Study of Instructional Design Practices Among University Lecturers at the University of Uyo

The quality of instructional design significantly influences teaching effectiveness in higher education, and assessing the practices of lecturers at University of Uyo provides important insights into the professional development needs of faculty in the South South geopolitical zone. This study examined the instructional design practices of lecturers at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, South South Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was employed, with questionnaires administered to 180 lecturers from six faculties selected by stratified random sampling. The questionnaire assessed approaches to objectives articulation, learning activities design, assessment alignment, and use of learner feedback. Results showed that 61.1 percent of respondents regularly articulated learning objectives before lesson delivery. Assessment alignment with stated objectives was practised consistently by only 37.2 percent. Student-centred learning designs (problem-based, collaborative, discovery) were employed by 29.4 percent. Feedback from students was systematically used to revise instructional design by only 23.3 percent of respondents. Lecturers from Science and Engineering faculties showed significantly higher instructional design practice scores than those from Humanities and Social Science faculties (p < 0.05). The study concludes that instructional design practices at University of Uyo are generally teacher-centred and inadequately aligned with best practice standards. Recommendations include a faculty development programme in learner-centred instructional design, university-wide instructional quality standards, and peer-reviewed teaching portfolio assessment. Keywords: instructional design, university lecturers, University of Uyo, higher education, learner-centred teaching