Leadership Development Curriculum
Andragogy systems thinking
Backward Design Model
Asynchronous learning
Constructivism needs assessment
learning experience Curriculum development
The Challenge:
Market research and analysis revealed a gap in available and accessible upskills programs for working adults transitioning from frontline service work into leadership roles. The desired program had to consider additional characteristics unique values of the target learner persona:
Limited time for learning
Relevant, job-ready application of soft skills
Minimum technical or educational experience
Desired less text-heavy learning content
The Process:
After researching O*Net and Lightcast to identify the top 15 job-ready skills desired by hiring managers for frontline leaders, the backward design model was used to define and scaffold the learning outcomes for each module in the program.
Then, with a team of 4 curriculum writers-- all subject matter experts with over 50 years of collective frontline experience from various industries, we developed comprehensive and practical content that effectively addresses these critical skills, ensuring that each module is both relevant and engaging for learners.
The Approach
We designed the program using two main ideas: systems thinking (understanding how everything in a company is connected) and constructivism (helping people learn by doing). This way, learners could think about their own work experiences and see how improving their skills in communication, problem-solving, and decision-making can help the whole company succeed. We used several key adult learning principles to tackle the main issues learners had, making sure the training was practical and effective.
Self-paced, asynchronous learning:
Lessons featuring more videos, less text, and no synchronous sessions, which saved time and allowed learners to progress at their own speed and on their own schedule.
Lived experience:
Encouraging learners to reflect on real events or scenarios to connect theory with practice.
Practical application
Practice and feedback are essential for mastering soft skills. Learners practiced and recorded their delivery of constructive feedback and self-evaluate before submitted it for review by a grader.
Project-based assessments:
Each module concluded with a summative project assessment, which was later revised to contribute to a capstone portfolio, showcasing the learner's progression and mastery of skills.
Immediate relevance:
Ensuring that the content is directly applicable to learners' current roles and responsibilities, so they can immediately see the value and apply what they learn to their work.
The Result:
Industry-agnostic leadership skills relevant to 100% of the learning platform partners
100% asynchronous, online learning
Reduce passive learning content by 50%
Reduced learner seat-time from 10 hours to 6 hours per week
The Feedback
LaTesha partnered with our media producer to create new video types to meet the needs of new topic areas, and developed creative engagement strategies for our students - Manager, Instructional Design