MEDT 8465: Human Performance Improvement
Description
This artifact involved a full-scale Human Performance Improvement (HPI) project focused on addressing inconsistent teacher integration of media center resources at Coleman Middle School. Our team collected data through teacher surveys, interviews with the media specialist and assistant principal, and an analysis of media center sign-up logs to identify a 51% performance gap between current and desired teacher collaboration. The analysis revealed several root causes, including limited awareness of available media center resources, lack of structured planning time, unclear connections between media center tools and academic standards, and the absence of formal expectations or accountability. Recommended interventions included establishing clear administrative expectations for media center collaboration and creating monthly co-planning opportunities with the media specialist. The project emphasized systemic solutions that addressed information, resources, knowledge, and motivation barriers to improve instructional integration and student access to digital literacy, research, and project-based learning opportunities.
Description
This artifact examined the merger of Spring Harbor Bank and Westford Bank from a human performance improvement perspective. The case study focused on performance issues that emerged after the acquisition, including inconsistent sales approaches, uneven employee experience, and differences in training systems. To address these gaps, the organization gathered employee feedback, combined sales training practices, adopted stronger sales tools, and developed online learning supports with ongoing help desk assistance. These interventions improved employee performance, strengthened sales consistency across both banks, and produced measurable results, including increased sales, improved cross-selling, and significant annual cost savings.
These two artifacts demonstrate my growth in applying Human Performance Improvement (HPI) frameworks to examine performance challenges in both educational and corporate settings. The Coleman Middle School project strengthened my ability to collect and analyze multiple forms of data, including surveys, interviews, and usage logs, to identify a clear performance gap and determine the root causes affecting teacher collaboration with the media center. This artifact helped me understand how barriers such as limited awareness, lack of planning time, unclear expectations, and motivation can impact instructional practices and student access to meaningful learning opportunities.
The Spring Harbor and Westford Bank case expanded my understanding of how HPI can also support organizational change during a merger. This artifact highlighted the importance of aligning training systems, communication structures, employee support, and technology tools to improve performance across merged teams. Together, these artifacts helped me see that performance problems are rarely caused by one issue alone. Instead, they are connected to larger systems involving people, processes, resources, expectations, and organizational culture.
Through these experiences, I have become more confident in diagnosing performance gaps and recommending interventions that are strategic, sustainable, and evidence-based. Moving forward, I will apply this systems-thinking approach in future professional roles, whether in K–12 education, instructional technology, or corporate learning environments. These artifacts have reinforced the importance of using data, stakeholder input, and structured interventions to create meaningful change that supports both organizational goals and learner success.