#1 - Look at constraints as opportunity. Every project comes with constraints: tight budgets or strict timelines. Although these obstacles can be overwhelming, you should look at them as opportunities for creativity and use these guidelines to create more effective programs or courses.

#2 - Engage in scientific improvisation to move from big picture to deep picture. When it comes to designing training content or changing course content, it is important to obtain real-time data that your LMS collects about the learner, understand it to know what works and what does not, and then use it to change the training content to meet learners’ needs and expectations.

#3 - Trust and collaborate with cross-functional teams. Set the stage for a brainstorming session by entering the team discussion with an open mind to welcome and trust ideas from new team members. Being open to new experiences will allow you to take advantage of the resources and tools others will provide and enhance diverse solutions.

#4 - Step into the learner’s shoes. One way to foster creativity is to look at a problem from a different perspective. For example, if you’re developing a course, look at it from the learner’s perspective to better understand the problem and the audience. This approach encourages learner-centric design through empathy, an important tenet of design thinking.

#5 - Engage in divergent and convergent thinking. Divergent thinking is defined as a thought process to generate several possible solutions to a problem. The free-flowing of ideas encourages creativity. In contrast, convergent thinking is a problem-solving technique that involves bringing all ideas together to determine a single best solution. Once the free-flowing stage of divergent thinking is complete, information can be structured and organized using convergent thinking. 

#6 - Stay up-to-date with current technology and focus on design thinking. Take advantage of current technological tools that can make your tasks easier and more efficient. Apart from focusing on the content, also focus on the details of how it will be implemented. Use gamification to create virtual environments that mirror real-life situations to provide effective and scalable training.

#7 - Prototyping. Instead of building a course to completion before asking for feedback, engage in prototyping by proactively asking for feedback and making necessary adjustments. Prototyping allows the creation of representative ideas that can be discussed, evaluated, and improved.

#8 - Willingness to take calculated risks. Creativity involves the ability to go beyond the past ideas and a willingness to grow. This often requires flexibility and risk taking as you’re trying to experiment with a new approach/idea.

Kinjal Chheda, Intern (under the guidance of Amanda Major, Ed.D., Associate Instructional Designer, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida)