One of the most frequent comments I get from CPLP candidates is the lack of (and their desire for) specific examples of CPLP Work Product work samples or "evidence."
This is true for candidates submitting in any Area of Expertise (AOE), but seems especially true for those who have elected to submit CPLP Work Product under Instructional Design.
Candidates' #1 Question --
Why doesn't ATD CI provide candidates with a copy of a successful Instructional Design Work Product submission with specific examples of what's required?
Answer: They used to. But candidates copied it and failed CPLP Work Product.
Why? Because candidates just copied it outright, instead of using it as a model to determine what was MOST important -- WHY the submission was successful -- and then APPLYING those elements to THEIR work.
Therein lies the rub -- CPLP does not test one's ability to copy other people's materials; it assesses your ability to understand a professional standard -- ALL of the elements that go into that standard -- and your ability to then APPLY that professional standard to YOUR work.
So - what work samples ("evidence") are required?
In the absence of specific examples, how are candidates supposed to uncover what the ATD CI expectations are?
The answer is this: There is no one set of documents (work samples) that guarantees success on an Instructional Design CPLP Work Product submission.
Reason being - it's not what the documents ("evidence") look like -- it's what's contained in them that matters. It's what they are meant to DEMONSTRATE that counts the most.
What follows are some common Questions & Answers (Q&A) to help you figure out what you have - and what you need - to get on track with Instructional Design as a CPLP Work Product:
Q1: What work samples ("evidence") are required?
A1: Go back and review CPLP Certification Handbook, Part 2, Appendix F.
See all the Knowledge Areas (AOE1-K1. Business Strategy, Drivers, or Needs; AOE1-K2. Needs Assessment Approaches, etc) under Instructional Design?
You were tested on them during the CPLP Knowledge Exam.
NOW you are REQUIRED to show evidence of them in YOUR work as part of YOUR Work Product submission.
Which ones?
Most of them.
Most of them?
Yep.
That's how the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) assesses you against a professional standard -- the ATD Competency Model *is* the professional standard you are being assessed against.
Appendix F contains a detailed outline of the Key Actions and competencies contained in the professional standard - the ATD Competency Model.
What you read here - in Appendix F - under Instructional Design - represents THE standard.
A subset of these competencies (the ones that MUST be obviously demonstrated in your submission) is outlined in the CPLP Work Product Instructional Design Scoring Rubric (CPLP Certification Handbook, Part 3, Appendix Q).
Therefore, to submit under the Instructional Design AOE, you MUST demonstrate your ability to apply THIS standard to YOUR work.
To do that, you MUST generate documentation that obviously demonstrates each Key Action and competency -- and provide hardcopy proof of it as part of your work samples ("evidence") in your CPLP Work Product submission.
You can't just say you did it; you must SHOW you did it.
Q2: But ATD CI lists some evidence as "required" and other evidence as "additional." How do I know which is which?
A2: Don't get stuck in the semantics - it's all required. You MUST (read that as: you are REQUIRED to) demonstrate evidence of ALL Key Actions and competency statements.
Some documentation is central to doing that (Training Analysis Document, Design Document, Curriculum, etc), but documentation demonstrating EACH Key Action and competency statement is MANDATORY.
Fortunately, the Score Card for Instructional Design is featured in Appendix M - Scoring Process.
Study it.
Look at the detail behind in it Appendices P and Q.
You'll see what I mean.
Q3: Okay - I need documentation for EACH Key Action and EVERY competency statement. How rigorous does my process and how formal does my documentation need to be?
A3: Rigorous. Formal. You are submitting for assessment against a professional standard; therefore, your process should be rigorous and your documentation should be formal.
Q4: Does that mean I have to OBVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATE *ALL* of the steps in Instructional Design?
A4: Yes.
*ALL* of the steps -- from Needs Assessment to Evaluation.
AND you have to speak to (in your essay responses) the linkages between business need, performance need, the need for training, and how you designed and developed the resulting training to align to those needs.
