The Use of the Performance Pyramid to Support Collaborations Between Faculty and Instructional Designers in Higher Education

The article delves into the critical need for effective collaborations between educators and instructional designers in higher education, particularly as institutions expand their online course offerings. It highlights the complexities and challenges inherent in these partnerships, emphasizing the importance of a systematic approach to needs assessment and instructional design. The Performance Pyramid model, originally developed for professional development in the workplace, is presented as a comprehensive framework for addressing these needs. The model's six performance support blocks—knowledge and skills, performance capacity, motivation, values, and self-concept, tools, environments, and processes, expectations and feedback, and rewards, recognition, and incentives—are explored in detail. The article provides a practical guide with guiding questions for both instructional designers and faculty, aimed at identifying priority needs and making informed instructional design decisions. It also discusses the importance of relationship building, feedback, and motivation in fostering successful collaborations. The article concludes by outlining future research directions and the potential impact of integrating the Performance Pyramid model into higher education settings, offering a roadmap for enhancing faculty development and improving educational outcomes.