Abstract
The onset of COVID-19 was responsible for a proliferation in online programs offered by educational institutions around the world, giving rise to several conversations about designing effective online instructional content with the help of the various components of instructional design. One such component is instructional design (ID) theory, which guides the creation of instructional material that enables goal-focused learning. Naturally, it is expected that in the world of online education, ID theory will have its own discourse. However, research shows that this is not entirely the case, and that the use of ID theory is seldom acknowledged, or even required. To find out if ID theory indeed does play a role in the design of online instruction, a case study was conducted wherein the planning and production of an online certificate program was observed from start to finish, with focus on the instructional design framework or model used, progress details, influential factors, and the possible existence of ID theory application. Findings showed that the instructional content designed and developed did map to instructional methods propounded by two different ID theories. However, these ID theories were either unknowingly applied or their application not formally acknowledged. Conclusively, given the limitations of the case study, further research on this subject with the help of more data resources was recommended with the hope that conversations about ID theory will continue to thrive.