Like this:
"OBVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATE" - What evidence is required?
It's not any one document - these competencies are demonstrated across MULTIPLE documents you produce as part of an Instructional Design project (see pg 4, CPLP Certification Handbook, Part 3, Appendix I).
Start by thinking of the "BIG CHUNKS" -- like --
What documentation do you have to prove you conducted a Needs Assessment?
How did you know what the Business Need was? How did you validate the Business Need with the Project Sponsor?
THINK ADDIE --
What documentation do you have to prove all the different analyses (audience analysis, job/task analysis, technology analysis, performance analysis, etc) you conducted?
What documentation do you have to support the design you created based on the results of the overall needs assessment and the analyses?
What Evaluation Plan - and measurement instruments -- did you design and develop as a result of the Needs Assessment and analyses?
This is NOT at all meant to be an all inclusive or fully comprehensive list of all the documentation that's required; it's meant to be illustrative only of how you should think through how YOU will DEMONSTRATE from YOUR work each Key Action and competency statement outlined in Appendices I, P and Q.
Tip! It's in your Needs Assessment and analyses that you determine the need (or not) for supporting technology to enable either the formal instruction or the post training performance support. (See Instructional Design Key Actions KA6 and KA7 in Appendices P and Q.)
Q5: But, Trish, I did not do all of this in the project I want to use for submission - what do I do?
A5: Start over. If you don't have documentation that meets ALL of the requirements, then you have selected the wrong project for CPLP Work Product submission.
Disappointing to hear - I know - but maybe easier to hear now, before you agonize over putting a flawed submission together and spend 2 months anxious over results just to be notified that your submission failed.
Q6: What other documentation do I need?
A6: I'm glad you asked!
According to the professional standard based on the ATD Competency Model, to be a ROCK STAR Instructional Designer worthy of CPLP, you not only need to obviously demonstrate professional competencies, you also need to demonstrate foundational competencies.
Remember the Foundational Competencies at the base of the ATD Competency Model?
These include:
You **MUST** OBVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATE competencies in these areas too.
See Appendices I, P, and Q for details.
Q7: How do these elements need to be represented in my submission?
A7: Again, there is no one, acceptable template. The requirements allow for variation on the exact documentation that is used.
The KEY is to understand what ATD CI is looking for - and why - and to draw from your work accordingly.
As a CPLP candidate who selected Instructional Design as your CPLP Work Product Area of Expertise, you have raised your hand and VOLUNTEERED to be assessed against the ATD CI professional standard.
It is, therefore, assumed that you know and can produce all of this formal documentation as part of a rigorous Instructional Design process.
That *is* the assessment!
If you don't know what these things are or have no experience producing them, then you have selected the wrong project; the wrong AOE; or are not ready for CPLP.
Q8: What if I can't follow a rigorous process and/or produce the formal documentation, because ...
"My organization does not give me enough ...
... time
... resources
... management support"
"My workload is ...
... too intense
... too time consuming
... too much
... for me to complete a formal process."
"I am not required to ...
... follow a formal process and complete a formal needs assessment ...
... or perform analyses to design learning in my organization...
... or create formal documentation ..."
A8: Understood.
Maybe you think all of the fine Instructional Design CPLPs before you had it easy; that it was all bunnies and sunshine for them at the organizations they serve - enlightened organizations with savvy managers who got out of their way and bent over backwards to get the then CPLP candidates whatever they needed to be successful in this process.
After more than a decade of coaching hundreds of candidates through the CPLP Work Product process, I can tell you with ABSOLUTE certainty and authority that THAT was not the case.
You're in an organization where you feel like you're fighting for your life every day to prove your credibility and worth to prevent them from pulling more resources and maybe even cut off your funding?
You're struggling to find the time to tackle all of the projects you currently have, and avoid squeezing in more to an already stressed out schedule?
You're not alone.
