"...a thought leader in the Learning and Performance Improvement profession with a track record to prove it..."
-Jim and Dana Robinson
Dick Handshaw, President at Handshaw, Inc., is a consultant, speaker, and champion for real innovation and quality in instructional design. He is a pioneer in the field, with more than 30 years of experience as a learning and performance improvement professional and entrepreneur. Dick has served as a consultant for many organizations to help them establish a results-oriented learning strategy, methodology, and practice.
The workshops vary in length from half day, to full, to multi-day format. They are appropriate for small to medium audiences of 12 to 20 people to include coaching and feedback. The workshops can be delivered in person, via virtual web sessions with full video and audio, or in a combination of in person and virtual. We have the partnering skills and flexibility to design and deliver a custom workshop event for your team that works for your needs and culture.
Full-Day Workshops:
Performance Partnering Workshop (limit 12)
Learning Analysis? You Can’t Afford Not To (limit 20)
Learning Design - Using a Practical, Systems Approach (limit 20)
Testing and Learner Validation - Making it Practical and Useful (limit 20)
The Gaps Map Workshop (limit 12)
Half-day Workshop:
Training Request? Ask Questions First (limit 12)
Multi-Day Workshop:
Results-Based Instructional Design Series (limit 20)
This workshop is delivered as four (4) six hour classroom sessions delivered in two (2) day increments. Assignments are provided for the time period between the two sessions and the workshop concludes with a period of coaching.
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Performance Partnering Workshop
Trainers are expected to practice performance consulting with their clients in an effort to bring measurable results from money spent on learning. This workshop is designed for trainers who want to become better business partners to their clients in their role as learning developers.
The morning session focuses on creating proactive consulting relationships with key business leaders in the organization. For trainers this is often a challenge. Through positive examples, role-play and feedback, the participants will develop the skill and confidence to initiate the process.
The afternoon session focuses on re-framing. Participants will learn how to handle inappropriate training requests in a way that yields better results for the participant and the client. Participants will develop skills using a re-framing exercise that allows them to become both consultant and client while practicing turning a training request into a performance consulting opportunity.
Because participants use real projects and people for all role-play scenarios, results are overwhelmingly positive. This workshop allows participants to discover their own abilities as a consultant and equips them to develop the confidence to use them.
Performance Objectives:
Engage clients in discussions about business goals and barriers to performance even when there is no immediate project or opportunity on the table.
Engage the client in an open discussion about business needs and the performance required to support them.
Practice and improve eight skills that will facilitate the proactive interview.
Practice and improve eight skills that will facilitate the re-framing discussion.
Identify opportunities to conduct further analysis of the performance needs in order to identify learning needs.
“Analysis? We don’t have time for that. It’s too expensive. Truth is, I’m not really sure how to do it.” Sound familiar? Sure it does.
In this session, Dick Handshaw will show participants how analysis has saved him more money and earned him more clients than anything else he has done in the past twenty-five years in his business. Completing a task analysis may be tedious, but it is neither difficult nor expensive. Participants will complete a task analysis during the session and will learn how analysis benefits them in course design and development. Participants will also learn what to do with an audience analysis and a learning culture analysis.
Performance Objectives:
Determine what type of analysis is needed given the situation, risk and the business case.
Conduct a task analysis that is useful in course design and doesn’t take too long or cost too much.
Conduct an appropriate audience and learning culture analysis that serves a useful purpose in learning design and development.
Learning Design—Using a Practical, Systems Approach
Many opinions have been shared about the value of Instructional design over the past twenty years. Some say it is obsolete and outdated. Some say you can’t even think about designing learning solutions without it. Dick Handshaw says both schools of thought are right. Dick says, “It’s not really instructional design that’s outdated, it’s the way people are using it that’s outdated.”
In this session, participants will learn how to apply ISD principles to real-life learning design opportunities in a way that focuses on results, and also saves time and money. Participants will know how to write performance objectives and be able to write them correctly and easily by the end of the session. Dick will help participants understand why they should design the measurement strategy before they design the learning and participants will begin using a systematic way to select delivery systems for blended learning solutions.
Performance Objectives:
Write performance objectives that actually define something to measure against.
Use design of measurement instruments as a way to improve learning design.
Make intelligent decisions about delivery systems that take into account learning culture and business issues.
Testing and Learner Validation - Making it Practical and Useful
Test construction is one of the most misunderstood skills in our profession. There are only two mistakes we make in developing tests. One is selecting the wrong type of testing instrument and the other is poorly constructing test questions. The testing portion of this workshop includes a hands-on skill building exercise for selecting testing instruments and writing better test questions. This workshop also includes two useful job aids. With a little practice, we can almost guarantee that participants will be developing tests that are valid and reliable.
