OPWL Learning Goals Demonstrated in Work Sample 1 and Work Sample 2

Throughout the OPWL program, I developed and applied the competencies represented by the five OPWL Program Learning Goals. The summaries below highlight how my portfolio work samples demonstrate each goal. The OPWL Program Learning Goals document attached below provides the complete analysis of both work samples and the tools used throughout the performance improvement process.

OPWL Learning Goal 1

Apply systematic and/or systemic methods to performance improvement work.

• The OPWL Program Needs Assessment demonstrated both systematic and systemic performance improvements. Our NA team progressed from data collection through gap and cause analysis before considering interventions, using BEM, COREQ, Force-Field Analysis, and SWOT at different stages. 

• AITE Module 3 followed a systematic instructional design process using Bloom’s Taxonomy, Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction, Mayer’s multimedia principles, and Guided Discovery. It also applied systems thinking by examining how multiple features of the travel environment interact to affect autistic travelers rather than treating the traveler as the source of the problem.

OPWL Learning Goal 2

Apply established professional ethics and standards to performance improvement work.

• Ethical and professional practice informed both work samples. For the OPWL Program Needs Assessment, our team used the ACTED Ethical Framework, completed CITI human-subjects research training, safeguarded participant information, and addressed our positionality as OPWL students studying our own program. 

• In AITE Module 3, COREQ guided informational interviews with autism-inclusive travel professionals, and established instructional design frameworks provided an evidence-based foundation for the learning objectives, content, multimedia design, and application activities.

OPWL Learning Goal 3

Align performance improvement solutions with strategic organizational goals and make recommendations to produce results valued by organizations.

• The OPWL Program Needs Assessment supported OPWL’s goal of preparing graduates for HPI-related work. Our team's findings identified gaps in advanced communication, critical feedback, applied practice, and continuity between coursework and professional practice. BEM, SWOT, and Force-Field Analysis helped us develop recommendations that addressed those findings while considering program structure, faculty workload, scalability, and the needs of working adult students.

OPWL Learning Goal 4

Collaborate effectively with others, in person and virtually, and communicate effectively in written, oral, and visual forms.

Both projects (Work Sample 1 and Work Sample 2) required collaboration across different roles and settings.

• During the OPWL Program Needs Assessment, I worked virtually with a five-member team, our client, professor, and OPWL graduates throughout data collection, analysis, intervention development, report writing, and presentation. 

• AITE Module 3 expanded that collaboration through Professor Rafael da Silva and autism-inclusive tourism professional Becky Large, while work with Professors Kevin Hanegan and Cara North helped extend AITE into future data collection, client engagement, professional branding, and networking. Across both projects, I communicated through interviews, meetings, written reports, presentations, multimedia, and visual design.

OPWL Learning Goal 5

Apply theory and evidence to performance improvement work.

• The OPWL Program Needs Assessment demonstrated evidence-based practice by combining established theory, professional expertise, and multiple data sources. 

• Semi-structured interviews with OPWL graduates were compared with program artifacts and course materials rather than relying on a single source. 

• BEM, COREQ, SWOT, and Force-Field Analysis provided structure for moving from evidence through analysis and into recommendations.

• Triangulating data across interviews, program artifacts, and course materials helped identify recurring patterns and strengthened the evidence supporting the findings and recommendations.

References

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2023). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and 

     designers of multimedia learning (5th ed.). Wiley.

Gagné, R. M., Briggs, L. J., & Wager, W. W. (1992). Principles of instructional design (4th ed.). Harcourt Brace 

     Jovanovich.

Gilbert, T. F. (2007). Human competence: Engineering worthy performance. Pfeiffer.

Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers. Harper & Brothers.

Mayer, R. E. (2017). Using multimedia for e-learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 33(5), 403–423.

Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32-
          item checklist for interviews and focus groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349–

          357.

The OPWL Program Learning Goals Table 1 and Table 2 explain how the two work samples demonstrated each learning goal. See Appendix A listed below. 

Appendix A
OPWL Program Learning Goals Table 1 AND TABLE 2 document.