There's a can of peas in my cupboard, with the requisite photo of a luscious pea plant on the front of the can. Near the photo is a caveat: "product shown before processing." Umm, yeah. Unless you are a kid who has never seen a pea plant and expects to see those tendrils of pea plant, as well as the pod, in that can! Or a person who has never eaten peas. Or a new cook who is following a recipe and has no idea what to expect. Or a newcomer to the US and have never seen peas before... You get the idea.
Instructional design takes these types of interesting situations into account. As instructional designers, we look at not only the gap in performance, but the knowledge gap as well. The idea is that we can help people do better, understand more, and help subject matter experts "break it down" so that novices can follow them and benefit from the SME's expertise.
Motivation to learn, cognitive load, the creation of schemata, and linking of new information to what the person already knows are all (or should be!) part of instructional design. I keep thinking of what Abraham Maslow has said: "when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail" or something to that effect. I feel strongly though, that instructional design and the habits that one acquires when thinking about learning problems and instructional challenges from an instructional design perspective make communication of all types more effective. Even the message on a can of peas.