Matter of fact, you're in EXCELLENT company. :-)
Many of us -- training and learning professionals -- are constrained in the processes we follow and limited in the documentation we produce on a regular or daily basis.
That's okay because CPLP is not about how you do your "day job," or even what you do on a regular basis.
That's GREAT because you're only being assessed on just this one project; not your entire body of work. (WHEW!)
So --
Either figure out how to carve out the time to follow a rigorous Instructional Design process (from Needs Assessment all the way through to Evaluation, with formal project management and communications protocols along the way) and produce the formal documentation you need at your place of employment, or;
Volunteer your time and energy to a community organization's training project -
(After all, there is nothing in the ATD CI requirements that says your Work Product submission MUST be based on a project you did "at work."), or;
Select another AOE, or:
Abandon your dreams of becoming CPLP certified and consider pursuing another path.
Nothing about this process is easy - it's difficult and arduous - oftentimes forcing us outside our comfort zone.
It's all consuming and tedious - taking time away from other things we'd probably rather be doing.
It seems mystifying and vague because we've rarely (if ever) been challenged to reflect on, provide evidence of, and articulate our work - what we did, why we did it, etc.
That's why at the end of it, with your shiny new pin, your framed certificate hanging on the wall, and those sweet, sweet 4 letters -- CPLP -- after your name -- you'll know you've EARNED it.
And the rest of us will know you've earned it too.
Achievement is calling --
Put on your BIG GIRL pants and MAN UP.
There is no shame in opting out because it's not the right timing or circumstances; but if you're in for getting it done, then get it done.
No excuses.
I'm looking forward to welcoming you into the CPLP community. :-)
To your success!
~ trish
P.S. I've created an Instructional Design Audit Checklist to help CPLP Work Product candidates more easily navigate the CPLP Certification Handbook and accelerate their understanding of the ATD CI requirements.
Get your copy of my Instructional Design Checklist -- Click Here
This is true for candidates submitting in any Area of Expertise (AOE), but seems especially true for those who have elected to submit CPLP Work Product under Instructional Design.
Candidates' #1 Question --
Why doesn't ATD CI provide candidates with a copy of a successful Instructional Design Work Product submission with specific examples of what's required?
Answer: They used to. But candidates copied it and failed CPLP Work Product.
Why? Because candidates just copied it outright, instead of using it as a model to determine what was MOST important -- WHY the submission was successful -- and then APPLYING those elements to THEIR work.
Therein lies the rub -- CPLP does not test one's ability to copy other people's materials; it assesses your ability to understand a professional standard -- ALL of the elements that go into that standard -- and your ability to then APPLY that professional standard to YOUR work.
So - what work samples ("evidence") are required?
In the absence of specific examples, how are candidates supposed to uncover what the ATD CI expectations are?
The answer is this: There is no one set of documents (work samples) that guarantees success on an Instructional Design CPLP Work Product submission.
Reason being - it's not what the documents ("evidence") look like -- it's what's contained in them that matters. It's what they are meant to DEMONSTRATE that counts the most.
What follows are some common Questions & Answers (Q&A) to help you figure out what you have - and what you need - to get on track with Instructional Design as a CPLP Work Product:
Q1: What work samples ("evidence") are required?
A1: Go back and review CPLP Certification Handbook, Part 2, Appendix F.
See all the Knowledge Areas (AOE1-K1. Business Strategy, Drivers, or Needs; AOE1-K2. Needs Assessment Approaches, etc) under Instructional Design?
You were tested on them during the CPLP Knowledge Exam.
NOW you are REQUIRED to show evidence of them in YOUR work as part of YOUR Work Product submission.
Which ones?
Most of them.
Most of them?
Yep.
That's how the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) assesses you against a professional standard -- the ATD Competency Model *is* the professional standard you are being assessed against.
Appendix F contains a detailed outline of the Key Actions and competencies contained in the professional standard - the ATD Competency Model.
What you read here - in Appendix F - under Instructional Design - represents THE standard.
