Robin Walsh Portfolio
Virtual Instructor-Led Training
Date: June 2025
Role: Content Creator, Instructional Designer, Instructor
Designed Tools: PowerPoint, FreePik.com AI tool used to design the Excel-R-Rate Character, Excel-R-Rate's Voice was captured using ElevenLabs.io, Learner and Course Assessments made using Google Forms and training presented on Zoom. TNA form from Full Sail's Corporate Training Course.
Excel-R-Rate to Excel
Learning Objective and Target Audience: This virtual instructor-led training (VILT) was developed for a construction superintendent at KVC Constructors who was reassigned to a high-risk project that was over schedule and over budget. He was responsible for managing 1,500+ punch list items across 30 subcontractors, with escalating contractual and financial exposure. A Training Needs Analysis identified gaps in advanced Excel tools—specifically Tables, Slicers, and PivotTables—despite proficiency in basic sorting and filtering. The performance objective was to enable confident application of five Excel “gears” (Sort, Filter, Table, Slicer, PivotTable) to efficiently analyze live project data, strengthen subcontractor accountability, and generate real-time reporting that supported informed decision-making. The learner was an experienced construction professional promoted unexpectedly into a higher-risk leadership role. As an adult learner, he required immediately applicable, results-focused instruction. Incorporating his motorsports background into the instructional theme enhanced engagement while maintaining clear alignment to performance outcomes.
Research Methodology
This training integrates Adult Learning Theory, performance-based instructional design, contextualized narrative framing, and elements of gamified progression. Adult learners require immediate relevance and problem-centered application (Knowles et al., 2015; Merriam & Baumgartner, 2020). Therefore, instruction was delivered using the superintendent’s live punch list rather than sample datasets. Each skill was explicitly linked to reducing contractual risk, improving reporting accuracy, and saving the organization time and money. The instructional sequence reflects performance-based models aligned with Gagné’s events of instruction and Merrill’s First Principles (Gagné et al., 2005; Merrill, 2002). Each Excel “gear” followed a three-step progression:Demonstration (“Showroom”), Guided practice (“Test Track”), Independent performance (“Race Track”). This structure ensured demonstration, application, feedback, and integration. To increase engagement and buy-in, the training utilized contextualized, narrative-centered instructional framing rooted in situated learning theory. By embedding Excel skills within a racing progression metaphor aligned with the learner’s identity, the design increased relevance, motivation, and transfer (Bruner, 1996; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Foundational Excel skills (Sort and Filter) were framed as lower gears, while Tables, Slicers, and PivotTables represented higher-performance acceleration, mirroring the control required in manual transmission racing. Gamified progress tracking and symbolic achievement elements reinforced advancement without diminishing professionalism (Deterding et al., 2011). A stylized SME character, “Excel-R-Rate,” separated technical authority from instructional guidance, reducing intimidation and supporting psychological safety while maintaining credibility. The result was not abstract software training, but identity-aligned, performance-centered instruction designed for immediate application under pressure.