LHT Learning

Senior Instructional Designer:

• Delivered custom learning solutions for life sciences, pharmaceutical, and IT clients by collaborating with client SMEs and internal team members, including project managers, graphic designers, QA, and developers.

• Collaborated in all phases of the ADDIE instructional design process to design and deliver engaging, instructionally sound eLearning, microlearning, and vILT solutions.

• Used project management applications to manage multiple projects simultaneously and track course changes.

My Role in the Design & Development Process for the Compliance Microlearning Curriculum (10)

• • Created a Microsoft Word microlearning storyboard template so a team of Instructional Designers could consistently carry standard design elements and wording throughout all 10 compliance-based microlearnings. 

  • Wrote and designed 3 (of the 10) storyboards using company compliance policy information and a client-approved course outline framework.

  • Used closed-system AI to generate scenario-based assessments that apply knowledge to real-life compliance situations.

  • Designed instructional content for 2 infographics, adding real-life situations and case studies to help learners recall key information.  

  • Reviewed wireframe prototypes and development in Figma and Lectora with graphic designers and programmers to ensure the images and content aligned with my vision and interactivity ideas. 

  • Reviewed and edited these courses to ensure proper functionality and flow, resulting in a consistent, logical user experience.

  • Created change logs and tracked changes for the entire curriculum of 10 microlearnings.

My Role in the Design & Development Process for Compliance Virtual Instructor-Led Training Curriculum (~20 vILTs)

• • Standardized the content's visual design for uniformity across the curriculum.

  • Designed ~20 vILTs by curating and organizing content around the main ideas of the company's compliance policies. 

  • Wrote scenario-based questions to provide real-life examples of common compliance issues.

  • Tracked changes and monitored development across the entire vILT curriculum.

Results: 

The client loved the "boutique" feel of working with the LHT team and was very happy with the learning solutions. The Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer was pleased to have training on specific compliance topics to minimize the risk in a highly regulated pharmaceutical industry. Positive feedback led to additional eLearning SOWs for more compliance-related learning solutions.

My Challenges with the Client:

• • After I completed my first draft, upper management communicated that specific questions/answers must be included in the assessment. The problem was that not all the content for these questions/answers was in the policy, nor was it what I would consider "high-level" for an overview course. I explained the situation to the SMEs in terms of learning design, and they agreed to rework the course.

  • I had to work backward to design a course based on the questions, ensuring that the objectives, content, and assessment were appropriately aligned for sound instructional design. 

  • I had to explain the reasoning for every change, or potential change, I made. Their idea of an "instructional designer" was someone who parroted back what they wanted, without regard for how learning actually takes place. I had to push back and explain the instructional reasoning behind what I did. For example, my "understanding" and your "understanding" could be very different and cannot be truly tested. Therefore, you should not use the word "understand" in an objective. Performance-based objectives can be measured. "Understand" cannot be measured. 

Results:

• The SMEs, from two different cultures, came to respect my instructional design knowledge and the decisions I made based on good instructional design principles. 

• The video they ultimately agreed on was significantly larger in scope because it had to include the additional content necessary to incorporate the mandated assessment questions/answers. The video was nearly 9 minutes long, but they were happy with the results. Thankfully, the SOW had a clause for this circumstance, and the client had to accommodate the increased length.

• The illustrative graphic elements worked very well, and the graphic designer/programmer incorporated many of the AI ideas that I requested.

My Reflection:

It would have been beneficial to participate in the analysis phase to better understand the problem, develop a stronger solution, and give the client a clearer understanding of the instructional designer's role and appropriate instructional strategies in course creation. Involving decision-maker stakeholders earlier in the process would also have been helpful. As a result, we might have minimized the issues we experienced.