Instructional design is typically viewed as a process which requires fixed, deterministic approaches with a logical set of procedures to follow and much attention has been paid for the past five decades to the individual skills and knowledge taught to master's level students studying to practice the design of instruction. However, other comparable fields of design have stressed development of design character. While there is work to be done in identifying the specific definition and components of "character," this study was conducted to explore how design judgment as part of design character is viewed and valued in ID/educational technology and in what ways instructors of instructional design address development of design judgment in their students.

An exploratory qualitative method was employed in this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The participants are faculty members teaching instructional design, students at instructional design programs, and instructional designers who recently graduated from an instructional design program. The findings suggest that even though design judgment is not a commonly used construct in instructional design, it is believed that design judgment is an important competency that instructional design students should begin to develop during their graduate education. In addition, it is found that instructors address development of design judgment in their students in at least five ways: (1) project-based learning (2) instructor and peer feedback (3) reflection and justification activities (4) vicarious learning (5) modeling by instructors, peers with more experience, and professional designers. Implications of these themes are explored, recommendations are offered, and a brief plan for future research is outlined.