Lisa Buonocore

EDET 650
December 8, 2014
Final Reflection
Lessons Learned
Throughout this internship process, I truly learned a lot about assessments, and how
they can be utilized in evaluating sales training. Going into this internship, I thought I knew
exactly how the project would unfold. The project changed several times over the course of the
internship, but all for the better of the project, making sure whatever is implemented has the
biggest benefit to the sales organization. A big lesson learned during this internship was around
building assessment questions, and soliciting subject matter experts to write them. This
process was difficult for some subject matter experts, more so than I expected. Research
conducted for this course helped provide resources on how to write effective questions. The
article, Creating Better Multiple Choice Questions from Infoline was the most helpful. This
article provided examples of each type of multiple choice questions, and tips on how to develop
them. I was able to provide this article to the subject matter experts to aid in the development of
the questions. However, the bigger lesson learned was that we did not need to develop all the
questions we did, because the concept for this project changed. I do not believe we could have
seen this coming, without going through the process of building the first set of questions. It was
through this process that we realized a pre- and post-assessment would not be effective for our
sales organization. It could be administered as a pre- and post-assessment, but then it would be
more work on the field employees, we would get pushback from the field managers that there is
more work on new sales representatives, and it could negatively impact other training programs
if this one is not receive well. Instead, I was able to develop a new proposal based on several
different conversations and research to determine exactly what we wanted to achieve with this
project. It comes down to three main goals. The first goal is to determine where each sales
representative starts off with the company. The second goal is to determine recommended
training path for each sales representative. And the third goal is to find a measurable change in
learning. With these goals clearly defined, we were able to come up with a proposal to the
senior leaders in the department.
Another important lesson learned throughout this process was to stay connected to
these main goals for the project. It was easy to get distracted but what could be done, and not
just what was needed for this project. I had to keep referring back to the goals, and remind our
stakeholders of these goals. I feel this is true on any project where nothing currently exists to
meet the need, so there are several opportunities for improvement. Since we do not have any
way to track evaluation of sales training materials, I had to keep bringing everyone back to the
goals of this particular project on the assessments as the first phase of developing an evaluation
process. Even still, there is a lot of choices of what can be done within the assessments. The
article on How to Evaluate Instructional Material by Infoline was helpful to see case studies on
evaluating training, but even more helpful was the e-book on Measuring the Success of Sales
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Buonocore EDET 650 Final Reflection

Training by ASTD. This book dealt with ROI, and several case studies describing evaluation
processes for sales training. This by far was helpful to determine where to begin evaluating.
From here is where I was able to pinpoint a starting point, the assessments to find out where a
sales representative starts off their career, and match it to a measurable goal that would be
achieved through accessing training.

Difficulties Encountered/Conclusions
Several challenges came up during this internship experience. The first challenge was
around the pre- and post-assessment concept. The research showed the value pre- and postassessment can have, but more importantly the value of self-directed assessments. The article
on How does student-directed assessment affect learning? was very helpful to prove the
importance of having the learner be involved in the assessment process. This data, along with
conversations with subject matter experts, led to the decision to not have a pre- and postassessment but have two separate assessments. Another difficulty I encountered was around
how to implement the first assessment. There are a few challenges here, including timing, ease
of use, and resources. For the timing, the assessment needs to be provided early on in the
career of the sales representative. The first training class the sales representative attends is too
late to conduct this assessment, so it must be done prior to completing the contracting process.
For the ease of use, we already receive complaints from our field partners around how long it
takes them to contract and train someone. Therefore, it is essential that we do not bog down
this process. For the resources, we also receive push back on the amount of work assigned to
our employees in the field. It is essential that we do not create any additional work for these
field employees. Another difficulty I encountered was working with the senior leadership in my
department. The issue I encountered was around receiving feedback from each of them when I
asked for it, not weeks later. I think the main reason I did not receive the feedback when I
initially met with them is because I met with them during a staff meeting. Therefore, they were
in a meeting with their manager, the head of the department, and only he provided me any
feedback. Once I started to meet with each of them individually, I received the feedback and
input I wanted in the timeframe I needed it.

Successes and New Insights

Through this internship, Ive had several success and new insights. The most
successful part of this internship has been the determination to create two assessments. This is
also a new insight, because we had not considered this prior to the project. Additional new
insights are around how this can be achieved. I also listed this as a difficulty, because it was,
but it is also a new insight. The new insight was around using our websites that already
existing when hiring a new sales representative. By embedding the assessment in one of these
websites, we will get a much higher response rate, not put any additional work on our field
employees, and not complicate any existing processes. Another new insight that is also a
difficulty is around working with the senior leadership for their approval and buy-in on this
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Buonocore EDET 650 Final Reflection

project. I learned very quickly that it would be more effective to meet individually with each
person, ask for their input and feedback, and then meet with all of them together. What I found
was that the group would not provide much feedback when all together, but then come back
with changes after I already received their buy-in. By meeting with them individually, I received
the information I needed I the timeframe I needed it. This new insight will carry over into several
of my projects, not just this one. I will still go back to a staff meeting to share the final decisions
regarding this project, but at that point it will be to inform them of what is coming, not ask for
feedback.

Improvements for Next Time

If I could make any improvements on this project next time around, I would not jump as
quickly into the development of assessment questions with subject matter experts until I
gathered more data. The research conducted for the bibliography, and meetings with other
subject matter experts led me to the conclusion that I jumped too soon into the development of
questions, and thus created some frustrations on the subject matter experts. Next time, I will
make sure I do not rush this process.

Course Work
The experience at this internship relates to several Educational Technology courses.
EDET 722 Instructional Design & Assessment and EDET 755 Evaluation Information Access &
Delivery contributed the most to this project. EDET 722 provided a detail background on
instructional design that has benefits almost all of my projects at work. For this project, it
provided a detailed background on the assessment process, and the ADDIE model. The
Evaluation portion of ADDIE is the focus for this project. EDET 755 also provided insight into
how to evaluate training and look into systems.

Emotions
Throughout this process, I had to make sure I remained flexible and try not to get too
invested in any one particular solution. Since this is an ongoing project with several moving
parts, it was important to remember what the main goals were for the project and that how we
reach those goals will change. It was easy to get frustrated at times when we would decide to
change directions; particularly when we decided to no longer do the pre- and post-assessment.
At first, I felt like we could not change directions so far into the project. However, once I took a
step back and created a document with the main goals for this project and the new proposed
approach, I realized it would better meet the needs of the audience. Once I looked at it in this
light, it was easy to make the changes. I think this will be true in any and all projects, as it is
important to refer back to the main objectives and goals, and that should drive how it is
achieved not the other way around.
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