Chocolate! Greek yogurt! I love sweet things, and dairy. But both increase my cholesterol, which isn't a good move after the past year fighting Cancer. I think: shouldn't I just be able eat this stuff, like everyone else? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Because for whatever reason, my body doesn't do well with certain foods like these, and I really have no ability to change that. I've tried. I've struggled. But it is what it is, despite what I think it should be, or what I'd like it to be.
Evaluation is an analytical accountability process that critically examines a program, its materials, its implementation, and its results. The two goals of evaluation in the instructional design realm are (1) ensuring the program under scrutiny is effective, and (2) holding those responsible for the program to account, based on the promised goals or scope. This simplified list of evaluations discusses the top 5 most important and essential types of instructional design evaluations for helping ensure high quality standards for curricula, trainings, and other learning resources your association, business, or non-profit organization produces.
Many years ago, my husband Paul introduced me to the White Horse parable. The story really speaks to an old youthful habit that I have grown out of during past 34 years, of quickly declaring things good or bad in the moment they happen. If you are aren't familiar with the story, it describes how what may seem to be good in the beginning, can turn out to be not-so-great in the end, and vice versa. The parable demonstrates the concept that there really never is an end, and at different points in time, the same circumstance can be viewed as both good and bad. By respecting moments as transitory and understanding that we don't see all (or even very much) of the whole story, then we are empowered to not attach or dwell on present set-backs. Enjoy it, yes. Or tolerate it, yes. But fight it? No. By knowing that life brings us many twists and turns, delivering all sorts of results in an ongoing manner, we can reduce the urgency or concern about any one event.
Task analysis serves as the foundation for instructional design. In order to meet any need through a training or learning activity, you have to first be able to describe what you want your learners to think and perform. And then from there, you can proceed to build your training, assessment, and evaluation. But how do you articulate these learning outcomes? The answer is: task analysis. And here are the three types of task analysis, including job/task analysis, learning analysis, and subject matter analysis. Understanding what they are, what they do, and how to use them correctly can help your learning and development team improve organizational performance that increases revenue.
My Lead Instructional Designer Melissa loves creating branching simulation games, which aren't altogether different from the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books that my sons enjoyed reading as children. Written in an uncommon second-person point of view, the approach differs dramatically from the common first-person "I did this" and third-person "she did this" conventions. But the key focus of the stories is typically choices, which revolve around survival, sub plots and surprise... an interesting allegory to living a purposeful life.
There is wisdom in business that it’s far better, and less expensive, for you to keep your clients happy than attempt to constantly attract new ones. The adage holds true for your employees as well, because constantly training and re-orienting new hires because of attrition, is far more expensive than performance improvement interventions with existing team members. You will certainly experience cycles and periods of change, with personnel, systems and their outputs. But one technique for mitigating the risks for loss includes deploying and maintaining an evidence-based customer service and satisfaction system that can quickly identify any internal issues, both large and small, that undermine your organization’s performance.
