for instructional design.

SAM

Iterative design for prototyping and fast improvements.

Gagné’s 9 Events

A proven sequence for guiding and engaging learners.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Align learning tasks with the correct cognitive level.

Cognitive Load Theory

Design learning that reduces overload and improves clarity.

Mager’s Objectives

Write clear, measurable objectives tied to performance.

Mayer’s Multimedia Principles

Apply evidence-based guidelines for effective visuals.

And so much more!

You’ll use these frameworks not as abstract theory, but as tools to guide decisions within the real-world project simulation.

Try the ID Project Lab Risk-Free

You’ll have 15 days to explore the Project Lab, go through the lessons, try the challenges, and experience the workflow for yourself.

If it’s not the right fit, just email us within 15 days and we’ll refund your purchase: no questions asked.
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No pressure. No risk. See if it's right for you.

Meet your instructor

Devlin Peck has spent the past eight years designing learning experiences, studying learning science, and helping thousands of instructional designers build strong, practical skills.

Through his courses, tutorials, YouTube videos, and project-based resources, Devlin’s work has reached millions of learners worldwide and become a trusted starting point for people who want to understand instructional design deeply and clearly.

Now, after years of creating resources that help people learn the pieces of instructional design, he’s built the Project Lab to help people practice the entire process, step by step, the way it actually works on real L&D teams.

The result is a hands-on, realistic learning experience grounded in instructional design theory, learning science, and real-world practice.

Ready to Start Doing Real Instructional Design?

Join the Project Lab today and secure lifetime access for $2,999.

Prefer a payment plan? Enroll for 3 payments of $999.