I help progress people’s performance.
I envision a future where strategically designed learning helps fuel business growth.
Jennifer Varano
Instructional designer
My values
Build backwards.
Figure out what the learners need to do (learning objective) and how they will show you they can do it (assessment). Every part of the design seamlessly aligns with these to ensure successful outcomes.
Learning is doing.
Practice and assessment are as close as possible to real life application to enhance engagement and learning transfer.
Anchor to the business.
The design involves specific business goals, ensuring that learning outcomes contribute directly to organizational success.
Think outside of the box.
Innovative, creative, and fun approaches are necessary to improve learner engagement in an ever-changing world.
Use science and theory.
A design foundation based on established learning theories and instructional design strategies ensures a solid foundation for achieving the desired results.
It takes a village.
Building successful learning solutions requires teamwork, flexibility, and collaboration.
A beginner’s mind.
Situations are looked at with openness and curiosity, with a constant desire to learn and do it better.
Learning samples
eLearning
- Press the picture for the full experience.
Problem: Data breaches and security threats via email phishing have been reported industry-wide and affect the reputation and financial implications of many large-scale companies. In addition to increased deployment and updates to antivirus and anti-malware solutions, the Proteger car-insurance company has determined updated compliance training is needed for all employees on email safety, specifically how to identify spear phishing emails and handle them appropriately.
Solution: An eLearning course to practice identifying and properly managing spear phishing email was created due to the diverse location and large number of employees.
Business goal: The number of employees who report suspicious email will increase by 80% as employees accurately identify and manage suspicious email.
Tools: Articulate Storyline, Miro, InVideo, ElevenLabs, Slidesgo
Deliverables: Coming soon
Incorporated learning theories
- Adult Learning Theory: Learning is directly tied to managing a current work-related issue with personal and company-wide consequences. Choices are provided in learning paths. Practical application of skills and knowledge.
- Experiential learning: Learning how to identify and manage spear phishing email through simulated email scenarios and learning from feedback, errors, and correct choices.
- Situated learning: Learners are actively involved an applying skills to relevant and authentic situations they could encounter on the job.
- Cognitive load theory: Optional link to job aid provided for reference.
Incorporated ID principles
- ADDIE: main design system followed.
- Needs analysis
- Bloom’s Taxonomy: used to establish learning objectives.
- Merrill’s Principles of Instruction: The Learn section chunks demonstrations of each spear phishing red flag and then follows with an application practice: The Practice section engages learners in authentic, task-based scenarios.
- Mayer’s Multimedia Principles: design created to reduce cognitive load, use of segmenting, modality (voice + images with limited on-screen text), coherence, temporal contiguity (voice + visuals timed together)
Problem: New Circle Deer Coffee baristas (those currently on boarding and those hired within the last 6 months) need an opportunity to improve their customer satisfaction ratings, especially when solving problems for difficult customers.
Solution: A scenario-based eLearning module focused on using Circle Deer Coffee’s Four Point Customer Service framework was created to practice effectively solving problems for difficult customers in a low-consequence environment.
Business goal: Customer satisfaction ratings will increase by 30% as new baristas effectively solve problems for difficult customers.
Tools: Articulate Storyline, Canva, Twine, Miro, Google slides
Deliverables: Design doc, Storyboard
Incorporated learning theories
- Adult Learning Theory: Previous experience in customer service is elicited. Learning is directly tied to solving current work-related problems and improving job performance. Practical application of skills. Job aid provided for reference.
- Experiential learning: Learning how to manage challenging customers through simulated practice and learning from feedback, errors, and correct choices.
- Situated learning: Learners are actively involved an applying skills to relevant and authentic customer situations they could encounter on the job.
- Cognitive load theory: Optional link to reference customer service job aid as needed.
Incorporated ID principles
- ADDIE: main design system followed.
- Needs analysis
- Action mapping: used as part of the needs analysis to determine the problem, solution, and business goal.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy: used to establish learning objectives.
- Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction: used to organize the course design and sequence
- Gain attention/Stimulate recall — Slides 3,4
- Inform leaners of objectives — Slide 5
- Present stimulus – Slides 6-9
- Provide learner guidance – Slide 10
- Elicit performance/provide feedback – Slides 11-14
- Assess performance – Scenario section
- CCAF (Context, Challenge, Activity, Feedback): used to design the thought bubble activity and customer scenario.
- Mayer’s Multimedia Principles: design aimed to reduce cognitive load, use of segmenting and modality (voice + images with limited on-screen text), coherence
Problem: A compliance refresher on ladder safety for all construction employees at Perfect Construction, Inc. was requested due to a number of recent ladder-related falls.
