About Barbara

I have been in the instructional design and performance improvement field for over twenty years, helping clients find the right solutions and the right consultant fit for their projects. In my role as Vice President of Client and Staffing Services, I know that training may not always be the answer. Organizations such as PACT, ASTD, MNISPI, and the Digital Learning Forum get my creative juices going to generate new ideas and synergies. I am an avid film goer, music lover, bridge walker, and supporter of the Dashe & Thomson running team.
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Instructional Design and Rapid Prototyping: Rising from the Ashes of ADDIE

Instructional Design and Rapid Prototyping: Rising from the Ashes of ADDIE

by on May 7, 2012 in eLearning, Instructional Design, Project Management/Project Delivery, Rapid Development, Rapid Prototyping, Training Development

Tom Gram, one of my favorite bloggers, a few years ago responded to the hue and cry about ADDIE’s demise in the field of instructional design. In ADDIE is DEAD! Long Live ADDIE!, he talked about the love/hate relationship that many instructional designers and eLearning developers have had with ADDIE as they tried to keep up with business demands for speed and quality and as they observe process innovations such as rapid application development and iterative prototyping.

For many years the five ADDIE phases were the foundation for the design of most systems. Software engineering, product development, interactive/multimedia development are all based on some variation of the model. Most of these systems have evolved from the linear “waterfall” approach of early models; that is, a phase has to be completed and approved before you can start the next phase.

The waterfall approach has generally been replaced by iterative design …

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How to Evaluate Learning: The Kirkpatrick Model for the 21st Century

How to Evaluate Learning: The Kirkpatrick Model for the 21st Century

by on January 20, 2012 in Evaluation, formal learning, Informal Learning, Instructional Design, Training Development

Recent research by ASTD and REED Learning indicates that the top skills desired by Learning & Development departments are measuring and evaluating training.

Even though many Learning and Development organizations find it a challenge to prove training’s effect beyond how learners react to the training and whether they have learned the training content, senior management and business stakeholders are more and more interested in metrics that show the impact on the organization.

According to Donald L. Kirkpatrick’s revised “Four Levels of Evaluation” model, what we need to do is find out what success looks like in the eyes of these senior managers and stakeholders and let them define their expectations for the training program. Then we need to identify specific metrics to demonstrate and deliver on those expectations.

For those of you who are not familiar with the original Four Levels, this is what they are:

  • Level 1. Reaction: To …
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    How Much Does Informal Learning Actually Cost?

    How Much Does Informal Learning Actually Cost?

    by on November 4, 2011 in formal learning, Informal Learning, Training costs, Training Development

    Current research indicates that 20% of  learning is formal and 80% is informal, yet 80% of training budgets are spent on formal learning and only 20% on informal learning.

    According to  Don Clark in Big Dog, Little Dog: The True Cost of Informal Learning, the trouble with this research is that although the comparative percentages for formal and informal learning are correct, information on what is actually spent on each is based on weak research.

    He says that even if all the numbers were correct, what the organization spends is more important than what the learning department spends.  And he poses an even more important question—if informal learning is so efficient, why does it need training budget support?

    A report coming out of an ASTD research project supported by the U. S. Department of Labor states that employer investment in workplace training is about $210B annually. Of that amount …

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    Rapid Instructional Design for Accelerated Learning

    Rapid Instructional Design for Accelerated Learning

    by on October 6, 2011 in Accelerated Learning, Instructional Design, social learning, Training Development

    Created in the military during World War II, the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) model has dominated curriculum design for the last 40 years.  It is still taught in universities and by most train-the-trainer firms.

    However, according to Dave Meier, in The Accelerated Learning Handbook, the ISD model is “too slow, cumbersome, stiff, linear, and emotionally dull…to get the job done today.”  Meier says its weakness reflects a male-dominated point of view and a behavioristic approach to learning. Its origin in the military explains why it is overly linear, analytical, verbal, left-brained, academic, top-down, and prescriptive.

    These are some reasons why he believes it should be “scrapped”:

    • It is too time-consuming
    • It is overly cognitive, verbal, and rationalistic
    • It is too top-down and controlling
    • It treats learners as consumers, not creators
    • It is often materials- and presentation-based rather than activity-based.

    Meier says there needs to be a new approach to …

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    Serena Williams and Stepping Back from Your Training Plan

    Serena Williams and Stepping Back from Your Training Plan

    by on September 2, 2011 in Instructional Design, performance support, Project Management/Project Delivery, subject matter experts

    I am a big tennis fan. And there is nothing more important to American tennis fans than the U.S. Open, which started this week.  There are a number of tournaments leading up to the Open.  The major international players (the healthy ones, anyway) use them as preparation.

    The big news in the last couple of weeks was that Serena Williams, who had just won the Rogers Cup in Toronto, was dropping out of the next tournament, the Cincinnati Western & Southern.

    Serena had come back after a year away from tennis during which she had a number of surgeries.  She had played seven matches in the previous eight days, and the big toe on her right foot bothered her during a morning workout.  “I don’t think this is a good time for me to take a big chance,” she said. “I just don’t think that would be smart.” 

    There was …

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