Post by Melissa Milloway

It's here! The Meridian Emergency Communications learning plan is done and you can download it here to remix. The learning plan comes after needs assessment and analysis. This is where you decide what you're building and why. If you've been following along, I've been building a mock 911 dispatch center training program and documenting every decision in public. The course is called Triage Under Pressure, How to Make Protocol Decisions with Incomplete Information. Here's what the learning plan covers and why each piece is in there. ➡️ The performance gap, 911 operators are trained on Priority Dispatch protocols, but the protocols only work once you've selected the right one. When a caller is panicked, incoherent, or describing something that could be medical, fire, or law enforcement, the operator has to make that determination themselves. ➡️ The solution set is mapped to Bob Mosher's 5 Moments of Need before any content was designed because learning is not a one-time event. Operators need practice for the first time they encounter an ambiguous call, when they need to go deeper, when they're mid-call and something isn't adding up, when things go wrong, and when protocols get updated or new call types emerge that weren't covered in training. Every artifact in the plan is tied to one of those moments. ➡️ The evaluation plan uses LTEM, Will Thalheimer's Learning-Transfer Evaluation Model. LTEM has eight tiers, each measuring something different, whether operators completed the course, how they perceived it, whether they retained the knowledge, whether they can make decisions under simulated pressure, whether they can execute the full task, whether they're applying it on calls, and whether it produced organizational outcomes. We're using xAPI to track the data that proves each one. ➡️ The ROI is built on published data. Based on national call volume data (NENA, 2021) and CMS transport cost figures, ambiguous call errors at a mid-size dispatch center represent approximately $1.97M in quarterly dispatch cost exposure. A 10% improvement in protocol selection accuracy produces $197K in quarterly program value against a $28K development cost. Our break-even is two weeks. ➡️ The course built in Articulate Rise has three Mighty interactives, each one building toward the full skill. Mighty is a Chrome extension that gives you creative control and custom interactions inside Rise. The Cue Recognition Challenge trains operators to spot the verbal and tonal signals before you select a protocol. The Clarifying Questions Builder teaches which questions to ask to get what they need from a caller who can't tell you what's wrong. The Dispatch Simulator puts it all together under time pressure with a live call, decisions, and consequences. Next up writing all of the content! #eLearning #InstructionalDesign #LearningandDevelopment