Solution: A short e-learning compliance training course that can be completed via mobile devices at the employees convenience.
Business goal: Ladder related incidents will decrease by 100% as employees correctly set up and use ladders safely.
Tools: Rise 360, Miro
Deliverables: Design doc
Incorporated learning theories
- Adult Learning Theory: Previous experience with too and ladder safety incorporated. Learning is directly tied to managing a current work-related issue with personal and company-wide consequences. Practical application of skills and knowledge.
- Segmenting principle: Information is broken down into manageable sections.
- Situated learning: Practice with how to use ladders safely through a coaching scenario and learning from feedback, errors, and correct choices.
Incorporated ID principles
- ADDIE: main design system followed.
- Needs analysis
- Bloom’s Taxonomy: used to establish learning objectives.
- Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction: used to organize the course design and sequence.
- Gain attention/Stimulate recall — Introduction
- Inform leaners of objectives – Introduction
- Present stimulus – Each lesson starts off with a reflection question
- Provide learner guidance – Ladder safety information is segmented into interactive sections
- Elicit performance/provide feedback – Each lesson ends with a knowledge check
- Assess performance – Final assessment scenario
- Mayer’s Multimedia Principles: design created to reduce cognitive load, coherence, segmenting
Problem: Learning or reviewing the concepts behind different learning theories for instructional design can be tedious, boring, and unengaging.
Solution: A self-paced, micro e-learning course that provides a high-level summary of the three most important learning theories and how they apply to instructional design within an engaging, videogame based “hero” challenge.
Tools: Rise 360
Incorporated learning theories
- Adult Learning Theory: Learning is tied to why the theories are relevant in ID. Practical application of skills and knowledge through the coaching scenario. Optional links to additional, more detailed information provided.
- Segmenting principle: Complex information is broken down into manageable sections
- Situated learning: Pre-test and knowledge check on each theory incorporates an activity based on the theory. The final assessment involves a realistic coaching scenario and learning from feedback, errors, and correct choices.
Incorporated ID principles
- SAM: main design system followed.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy: used to establish learning objectives.
- Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction: used to organize the course design and sequence.
- Gain attention/Stimulate recall — Introduction lobby
- Inform leaners of objectives – Introduction Lobby
- Present stimulus – Each theory section starts off with a pre-test activity
- Provide learner guidance – Each theory section has interactive information sections after the pre-test activity
- Elicit performance/provide feedback – Each theory section ends with a mini-battle knowledge-check
- Assess performance – Final battle scenario
- Mayer’s Multimedia Principles: design created to reduce cognitive load, coherence, segmenting
Instructor-led training
Problem: Create and facilitate an engaging train-the-trainer session via Zoom for K-12 educators in a large urban district to demonstrate the instructional capabilities of the EdTech platform Pear Deck.
Solution: A Google slides presentation using the platform Pear Deck to guide the session with active audience participation and allotted workshop time to experiment using the platform.
Tools: Google slides, Microsoft Word, Pear Deck
Deliverables: Design doc, Facilitator Guide, Slide deck
Outcome: 100% of participants found the session relevant, engaging, and useful based on evaluation surveys.
Incorporated learning theories
- Adult Learning Theory: Learning is relevant and can be directly applied to the job, optional links to additional platform information provided, participants can self-direct their workshop time with facilitation as needed.
- Experiential learning: Participants actively use the platform in order to learn about it.
Incorporated ID principles
- ADDIE: main design system followed.
- Bloom’s Taxonomy: used to establish learning objectives.
- Merrill’s Principles of Instruction: the session involved segmented demonstrations of how to use the platform through audience application and followed by engaging in reflection and discussion. Participants were able to integrate what they learned into a current lesson through the provided workshop section.
- Mayer’s Multimedia Principles: design created to reduce cognitive load, coherence, segmenting.
Microlearning
Problem: The energy company you work for wants to help new customers be less confused by their first month’s bill. Your team has decided to try out interactive, personalized video to be sent to new customers as their first bill goes out.
Solution: Create a customer-facing video/interactive template on how to read the energy utility bill. This will be sent via email to all new customers of the energy company as a part of a personalized onboarding strategy and kept on the website for future reference.
- The brief for this project came from the Go Design Something website
Tools: Hippo Video, Adobe Premiere, Miro
Deliverables: Coming soon
Incorporated learning theories
- Adult Learning Theory: Learning connects to a relevant issue. Viewers can watch at their own pace.
- Segmenting principle: Complex information is broken down into manageable sections.
Incorporated ID principles
- ADDIE: main design system followed.
- Mayer’s Multimedia Principles: design created to reduce cognitive load, coherence, segmenting, signaling, limited use of text.
