Transition From Teaching to Instructional Design: The Journey of Elliott Adams

Elliott Adams

From Elementary Teacher to Instructional Design/Trainer

Elliott started his career as an elementary teacher then transitioned into training and instructional design roles. He has worked as an instructional designer in military defense contractor and senior learning consultant for healthcare management organization environments. He has 10+ years of experience as a professional educator, facilitator, corporate trainer, and webmaster. The following outlines the journey he took to accumulate all of this experience.

Education Degrees Earned

Elliott got his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He received a minority scholarship which allowed him to pay for his college education toward teaching in elementary schools. Elliott wanted to get into teaching because he was passionate about helping students to dream bigger and aspire for greater.

Elliott additionally earned his Masters degree in Education. Prior to completing his Bachelor’s degree with an accelerated Elementary Education track, he ran across the field of Instructional Technology. Conducting undergrad work in a College of Education computer lab at UF, one of his future directors introduced Elliott to an instructional design project she worked on. After much research, he knew that would better fit his interests. Shortly after, he switched his concentration to an Instructional Technology Master’s degree at American Intercontinental University Online.

Experience Getting Into Teaching

After completion of his undergrad and graduate degrees, he took a job at an alternative high school. He attained his professional K-6 certification in the state of Florida. A principal of an elementary school attending a conference for his minority teacher scholarship some years earlier just happened to be the same Principal who hired him to teach professionally. He taught 1st grade from 2005-2010 in a Title I school in Gainesville.

Many teachers at his school knew he had a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology. He enjoyed helping teachers accurately and more effectively use technology in their classrooms. He recalls that too often teachers would think that he knew how to fix computers with his degree. He also explains that many teachers he interacted with had never heard of instructional design.

Transition Out of the Classroom

Elliott stated, “As a professional, you have to be able to leave the classroom when it is best for you (if you have professional aspirations outside of the K-12 classroom setting). Do not try to stay in an effort to effectuate school- or district-level change for the better at the classroom level. The implications could impact the rest of your life negatively. Worry about yourself and move on when the time is best for you.”

Elliott did end up being unemployed for 1-2 years after teaching until he was able to land a instructional designer job with a government defense contractor in Jacksonville, Florida with with a Marine Corps client out of Virginia. He found the job posted on Monster.com or a similar online site. It was a six month contract position that got his foot in the door to instructional design. He was one of a few employees in his department who had an academic education background without military experience. In this role, he worked with instructional and senior designers, courseware developers (HTML coders), graphic designers, project managers, and quality assurance specialists.

Experience After Leaving the Classroom

In his most recent instructional design role, Elliott designed, developed, and delivered company-wide corporate courses in risk management, corporate compliance and security awareness. Additionally, he facilitated diversity in the workplace and customer service trainings to over 500 employees. He has also taught a hospitality curriculum as a corporate trainer while flying back and forth from Gainesville to Miami to 400 employees at each location.

Advice to Teachers

Recognize that if you desire to leave the classroom it may not be easy, but it is possible to do so and be okay long term.
- Income is security; transition from the classroom potentially enables the risk of “financial instability.”
- Ask yourself, “Is the transition worth the risk?”
Research everything you can about alternate careers you are interested in their industries.
For those desiring an instructional design career, maintain an electronic portfolio to demonstrate your professional abilities:
- Know how to write course narration scripts for elearning and videos.
- Know how to storyboard by hand and with software.
- Research course development software such as: Lectora, Captivate, Storyline, etc.