One of the biggest trends in education over the past decade has been increasing movement away from face-to-face instruction and toward blended and online formats. This rapid rate of change, however, has outstripped the global standards that guide the development of instruction.
Dr. James Marshall, associate professor of educational leadership and director of SDSU’s Pre K-12 Doctoral Program, is on the front lines of helping these standards catch up with the times. Marshall is serving in his first full year as a director for the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI), which develops and validates standards for professionals in the learning, development and performance improvement fields.
“I think what excites me most is that we're at this amazing crossroads in the field right now,” Marshall said. “Many of the standards haven't been updated recently and so there's a lot of need to take a look at them and bring them into alignment with the profession today.”
I think this really speaks to our aspiration at San Diego State to have an international presence and (seeing) the work that we do here in a global context. —Dr. James Marshall
IBSTPI standards are widely used in higher education to guide the curriculum programs that prepare instructional designers, trainers and evaluators. They are often also applied in the corporate, non-profit and governmental sectors — particularly in the military. IBSTPI has nine directors selected from across the globe, including representatives from Canada, Australia and Chile.
"I think this really speaks to our aspiration at San Diego State to have an international presence and (seeing) the work that we do here in a global context," Marshall said.
Marshall’s expertise in program evaluation makes him unique on the board — a big part of why he was recruited by IBSTPI President Mark Lee last year. IBSTPI’s other members from higher education have a more general instructional design background.
Marshall is currently co-leading IBSTPI’s validation of new revisions to instructor standards and competencies. He foresees his next challenge will be to spearhead the revision of evaluator standards.
"There's energy on the board and there's a vibrant context for how this work is done today," Marshall said. "We have the opportunity to really give voice to how it's being done and make a set of standards that will equip people in our profession to do better work and to have better impact."