Soft Skills Training for Volunteers
This concept project is a scenario-based learning experience for volunteers that help with a kids program at a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school.
Audience
Adults working with the kids’ program as volunteers.
Responsibilities
I developed this project alongside a subject matter expert from conception to final production. I was responsible for the following:
Instruction design
Visual development
Action mapping
Storyboarding
Graphic design
Authoring
Tools Used
Articulate Storyline 360
Adobe XD
Adobe Illustrator
Vyond
MindMeister
The Problem
The client is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym that prides itself on implementing high-quality instruction and creating a family-friendly learning environment for its students. Like many service-based industries, this gym wanted to increase student enrollment and retention rates. One of the root causes we identified that impacted student enrollment was the limited effectiveness of the volunteers assisting students and team members at the gym due to a lack of leadership skills and initiative. These volunteers are more than capable of performing tasks at the school when given an individual directive. Some, however, only engage with the students, families, or school facilities if told to do so.
The Solution
After conversations with the manager of the gym and analyzing the most common errors he had seen volunteers make, I suggested implementing a series of scenario-based online learning solutions that prospective and current volunteers could engage with asynchronously. This way when the volunteers were at the gym, the coaches could focus primarily on supporting students. I recommended an eLearning experience would allow volunteers to make decisions on how to engage with students and team members productively—at the same time, focusing on creating a leadership framework for the volunteers to follow to increase student enrollment.
My Process
I met with the manager of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school, who served as a subject matter expert for this project. Together, we assessed and prioritized the areas to address with eLearning. After this meeting, I created an action map and a text-based story to be reviewed and approved. I then used Adobe XD to create visual mockups, including a mood board, style guide, and wireframes. After further feedback, I created a functional prototype with Articulate Storyline before developing the final product
Action Map
I used my interview with the SME to create this action map with the project's goal located at the center: student enrollment will increase by 15% by June 2023 as the volunteers use the leadership framework. Branching off the central goal are the four primary roles volunteers are asked to fulfill: helping the coach, supporting students, checking in with parents/guardians, and taking initiative. I identified three to four positive behaviors within each role. The statements highlighted in yellow are the high-priority actions the SME selected. They include providing student redirection and guidance, checking in with students throughout the class to build relationships with students, and completing a uniform check for all students as they arrive. since the organizational goal centers on enrollment numbers, we decided to focus on behavioral changes needed by the volunteers in order to effectively impact our targeted goal, as opposed to specific Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills.
Text-based Storyboard
Once desired high-priority actions were identified, I created a text-based storyboard to serve as the foundation for the eLearning scenario. This included the text, general visual notes, and programming notes for each slide of the program. I structured the text to create an immersive experience for the participant so they could address real situations and consequences they would experience as a volunteer in a low-stakes environment.
I also wanted to include a mentor character throughout the eLearning scenario to provide guidance when needed. Depending on an individual's prior knowledge, they may not need additional resources and could become disengaged from the experience if they were asked to read information they are already confident with. Disengagement would devalue the intent of the experience. This character would identify the correct and incorrect actions of the participant as well as be readily available during the scenario to provide question-specific advice.
After completing the text-based storyboard, I sent it to the SME and other Instructional Designers for review and feedback. I then created a final iteration that was sent to and approved by the SME.
Visual Mockups
I used Adobe XD to develop this project's overall visual components, including the mood board, style guide, and wireframes. This allowed me to make changes more quickly and efficiently. Sharing these deliverables for feedback before developing an interactive prototype provided ample opportunity to create multiple iterations and establish a consistent look throughout the project.
Custom Artwork
Since the story in this eLearning course was specific to a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu kids class, using generic or pre-existing character art was challenging. Instead, I created and customized each character using Adobe Illustrator depending on the story I was trying to convey. This meant creating custom characters in various poses and with different facial expressions to reflect their moods.
High-Fidelity Visual Mockup
By creating high-fidelity visual mockups in Adobe XD, the SME could get a stronger sense of the layout and visual components of the project. Then he was able to provide feedback for the eLearning scenario-based training before moving the content over to Articulate Storyline and developing the programming for the training. Click here to experience the high-fidelity mockup.
Interactive Prototype
Once the high-fidelity mockups had been reviewed, I implemented the feedback and moved forward to creating an initial project prototype using Articulate Storyline. This included the training introduction and the first scenario-based question with the corresponding correct and incorrect consequences. The prototype allowed me to focus on the functionality of the project. I sent the prototype off for another cycle of feedback. I made adjustments like the continue button's readability and clarity on the usage of the progress bar. By addressing these issues in the early stages of development, I only needed to fix a few slide templates rather than every slide in the project, saving valuable time overall.
Full Development
After applying the feedback from the last round of reviews, I fully developed this project in Articulate Storyline 360. I built out the remaining two scenarios, mentor help slides, and conclusion slides. This included adding variables for the participant's name in various locations throughout the project, adding the triggers throughout the slides for interactivity, and adding animation for the progress bar so it was adjusted for every correct slide result.
I also acknowledged the importance of creating accessible resources for participants. I added alternative text for images to ensure a screen reader or refreshable braille display could use the training.
Results and Takeaways
Since this was a conceptual project, there are limited analytical results from the implementation of the eLearning scenario-based training I created. However, it was received positively by the SME I collaborated with. He has discussed expanding this training into a series of modules to be implemented with his volunteers.
After implementation, I plan to follow up with the Jiu-Jitsu program and complete an analysis to determine how effective the training was at increasing student enrollment and retention after six months. Based on those results, I can adjust the training or create more scenario-based exercises to address specific soft skills.
One of the components I found most beneficial while working with the SME throughout this process was the action mapping process. This step clarified his vision and structured our discussions meaningfully and powerfully. The results of this phase helped us identify and prioritize the key actions volunteers needed to do to help students feel more welcomed and confident in the Jiu-Jitsu classes. His stage laid the foundation for our success with this project.