Reflection

When I began the IDPT program in 2011, I had been working as an Instructional Designer for five years. However, I had a passion to learn the art and science of designing learning in much greater depth and to enhance my instructional design skills with performance improvement tools and techniques. Throughout the IDPT program I have been able to apply what I’ve learned from each course to my real world work in designing learning that changes performance.

One of the primary changes the IDPT program has effected in my professional work has been to focus on performance goals. I’ve learned to begin projects with questions to stakeholders on expected goals and outcomes and to delve into the reasons for these goals and outcomes. It is from this initial analysis that I am now able to determine root causes for performance issues, conduct deeper research and analysis at the organization, job, and worker levels, and then recommend solutions that will meet expected goals and outcomes.

For learning solutions, I now have the tools I need to design instructional materials that will meet performance needs including assessing learner abilities post-learning. This includes assessing current learner knowledge and skills, gaps in knowledge and skills, and creating learning material to close those gaps.