When I decided to enroll in Arizona State University’s Learning Design and Technologies (LDT) program, I wasn’t just chasing another degree – I was chasing a feeling. A sense of alignment. And in week one, I felt it.
As a recent graduate with a master’s in Special Education – Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), I had already begun building a career rooted in evidence-based practice, individualized support, and measurable outcomes. But there was a part of me that hadn’t yet found full expression: my creative side. I’ve always enjoyed building digital materials, editing content, and finding new ways to make learning accessible and engaging. When I discovered the LDT program, I saw a space where all my passions, education, behavior science, technology, and design, could finally converge.
It wasn’t until I read through the first week’s materials, especially Ellen Wagner’s piece on the evolving identity of learning design professionals, that I truly connected to the path ahead. Wagner’s writing validated something I’ve always believed: that learning design is more than just instruction. It’s systems thinking, it's user experience, and most excitingly, it’s engineering. That’s the identity I’m most drawn to: Learning Engineer. It captures both the precision and the creativity of what I hope to bring to the field.
What I’ve Learned So Far
In just one week, my understanding of the field has already started to evolve. I’ve come to realize that learning design isn’t about choosing a single theory or set of tools, it’s about adapting your approach to meet the needs of learners in real-world contexts. I’m starting to see how my ABA training (especially my experience as a registered behavior technician) fits perfectly into this landscape.
The articles I read this week challenged me to consider the broader scope of what we do. Whether we’re called instructional designers, learning experience designers, or learning engineers, the mission is the same: to help people learn better, perform better, and stay engaged while doing so. And as I think about the high turnover in ABA roles like RBTs, I can’t help but see a real opportunity. What if we redesigned training from the ground up? What if learning experiences were so clear, so interactive, and so motivating that we could actually improve recruitment, skill acquisition, and retention across the board?
That’s the kind of impact I want to make and the kind of practitioner I want to become.
Looking Forward: My Goals
To make that vision a reality, I’ve outlined three goals – short-term, medium-term, and long-term – that will guide my journey throughout this program. These goals reflect my values, my passions, and the kind of learning professional I hope to become.
Goal 1: Short-Term (End of this course)
Build confidence in designing learning modules using an LMS like Canvas.
Right now, the technical side of course formatting feels like unfamiliar territory. I’ve created learning materials before, ebooks, Canva projects, and slide decks, but I haven’t yet built a full learning experience within a platform like Canvas. I want to walk away from this course not just with theoretical knowledge, but with practical, portfolio-ready experience in structuring a digital course from beginning to end.
This goal matters to me because I want to close the gap between my ideas and the tools used to bring them to life. Learning how to structure and deliver content in Canvas will help me bring my instructional ideas to scale, especially as I work toward improving ABA-related training.
To help me meet this goal, I’ll lean on faculty and peers who are already comfortable navigating LMS platforms. Ideally, I’d love to connect with a tech-savvy learning designer – someone who can help me think through both the “how” and “why” of LMS integration; someone who’s worked on course builds before, but still remembers what it felt like to be new.
Goal 2: Medium-Term (Mid-point of the program)
Prototype a learning experience that addresses one of the key challenges in RBT training.
This one is close to my heart. I want to take the theories, tools, and design models I’m learning and apply them to a problem I know firsthand: the difficulty many RBTs face in mastering imaginative play, handling dense content, and staying engaged. Whether it’s a microlearning module, a gamified scenario, or a peer-support resource, I want to design something that could actually be implemented, tested, and improved in the field.
Why do I care? Because I’ve been in those shoes. I’ve seen fellow RBTs struggle. I know how much good this role can do – and how often talented people leave it before reaching their full potential. Creating a resource that could support both learning and retention would be deeply rewarding for me.
To move this forward, I’ll need guidance from a practitioner-designer hybrid with real-world experience applying instructional design to workforce development. They might work in healthcare, education, or nonprofit spaces, but they’ll share a passion for mission-driven, learner-centered solutions.
Goal 3: Long-Term (End of the program)
Develop a professional portfolio that showcases my voice, versatility, and values as a learning engineer.
By the time I finish this program, I want to feel proud of how far I’ve come and have something to show for it. My long-term goal is to curate a portfolio that not only demonstrates my skills in design, development, and evaluation, but also tells a compelling story about who I am and what I stand for.
This goal is important to me because I don’t just want a job, I want to make a difference. And the best way to do that is by showing potential employers what I can do and why I care.
To achieve this, I’ll look to mentors who embody the kind of professional I aspire to be –people who balance creativity with strategy, data with empathy, and innovation with real-world results. These mentors might be guest speakers, instructors, or even connections I make through the program’s professional network. They’ll be people who see design not just as a job, but as a calling.
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