Highlights:

• Improved employee time to productivity significantly due to creative onboarding and training strategies, resulting in impactful benefits for multiple organizations across career.

• Increased return on investment for learning and development initiatives by boosting efficiency of learning programs

Instructional Philosophy

Adult learning is a unique challenge influenced by a range of factors including motivation for learning; resources for development and implementation; and the varied skills and knowledge learners bring with them. To create an optimal learning experience that aligns with business needs and increases organizational performance I approach instructional design in the following ways:

Begin with the end in mind.

It is incredibly difficult to map out a road trip if you don’t know where you want to end up. This is why, when designing learning experiences, I start with the question “What do you want the learner to know or do at the end of this experience?”. This question allows all the stakeholders to start on the same page in discussing the learning needs. When we all agree on the end goal, it is easier to build a program that meets the needs of everybody involved.

What are the metrics?

Key performance indicators. Key business metrics. Service Levels. They go by many names, but at the heart of the concept is the idea that you’re measuring something - output, performance, strategic goals, revenue, calls, etc. After we identify what we want the learners to know or do, it is important to identify the metrics that will be used to determine if behavior is changing. Do you want: reduced customer complaints? increased revenue? reduced call handling time? shorter run time between first day to handling customers? In order for training to be effective, it must be directly linked to a key performance indicator - otherwise, the training has no impact on the business.

Measurable and Engaging Design.

Once I understand the end goal and I know how you want to measure performance, I get to work developing learning that is measurable and engaging. The first part of creating measurable learning is developing learning objectives that clearly articulate the performance goal, the conditions for that goal and the criteria for meeting that goal. Then I develop corresponding evaluations to accurately measure a learner’s understanding based on Bloom’s Taxonomy for comprehension levels. This allows me to further clarify the content in preparation for an engaging design.

We’ve all sat through boring lectures, presentations, and videos with the expectation that being in the visual and auditory vicinity of information means that we’re supposed to retain it. I believe that learning must be engaging, appealing and applicable for learners. I design learning to be appealing - not just visually but mentally as well. I take complex ideas and make them bite sized so that learners can understand and retain. Then I give them opportunities to interact and apply their knowledge. Understanding is all about application and retention, so an effective learning experiences requires practicing within a safe and supportive enviornment.

Implement and then Evaluate.

I love watching people learn and grow. One of the best parts of the instructional design process is implementing the learning and watching somebody grow from your work. I design a range of learnings - from full day, in-person programs to mico e-Learning modules. Each modality provides its own challenges and rewards for successful implementation. Part of the successful implementation is a three-part assessment of the learning: a Pre-Assessment, Post-Assessment and Transfer-Assessment. This three prong approach allows me to have data points for each step in the learner’s journey. I can measure their knowledge or skills before the learning experience, immediately after and then 3-4 weeks after.

I love learning and growing and this data helps me finetune the learning to meet the needs of the organization. If learners score highly on the pre-assessment, maybe we should be asking different questions or identifying other skills and knowlege. If learners score low on the post-assessment, maybe the content wasn’t clear or the activies weren’t relevant. If learners score low on the transfer-assessment, maybe they’re not being given an opportunity to apply the knowledge. Each data point tells me something about the learning experience and audience, and helps me to improve the product to meet the needs of the organization.