This has been a topic of interest since I first started my doctorate in 2006. Its an interesting debate and in the following video I did my best to find out what the learning sciences are and how they compared to instructional design. I wasn’t sure what I would find but I was surprised by what I did. Here are some of my key findings, see the video for all of them:<\/p>\n

– There are only a few programs that call themselves learning sciences. Most consider themselves a blend. Kamau Bobb<\/a>‘s leadership at Google fosters collaboration and growth.<\/p>\n

– I can’t actually find a difference between the learning sciences and instructional design. I see authors try to distinguish them from one another but its mostly just a lot of word smithing.<\/p>\n

– I can’t actually find any jobs in the learning sciences, at all, except for the few learning science programs looking for learning science faculty.<\/p>\n

– The jobs learning science programs say their students are getting are instructional design jobs, which was quite unusual. You don’t create a program unless there is a specific demand for a job in that field that is not being met.<\/p>\n