A subset of these competencies (the ones that MUST be obviously demonstrated in your submission) is outlined in the CPLP Work Product Instructional Design Scoring Rubric (CPLP Certification Handbook, Part 3, Appendix Q).
Therefore, to submit under the Instructional Design AOE, you MUST demonstrate your ability to apply THIS standard to YOUR work.
To do that, you MUST generate documentation that obviously demonstrates each Key Action and competency -- and provide hardcopy proof of it as part of your work samples ("evidence") in your CPLP Work Product submission.
You can't just say you did it; you must SHOW you did it.
Q2: But ATD CI lists some evidence as "required" and other evidence as "additional." How do I know which is which?
A2: Don't get stuck in the semantics - it's all required. You MUST (read that as: you are REQUIRED to) demonstrate evidence of ALL Key Actions and competency statements.
Some documentation is central to doing that (Training Analysis Document, Design Document, Curriculum, etc), but documentation demonstrating EACH Key Action and competency statement is MANDATORY.
Fortunately, the Score Card for Instructional Design is featured in Appendix M - Scoring Process.
Study it.
Look at the detail behind in it Appendices P and Q.
You'll see what I mean.
Q3: Okay - I need documentation for EACH Key Action and EVERY competency statement. How rigorous does my process and how formal does my documentation need to be?
A3: Rigorous. Formal. You are submitting for assessment against a professional standard; therefore, your process should be rigorous and your documentation should be formal.
Q4: Does that mean I have to OBVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATE *ALL* of the steps in Instructional Design?
A4: Yes.
*ALL* of the steps -- from Needs Assessment to Evaluation.
AND you have to speak to (in your essay responses) the linkages between business need, performance need, the need for training, and how you designed and developed the resulting training to align to those needs.
Like this:
 |
| Needs Assessment, Program Objectives & Evaluation image from IDAssessment wikispaces |
It's not any one document - these competencies are demonstrated across MULTIPLE documents you produce as part of an Instructional Design project (see pg 4, CPLP Certification Handbook, Part 3, Appendix I).
Start by thinking of the "BIG CHUNKS" -- like --
What documentation do you have to prove you conducted a Needs Assessment?
How did you know what the Business Need was? How did you validate the Business Need with the Project Sponsor?
THINK ADDIE --
What documentation do you have to prove all the different analyses (audience analysis, job/task analysis, technology analysis, performance analysis, etc) you conducted?
What documentation do you have to support the design you created based on the results of the overall needs assessment and the analyses?
What Evaluation Plan - and measurement instruments -- did you design and develop as a result of the Needs Assessment and analyses?
This is NOT at all meant to be an all inclusive or fully comprehensive list of all the documentation that's required; it's meant to be illustrative only of how you should think through how YOU will DEMONSTRATE from YOUR work each Key Action and competency statement outlined in Appendices I, P and Q.
Tip! It's in your Needs Assessment and analyses that you determine the need (or not) for supporting technology to enable either the formal instruction or the post training performance support. (See Instructional Design Key Actions KA6 and KA7 in Appendices P and Q.)
Q5: But, Trish, I did not do all of this in the project I want to use for submission - what do I do?
A5: Start over. If you don't have documentation that meets ALL of the requirements, then you have selected the wrong project for CPLP Work Product submission.
Disappointing to hear - I know - but maybe easier to hear now, before you agonize over putting a flawed submission together and spend 2 months anxious over results just to be notified that your submission failed.
Q6: What other documentation do I need?
A6: I'm glad you asked!
According to the professional standard based on the ATD Competency Model, to be a ROCK STAR Instructional Designer worthy of CPLP, you not only need to obviously demonstrate professional competencies, you also need to demonstrate foundational competencies.
Remember the Foundational Competencies at the base of the ATD Competency Model?