In the Learner Validation portion of the workshop participants will learn how to plan for, conduct, and evaluate a Learner Tryout and a Field Test. We will conduct a Learner Tryout during the session with a sample of an e-Learning course. Based on the feedback from a sample learner, we will identify areas for revision or for further testing. Participants will discover that for the amount of time spent, Formative Evaluation can become a valuable and cost effective design tool.
Performance Objectives:
Identify the correct testing instrument based on the performance objective and required level of learning capability.
Apply Handshaw’s “Principles of Test Construction” to be able to write better test questions that are both valid and reliable.
Prepare for, conduct and analyze the results for a Learner Tryout.
Prepare for, conduct and analyze the results for a Field Test.
Identifying Gaps Logic is something Jim and Dana Robinson made famous during their long and distinguished careers. Their books are widely read and will be available for a long time. The trick is not just understanding the gaps logic, but how to ask the right “Should, Is, Cause Questions” to complete the Gaps Map in order to understand the entire Performance Relationship. The interview is the part of the process that requires a little practice and feedback.
In this perfect companion piece to our popular “Performance Partnering” course, we will view good and bad video examples of how to conduct an interview to begin completing a Gaps Map.Participants will practice the skill during the workshop in realistic scenarios and receive feedback on their performance.
Performance Objectives:
Apply the Needs Hierarchy to categorize performance needs in your organization.
Use known information about a performance gap to begin a Gaps Map in preparation for a client interview.
Ask “Should, Is, Cause” questions in a client interview to work toward completion of a Gaps Map.
Identify both learning and non-learning causes that will lead to the development of an integrated performance solution.
This workshop is the afternoon portion of the Performance Partnering Workshop, which focuses on re-framing. In this workshop participants will learn how to handle inappropriate training requests in a way that yields better results for the participant and the client. Participants will develop skills using a re-framing exercise that allows them to become both consultant and client while practicing turning a training request into a performance consulting opportunity.
Because participants use real projects and people for all role-play scenarios, results are overwhelmingly positive. This workshop allows participants to discover their own abilities as a consultant and equips them to develop the confidence to use them.
Performance Objectives:
Engage the client in an open discussion about business needs and the performance required to support them.
Practice and improve eight skills that will facilitate the re-framing discussion.
Identify opportunities to conduct further analysis of the performance needs in order to identify learning needs.
The Results-Based Instructional Design Series is a comprehensive skill building workshop focused on an instructional design approach and process that aligns with sustainable business results. The Series is offered and delivered as a team-building event with real world exercises to develop your skills. Participants will practice using a process for developing a useful task analysis. By the end of the session each participant will be able to write performance objectives that work and save time. Participants will also practice an interview process to help insure learning programs work properly the first time, by gathering data from the most important consulting source—your learners.
Each participant will master the approach through our proven three part learning strategy:
Discussion – Concepts are introduced using instructor-led discussion and a student workbook.
Simulation – Each concept is tested through a simulation game or written exercise conducted in small groups.
Application – Participants work with the instructor / coach to apply these concepts to their own projects by creating project deliverables based on what has been learned.
Specific concepts outlined in the workshop include:
Instructional Design Process
Front-end Analysis
Performance Objectives
Criterion-referenced Testing
Measurement and Instructional Strategies
Media Selection
Formative Evaluation
Summative evaluation
Audience
The instructional design workshop is ideal for all learning and human resource professionals who will be responsible for performance improvement and learning interventions. By understanding and adopting Handshaw’s proven methodology, teams can improve overall effectiveness, especially in those instances where individuals must work outside of their content expertise. Our systematic approach is fully content-neutral, allowing it to be effective in any professional or academic environment.
Experienced professionals value the workshop as well as the many job aid and reference tools contained in the 86-page student workbook. The Results-Based Instructional Design Series helps learning professionals focus on results and remain effective over time.
Performance Objectives
Following completion of the Results-Based Instructional Design Series, teams will be prepared to:
Achieve measurable results by using our systematic approach for analysis, design, development, and evaluation
Support the actual performance and business goals of the organization
Avoid costly rework by developing programs right the first time
Be able to develop blended learning such as web-based, video, instructor-lead, virtual classroom, performance support and social media
Course Format
The Instructional Design Series is intended for a group between ten and twenty participants and can be conducted at the client’s site, at Handshaw offices in Charlotte, NC, or any other suitable location. Prices vary according to location and participants. All workshop fees include:
Four (4), six-hour classroom sessions delivered in two (2) day increments
