My name is Geri Lopker. I, like many of you, came into the world of workplace learning and performance through “the back door.” That is, I was a professional (an Occupational Therapist) who discovered that my staff had a need for learning and development. I decided to fill that need. What I discovered was that I really did not know anything about adult learning, about creating learner-centered training and materials, about sequencing learning activities that balanced the cognitive load…I could go on and on about what I did NOT know! Therefore, I set out to learn and stop putting my audience to sleep! I fell in love with the learning and development profession, and 30 years later, I am a trainer of trainers and instructional designers.
So how did I become an expert in the fields of human performance, instructional design, and training facilitation (among many things)? I earned my Master of Human Resources and Organization Development. Then, I joined ATD (ASTD at the time), immediately signed up for the Total Trainer Program back in 1995, and got to work applying what I had learned. What a difference twenty plus years has made in the quality of my materials!
I have always been a visual-kinesthetic learner, and I had seen my share training materials. Some materials were just pitiful, others where very well done. Those that were well done, I found, contributed to the actual learning. Those that were “pitiful” actually detracted from the learning. These included handouts, PowerPoint presentations, flip charts, job aids, and electronic performance support materials.
What was missing or not well done? I saw learning materials that had one or more of these issues:
My topic is Development: Developing Learning Materials (see you May 10th). I am passionate about this topic because I am convinced that learning materials do contribute to a quality learning event. Learning materials are needed for face-to-face learning, web-based synchronous and asynchronous learning, and self-paced learning modules.
Materials development comes after the completion of Analysis and Design (in the ADDIE model). Development of learning materials is NOT the first thing a curriculum designer should do when asked to design a training program. Raise your hand IF you have ever been asked to create a training program and you sat down at your computer, opened PowerPoint, and began your design/development. Come on, my hand is up. Never again! We owe it to our learners to complete the Analysis and Design, get sign-off from the business unit manager or client, and only then can we create quality materials.
Development of learning materials includes creating a paper or virtual participant guide, a leader guide, job aids, learning activity support items, PowerPoint presentations (or other presentation software), and evaluation materials. Join me as I demonstrate how to develop high-quality materials! I will also show you how you can maximize presentation software in the development of your materials.
Geri Lopker is a highly qualified performance consultant in the fields of organizational improvement, leadership, and human resource development. Geri and her associates help organizations be more productive and profitable by focusing on improving human performance in the workplace.
Geri is president and principal consultant of Geri Lopker & Associates LLC, founded in 1995. Her client list includes international corporations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and Fortune 100 companies. Geri has over thirty years of experience working in the areas of systems, finance, change management, leadership, teambuilding, communication, strategic planning, and customer relations. When training is the right solution, Geri designs and customizes interactive instructor-led and virtual training that helps transfer the learning back to the job. Geri has been a performance consultant both as an internal Area Director of Operations for a large healthcare organization and as an external consultant and is known world-wide. We focus on your business results, achieved through exceptional development of your human assets. We deliver human performance improvement, worldwide.
Total Trainer University is the county's leading Train-the-Trainer program. It consists of two courses:
Creating Training
Taught by some of the highest caliber training professionals from the ATD‐Orange County chapter, this program takes participants from the initial needs analysis through the development of training materials, the presentation of training and conducting the final evaluations.
Delivering Training
This program teaches you to design and deliver impactful presentations for business meetings, conferences and special events, or classroom assignments.
The learning environment is highly interactive and participants receive individual feedback for improved performance.
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