Building the Future of Workforce Education

Kim L. Whiteside, Workforce Instructional Designer, Metropolitan Community College

With a 40-year career in adult learning, Kim L. Whiteside has seen education evolve from overhead projectors to immersive digital simulations. Now serving as a Workforce Instructional Designer at Metropolitan Community College, Kim channels decades of experience into designing high-impact professional development programs, many of which are in partnership with local industries. Her specialty: turning complex workforce needs into practical, engaging learning experiences that serve both learners and employers.

Having worked across universities, corporate environments, and community colleges, Kim's career has been defined by her ability to build learning from the ground up, often in new industries, with the latest technologies, and for a broad spectrum of learners. We spoke with Kim about her process, the future of instructional design, and what advice she’d offer the next generation of learning professionals.

Career Trajectory: A Serendipitous Start in Adult Learning

My journey started 40 years ago, quite unexpectedly. A trainer at my company went on vacation, and I was asked to cover for them for a couple of weeks. I said yes, and I immediately fell in love with the concept of adult learning. Since then, I’ve worn many titles: on-the-job trainer, organizational development specialist, and product information writer. However, all of them had one thing in common: I was always designing, developing, and delivering learning for adults.

Over the years, I’ve worked in both university and workforce settings, and that experience shaped what I do now at Metropolitan Community College. I’ve been here for a decade, always in workforce education. Today, I design professional development courses for our students and corporate partners, encompassing everything from concept to implementation. My earlier roles were the foundation for the work I do now.

Current Role and Responsibilities

I follow the ADDIE model quite closely, starting with a needs assessment. Often, a training manager or corporate partner comes to us with a specific workforce need: they may need people with a particular skill or want to build capacity in a specific industry.

“The new learning excellence isn’t just about what’s created, it’s about whether learners can think critically about how and why it was created”

Once the need is clear, I enter design mode, defining learning outcomes, competencies, and how mastery will be measured. I write the learning objectives, build out the activities and assessments, and develop the materials. Sometimes I deliver the training myself, and other times it’s handed off to another facilitator. Throughout, I make decisions on modality—is this face-to-face, virtual, or LMS-based? And I work closely with subject matter experts, especially when I’m designing in unfamiliar content areas. They bring the expertise; I shape the experience.

Immersive CDA Training That Made a Lasting Impact

One that stands out is a project I led for our Early Childhood Education program. We wanted to support students in earning their Childhood Development Associate (CDA) credential—a nationally recognized certification. I started with an 80-question stakeholder assessment to dig deep: what had worked in the past, what hadn’t, and what specific activities and outcomes they wanted for learners.

I used tools like Articulate Storyline to build interactive, scenario-based modules—essentially simulating what learners would encounter in real childcare settings. We made it immersive and highly practical, with simulations, videos, and collaboration tools. The course was designed to be completed over a year, and the build itself took a year. Hundreds of students have gone through it now, and it even earned me a nomination for a local ATD Trailblazer award in instructional design. That project was a great example of how thoughtful learning design can truly prepare people for real-world work.

How Instructional Design is Changing and What’s Next

Technology is going to play a massive role. I still remember using overhead projectors and transparency sheets, and now we’re designing with augmented reality, virtual simulations, and AI. The big shift will be away from passive “sit-and-get” learning. Learners won’t just absorb—they’ll co-create their learning experience.

This means instructional designers need to start involving learners from day one, using design thinking and learner-centered strategies. We’ll use more tools— sometimes 10 to 15 per project—and AI will increasingly recommend or even generate components for us. But it’s still on us to design experiences that are relevant, immersive, and tied to real outcomes.

Advice for Future Learning Professionals

First, sharpen the saw, as Stephen Covey says. I try to dedicate at least an hour of professional development each week—often during lunch —through high-quality webinars. Stay current.

Second, don’t fear technology. Experiment with it before forming opinions. The only way to know what works is to try it.

And finally, rethink how we define mastery. Traditionally, creation sat at the top of Bloom’s taxonomy—if learners could create, they’d mastered the material. But AI has changed that. Now, creation is easy. The real question is: can learners explain, evaluate, and think critically about what was created for them, especially by AI?

That’s the future of learning excellence—not just producing, but understanding and reflecting on the process.

Augmented Reality