Planning and Analysis

Planning and analysis are foundational skills for an ID professional and can be the determining factor in the overall success of a project. My skills in this domain have increased through studying various models and frameworks to conduct a thorough front-end analysis of the knowledge gap, consider the target population and learning environment, identify the best techniques for instruction, and evaluate emerging technology as a potential solution.  

I used the front-end analysis framework provided by the Dick and Carey model to ensure I accurately identified the learning gap when completing a design document in EDCI 572 for the training course I created. This analysis served as a guiding doctrine and provided a clearly defined, measurable target to evaluate success after finishing the training. Throughout the Purdue LDT program, I have learned to ask the right questions and use appropriate techniques to identify the actual performance issue. This may or may not be a training issue identified by a learning gap. In my future work, I plan to use this skill to be thorough and systematic when partnering with businesses to solve human performance issues.

My design document also considered the target learners and the environment in which they would learn. These two considerations are critical to consider before beginning the development stage of the ADDIE model. Through interviews, observations, and a review of past performance, I collected the necessary data to align my instructional strategies with the current state of the learners and the resources afforded to the learning environment. I have gained a great appreciation for the need to consider the learner's unique characteristics and the learning environment when designing instructional materials, and I intend to incorporate surveys and analysis in future projects to ensure I fully consider these critical aspects of effective training.

During the planning phase, I first considered the primary learning objective. Next, I identified the subordinate skills necessary for learners to master the primary objective and listed the prerequisite knowledge and skills. This information was the launching point for the future development of the training course I created in EDCI 572. My design document contains artifacts that show a systematic approach to mapping these primary and subordinate objectives while simultaneously developing strategies to ensure they are integrated into the design. My coursework has enabled me to become proficient in analyzing necessary learning objectives and further subdividing these into subordinate objectives. In future projects, I will use these skills to devise training strategies and ensure learning assessments are directly correlated with specific, identified learning objectives.

My literature review on online video lectures began by casting a wide net to find various sources of information. I synthesized information found in repositories of scholarly articles, textbooks, and conference material. There is plenty of information available in the public space. This creates a mandate for ID professionals to validate content and scrutinize the legitimacy of each source. Before including materials in my review, I considered the journal article sources and citation numbers, the plausibility of the claims by specific authors, and the sample size of each research study. I have gained expertise in navigating the sea of information and searching for valid and legitimate learning research and theory. In future endeavors, I will carefully examine source materials using these newly developed skill sets.

I am a vocal advocate for technology integration in training so long as the technology enhances the learning outcomes. I assert that an ID professional must stay current on the latest technology and consider the utility of each independently. “New” does not always translate to “better”. Therefore, I evaluated traditional and emerging technologies in my literature review and sought sources demonstrating measurable increases in learning outcomes based on integrating specific technologies. Using the skills I developed in this program by reading blogs, ID forum posts, and following the technology innovators in the industry, I plan to integrate new and emerging technologies in my future work when I believe the learners will benefit.