Problem: The organization’s training lacked harmonization and adult learning principles, leading to longer training periods and financial burden. 

My Role:

• Conducted comprehensive needs assessments to identify training gaps and performance barriers

• Collected and analyzed data, synthesized key findings, and provided human-centered recommendations

• Delivered insights to support data-driven decisions for upper management

Impact:

• Informe the design of streamlined training aligned with business goals 

• Reduced training from four months to one and streamlined work procedures for public service employees, boosting performance 

Problem: Despite efforts to promote workplace diversity, gender bias in hiring remains a persistent issue. Hiring managers often make unconscious decisions that disadvantage women, reinforcing inequality and limiting opportunities for qualified candidates.

Goal: Design an engaging, learning experience to help hiring managers recognize and reflect on their biases, ultimately encouraging more equitable hiring practices.

Solution: We created Hysteria, an interactive card game that simulates real-world hiring scenarios. The game highlights how implicit gender biases can influence decision-making, often without awareness.

Problem: Instructors and faculty lacked sufficient knowledge and skills to effectively integrate Open Educational Resources (OER) into their curriculum.

Goal: Identify knowledge and skill gaps to inform targeted support and training for faculty on OER use.

Solution: Learning Needs Assessment for OER Integration

Impact:

• Determined whether training is an appropriate and effective solution 

• Informed the design of tailored professional development initiatives

Problem: Faculty needed a flexible, high-quality training solution with effective learning strategies that fit their limited schedules without requiring synchronous sessions. 

Goal: Design a flexible, evidence-based instructional plan tailored to faculty needs for effective, self-paced learning. 

Solution: Developed and delivered a self-paced instructional program using clear objectives, appropriate learning strategies, and Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction. 

Impact: Communicated to stakeholders how I plan to present the course material and gained their support for my approach. 

Problem: Faculty lacked the necessary skills to use online tools for converting course materials into OER 

Goal: Design a digital module that addresses the identified skill gaps 

Solution: Designed and published an asynchronous self-study module using WIX.com to build faculty skills in OER authoring tools. 

Impact:

• Addressed faculty skill gaps in OER authoring

• Supported independent, self-paced learning aligned with faculty availability

Problem: University students faced high textbook costs, creating financial and accessibility barriers. Although OER modules were available, faculty adoption remained low due to workload.  

Solution: Conducted Performance Needs Assessment to understand the root causes of faculty hesitancy. 

Solutions:

• A streamlined support system including instructional designers and librarians.

• Peer-led workshops highlighting successful OER adoption stories.

• A curated repository of discipline-specific OER resources.

• Incentive programs recognizing faculty who integrate OER.

Impact: Lowered textbook costs and boosted faculty engagement. 

Problem: University faculty were hesitant to adopt OER after completing on-the-job training due to workplace barriers such as time constraints.  

Goal: Increase OER adoption in the Faculty of Arts and Science by having each faculty member use adapted open textbooks in three courses within one year to reduce student costs. 

Solution: I conducted a performance needs assessment and developed a high-level campaign blueprint that proposed eight targeted interventions.

Impact: The blueprint helped address specific performance gaps, build faculty confidence, and promote sustainable engagement with OER.

Task: Critically evaluate the peer-reviewed article "How Instructional Designers Solve Workplace Problems."

Approach: Applied qualitative evaluation criteria to analyze the article’s methodology, relevance, and practical implications. Summarized key findings and assessed the strength of its arguments, use of evidence, and applicability to real-world instructional design contexts.

Outcome: Delivered a balanced critique highlighting both the article’s contributions to the field and its limitations, demonstrating analytical thinking and academic writing skills.

Task: Examine the effectiveness of online academic courses versus traditional in-person classes, focusing on memory retention, student engagement, and academic performance.

Approach: Performed a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed studies, including research on game-based learning, to analyze learning outcomes across different instructional delivery methods.

Findings: The analysis revealed that traditional classroom learning tends to outperform online learning in key areas, particularly memory retention and engagement. The findings highlight the importance of further research into improving communication and instructional strategies in online education.