Career Management
BUSAD 859:
Career Management
This is a 14-week student-centered course based on the expressed need of many adult graduate students to understand themselves and their careers, to develop the skills necessary to manage their careers effectively throughout their lifetimes, and to help subordinates manage their own careers. The students leave this course with a helpful textbook, a personal journey using tools and techniques for peer coaching, and a job aid that they can use throughout their careers.
Audience: Graduate students in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Finance, or Master of Accounting.
Responsibilities: Instructional Design, Action Mapping (Needs Analysis), Storyboarding, Visual Design, eLearning Development, and Graphic Design.
Tools Used: Articulate Storyline, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, Kaltura, Mindmeister, and Google Cloud, and GoogleDocs.
My Instructional Design Process
After analyzing the course script I received from the professor, I quickly realized this course could be development using still animations to connect the learner to the material being presented. The interwoven instructional design elements and animations I created with the compelling story from the professor takes the student on a journey of self-discovery and professional growth. The following sections outline the steps I took to convert the script into an engaging and effective eLearning experience. Below is a promotional video I created for the course using an Adobe Premiere Pro, and an AI voiceover from WellSaidLabs.
Step One: Learning Objectives
My initial step was to identify the critical areas that needed to be assessed and help the instructor craft measurable learning objectives for the course and each lesson using Bloom's Taxonomy. Establishing sound objectives helps guide the development of content and provides clear criteria for assessment. This method ensures that all content is not only engaging but also purposefully aligned with the intended learning outcomes to adhere to the Quality Matter Standards.
Step Two: Assessments & Course Alignment
For each lesson, assessment questions and tasks were created to evaluate each learning objective. This strategy ensures that all content is engaging and purposefully aligned with the intended learning outcomes.
Discussions: Student Connection & Engagement
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To facilitate peer coaching partnerships, the first assessment I created aimed to personally connect students. Students introduced themselves to classmates using Bitmojis and shared their favorite motivational quotes in a group discussion. This interactive and enjoyable activity helped students find peers with similar Shared Purposes and fostered a sense of community. The personalized Bitmojis made the learning experience more engaging and helped students feel part of a dynamic community of learners. Below is a video I created explaining the rationale behind this assessment.
Step Three: Style Guide
The Penn State University's online programs use a variety of palette options, all of which are strategically developed based on the Penn State Brand Book to ensure cohesive visible brand regardless of the design shop where it will be developed. I used the baseline color palette.
Step Four: Learning Theories
Before creating the storyboard, I prioritized incorporating essential learning principles. I integrated the research-supported theories and principles listed below to ensure the course delivers an engaging and learner-centered experience.
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Cognitive Load Theory:
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To prevent overloading learners with excessive information, I strategically applied Cognitive Load Theory by chunking content into manageable segments and incorporating knowledge assessments after each chunk to reinforce learning. Furthermore, I employed multimedia principles to minimize extraneous cognitive load, ensuring that the instructional design facilitated efficient processing and retention of information into long-term memory. I created a graphic for each page that illuminated the text presented in the segments.
Mayer's Multimedia Principles
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Multimedia is more than making a page look visually appealing; it helps students learn more effectively. A comprehensive analyzes on the effect multimedia has on learning has been researched by Richard Mayer, and is documented in the text book The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. There are15 Principles of Multimedia Learning, however, I used the following concepts:
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Personification: A conversational tone is used throughout the course to engage students as a guiding path through this journey.
Multimedia: Graphics and animations are strategically incorporated to enhance and clarify information.
Image: Relevant animations are used in place of a talking head.
Coherence: The course includes only information and images essential for meeting the learning objectives.
Signaling: Visual cues, animations, and headers are used to highlight main points.
Redundancy: Narration accompanies graphics, excluding most on-screen text. Only relevant text is included.
Spatial Contiguity: All relevant text and graphics are physically close together.
Temporal Contiguity: Corresponding text, audio, and images are displayed simultaneously.
Segmenting: The course is broken up into easily digestible sections.
Modality: Most information is conveyed through visuals and spoken words, with on-screen text used only as needed.
Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction
1. Gain attention: The course immediately captures the learner's attention by presenting them with a relatable problem of managing their own career.
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2. Inform learners of objectives: Learning objectives are introduced for the course as well as each lesson.
3. Stimulate recall: The questions in the knowledge checks, journaling and activities stimulates recall of information to engage students in their own learning.
4. Present the content: Content is presented throughout the lessons, readings and activities.
5. Provide learning guidance: Not only is the learner counseled through the graded activities, they also have specific feedback from peers in the discussion boards and the peer coaching activities.
6. Elicit performance: Immediate opportunities to practice what is learned after each section.
7. Provide feedback: Immediate feedback is given weekly for learners to keep on track and proceed way guidance.
8. Assess performance: A variety of assessment methods are used throughout the course to simulate involvement and show progress.
9. Enhance retention and transfer: Learning activities and assessments are directly linked to learning objectives.
Step Five: Concept Mapping
When working with complex projects such as 14-week courses, I find it helpful to create a concept map that visually organizes the material, shows the subject matter expert the basic plan, and makes translating it into a storyboard easier with a planned structure.
I used Mindmeister to create a concept map that represented the layout of the first lesson which will carry through for each lesson to outline the overall structure and flow. This allowed me to dedicate the storyboard to the detailed aspects of content delivery, such as visuals, interactions, and assessments.
Step Six: Storyboarding
Next, I used the first lesson as the storyboard that would set the standard for the development of the 14-week course. The detailed outline of the lesson showcased the overview, lesson content, knowledge check, discussion forum, journal assignment, and references. Click through the elements to view the development process. Notice that each content page has an illustration.
The lesson overview introduces the topic, provides an inspirational quote, outlines the lesson objectives, and includes a schedule of readings and assignments to guide students through the material.
Step Seven: Full Development
The Career Management course provides students with a conceptual understanding of careers and career decision-making through an examination and discussion of the literature on career management. Additionally, a significant focus is placed on the application of the concepts to understand the student’s own career, as well as the careers of supervisors, peers, and subordinates through various diversity, equity, and inclusion lenses. This course will blend both conceptual analysis and experiential learning activities focused on helping adult learners understand 21st-century careers.
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Course Alignment:
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Throughout the course, I aligned the assessments with both the course and lesson objectives to measure each learning objective. This approach ensures that every piece of content is not only engaging but also strategically aligned with the desired learning outcomes. The course rubric aligned with the course and lesson objectives. The course rubric is shown below.
Chelsea E
"This Career Management course has been incredibly engaging, teaching me how to effectively narrate my career journey and professional experiences. Through practical exercises and interactive sessions, I've gained valuable skills in crafting compelling stories that highlight my strengths and achievements.
Bryan T
"The illustrations effectively complemented the content, making complex ideas easier to grasp and adding a visually engaging element to the lessons. The best designed course I have had so far."
Kaelah M
“I love the job aid provided in the course as it captures the entire curriculum in a concise, easy-to-reference format. Additionally, the journal has been incredibly helpful throughout the course and will serve as a valuable resource for aiding other employees in the future."