These include:
- Project Management (Business Skills)
- Communications (Interpersonal Skills)
- Dealing with Different Stakeholders - SMEs, Sponsor, Learners, etc (Interpersonal Skills)
- Use of Instructional & Informational Technology (Technology Literacy)
- Diversity (Global Mindset)
You **MUST** OBVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATE competencies in these areas too.
See Appendices I, P, and Q for details.
Q7: How do these elements need to be represented in my submission?
A7: Again, there is no one, acceptable template. The requirements allow for variation on the exact documentation that is used.
The KEY is to understand what ATD CI is looking for - and why - and to draw from your work accordingly.
As a CPLP candidate who selected Instructional Design as your CPLP Work Product Area of Expertise, you have raised your hand and VOLUNTEERED to be assessed against the ATD CI professional standard.
It is, therefore, assumed that you know and can produce all of this formal documentation as part of a rigorous Instructional Design process.
That *is* the assessment!
If you don't know what these things are or have no experience producing them, then you have selected the wrong project; the wrong AOE; or are not ready for CPLP.
Q8: What if I can't follow a rigorous process and/or produce the formal documentation, because ...
"My organization does not give me enough ...
... time
... resources
... management support"
"My workload is ...
... too intense
... too time consuming
... too much
... for me to complete a formal process."
"I am not required to ...
... follow a formal process and complete a formal needs assessment ...
... or perform analyses to design learning in my organization...
... or create formal documentation ..."
A8: Understood.
Maybe you think all of the fine Instructional Design CPLPs before you had it easy; that it was all bunnies and sunshine for them at the organizations they serve - enlightened organizations with savvy managers who got out of their way and bent over backwards to get the then CPLP candidates whatever they needed to be successful in this process.
After more than a decade of coaching hundreds of candidates through the CPLP Work Product process, I can tell you with ABSOLUTE certainty and authority that THAT was not the case.
You're in an organization where you feel like you're fighting for your life every day to prove your credibility and worth to prevent them from pulling more resources and maybe even cut off your funding?
You're struggling to find the time to tackle all of the projects you currently have, and avoid squeezing in more to an already stressed out schedule?
You're not alone.
Matter of fact, you're in EXCELLENT company. :-)
Many of us -- training and learning professionals -- are constrained in the processes we follow and limited in the documentation we produce on a regular or daily basis.
That's okay because CPLP is not about how you do your "day job," or even what you do on a regular basis.
That's GREAT because you're only being assessed on just this one project; not your entire body of work. (WHEW!)
So --
Either figure out how to carve out the time to follow a rigorous Instructional Design process (from Needs Assessment all the way through to Evaluation, with formal project management and communications protocols along the way) and produce the formal documentation you need at your place of employment, or;
Volunteer your time and energy to a community organization's training project -
(After all, there is nothing in the ATD CI requirements that says your Work Product submission MUST be based on a project you did "at work."), or;
Select another AOE, or:
Abandon your dreams of becoming CPLP certified and consider pursuing another path.
Nothing about this process is easy - it's difficult and arduous - oftentimes forcing us outside our comfort zone.
It's all consuming and tedious - taking time away from other things we'd probably rather be doing.
It seems mystifying and vague because we've rarely (if ever) been challenged to reflect on, provide evidence of, and articulate our work - what we did, why we did it, etc.
That's why at the end of it, with your shiny new pin, your framed certificate hanging on the wall, and those sweet, sweet 4 letters -- CPLP -- after your name -- you'll know you've EARNED it.
And the rest of us will know you've earned it too.
Achievement is calling --
Put on your BIG GIRL pants and MAN UP.
There is no shame in opting out because it's not the right timing or circumstances; but if you're in for getting it done, then get it done.
No excuses.
I'm looking forward to welcoming you into the CPLP community. :-)
To your success!
~ trish
P.S. I've created an Instructional Design Audit Checklist to help CPLP Work Product candidates more easily navigate the CPLP Certification Handbook and accelerate their understanding of the ATD CI requirements.Get your copy of my Instructional Design Checklist -- Click Here
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