A Systematic Evaluation Process: Soliciting Client Participation and Working in a Cross‐Cultural Context

A systematic evaluation process helps performance improvement practitioners organize their work with clients to deliver valued results. Further, we implemented a strategic partnership approach to solicit client participation to conduct a feasible systemic training evaluation project. In this article, we share our experience and recommendations for performance improvement practitioners who work in cross‐cultural evaluation‐project contexts

Culture as a Design Next : Theoretical Frameworks to Guide New Design, Development, and Research of Learning Environments

In the design ecosystem, culture is often ignored or relegated to the periphery, perhaps because some see it as a concept that is hard to explain or completely capture. To contribute to a new direction, our paper presents a portion of an on-going study integrating and recognizing culture in the design process. We argue that the “next’” focus of design should be an inclusion of culture into design practices; an inclusion that is merged into every stage instead of being treated as an afterthought – most notably, during the evaluation stage. There exist numerous models and guides exploring the role of culture in learning design of which designers involved in the learning can and should be aware. In this paper we aim to review and present these models as a beginning place for those interested in designing for cross-cultural education ecosystems and programs intended to support learning needs

Educational and Environmental Support for Novice E‐Learning Developers

The e‐learning marketplace is evolving. Many organizations use rapid e‐learning development tools today, and instructional designers often need to upgrade their marketable skill‐sets as applied to e‐learning. We gathered survey and interview data from academic and corporate samples of instructional designers and e‐learning developers to investigate which features of rapid e‐learning development tools they value and why. Results suggest that formal education and organizational support are needed to help them become competent and marketable e‐learning practitioners

Emerging Evidence on the Use of Big Data and Analytics in Workplace Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

This article provides a systematic literature review about nonprofit and for-profit organizations using big data to inform performance improvement initiatives. The review of literature resulted in 4 peer-reviewed articles and an additional 33 studies covering the topic for these contexts. The review found that big data and analytics could be used to improve selection of staff and training interventions, cut costs, improve retention, and performance as well as meet strategic business goals, but little evidence of big data analytic methodologies actually employed in workplace training and performance improvement projects was found. Additional robust research with methodological descriptions are needed to reveal the extent to which these methodologies yield improved human performance results that positively affect strategic business goals and the bottom line. Opportunities for further research are also suggested

Asynchronous Discussion Forum Design to Support Cognition: Effects of Rubrics and Instructor Prompts on Learner’s Critical Thinking, Achievement, and Satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of two metacognitive scaffolds on learners’ cognition by evaluating student critical thinking skills performance in an asynchronous discussion board and achievement in a blended learning module. The two scaffolds included a systematic protocol for individualized facilitation prompts and an analytic rubric with three criteria (critical thinking, participation frequency, and writing quality) along with four levels of achievement for each criterion. This research study employed a quasi-experimental, two-by-two factorial design. The study participants (N = 257) were assigned to one of four different conditions. Those provided with the rubric scaffold demonstrated significant differences with respect to their performances. However, the combination of both metacognitive scaffolds had a detrimental effect on learner performance. Additionally, learners reported higher satisfaction levels with the module when presented only with the rubric scaffold. Based on these results, the implications are discussed for those who design, facilitate, and manage asynchronous discussions and blended learning environments

Preparing Instructional Designers to Apply Human Performance Technology in Global Context

This chapter emphasizes key considerations for work across cultures and in global con-texts. We share an example of an organizational systems mapping project, which is one way to begin a needs assessment and needs analysis and specifically applicable to performance improvement and instructional design consultants. We provide strategies for consultants who need to work in context that may be new or unfamiliar to them, albeit as an internal consultant on a project situated in a different global location from their headquarters or as an external consultant

Ethical and Responsible Cross‐Cultural Interviewing: Theory to Practice Guidance for Human Performance and Workplace Learning Professionals

Conducting interviews in a cross-cultural setting is increasingly common for human performance technology (HPT) practitioners and researchers. Planning to conduct interviews in a culture that the practitioner may not be familiar with requires additional methodological and ethical considerations. In this article, we draw from published scholarly works on cross-cultural interviewing practices across disciplines to develop evidence-based recommendations HPT professionals can utilize in their own cross-cultural interview project

A Needs Analysis to Inform Global Humanitarian Capacity Building

This article describes a needs analysis case study to inform the instructional design of a multinational capacity building project in humanitarian logistics. Survey responses from 106 foreign partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) were collected to gain insights into organizations’ access to technology, levels of confidence in five logistics process areas, the strengths of previous capacity building projects, and organizational strategies and methods for capacity building. Results show that staff have access to mobile phones and computers and prefer to use the latter for learning. It was also found that not all NGOs implemented all the common logistics processes of an emergency response. Further, respondents preferred participatory approaches to scenario-based training over lecture-style presentations. Instructional design recommendations based on these results are shared as well as lessons learned which may help instructional designers working for multinational organizations design their needs analysis projects

Preparing Instructional Designers to Scale Needs Assessment

This chapter emphasizes the importance of needs assessment in instructional design practice. It differentiates between needs assessment and needs analysis while providing strategies that can be employed by instructional designers to scale needs assessments to address project constraints and time limitations in real-world settings. Strategies for how needs assessment learning experiences can be integrated into instructional design coursework are provided as well as recommendations for the role instructors can serve while facilitating these types of activities

A Systematic Multiple Studies Review of Low-Income, First-Generation, and Underrepresented, STEM-Degree Support Programs: Emerging Evidence-Based Models and Recommendations

The dramatic lack of diversity within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) higher-education graduates is a serious issue facing the future of the STEM workforce. Colleges and universities are attempting to fix this disparity through targeted intervention programs aimed at increasing the persistence and retention of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented (UR) students in STEM. A comprehensive synthesis of adopted strategies and analysis of their effectiveness is lacking. We conducted a systematic multiple-studies review, considering 31 empirical articles published between 2005 and 2020 that shared the outcomes of intentional intervention programs in place across the United States. We uncovered essential characteristics of successful programs and highlighted the top 10 critical program components to consider. These can be used to guide the development and execution of future programs’ support systems and interventions. This is a relatively new area of research, with most programs just in the earliest stages of implementation. It is essential to continue to follow the data on the outcomes of these programs, particularly their longitudinal impacts on the diversification of the STEM workforce, to be able to implement effective evidence-based practices