Case study
On-Demand Grammar Program
Turning a one-instructor grammar class into on-demand training for 1,000+ employees.
Imagine writing to members every day, knowing that stronger writing skills could help you communicate more clearly and confidently. There’s a grammar course designed to help, but with only one instructor and limited opportunities to attend, getting the training you need can take months.
- Role
- Senior eLearning Developer & Learning Experience Designer
- Organization
- Regional health plan in Hawaii
- Audience
- Employees company-wide, from high school graduates to physicians
- Timeline
- 1.5 years
- Team
- Me
- An in-house writer as SME
- Built with
- Rise 360
- Storyline 360
The challenge
What was in the way
Clear writing matters in healthcare. Employees write to each other and to members every day, and a small mistake can confuse a member or slow down a request. The workforce spans high school graduates to MDs, and grammar skills varied just as widely.
An instructor-led grammar course already worked well, but only one person could teach it. Completing it took about six months. My job was to make it on demand without losing what made the live course effective.
My approach
How I built it
Implemented a proven workflow
I applied the workflow I built for the Benefits program. Working closely with my SME, I created content sheets to reimagine the instructor-led material for self-paced learning. Rather than simply transferring classroom content online, I redesigned lessons to take advantage of eLearning’s unique capabilities, incorporating interactive activities and opportunities for learners to practice and apply their skills.
Let learners start where they are
A short quiz at the start assesses each learner’s skills, so they focus on what they need rather than sitting through rules they already know. That way, one program can serve writers at every level, from new graduates to physicians.
Split the content into two levels
Grammar 101 covers the essentials, with guided instruction and frequent knowledge checks. More Punctuation and Grammar Concepts serves advanced learners who are ready for more.
- Intro to Grammar
- Parts of Speech
- Parts of a Sentence
- What Is a Sentence?
- Commas
- Rules of Spelling
- Capitalization
- Apostrophes
- Colons
- Semicolons
- Hyphens
- Active and Passive Voice
Paired every lesson with practice
Each chapter combines short instruction with interactive practice, so learners apply a rule right after they learn it. In this one, you find the actor and the action, then rewrite the sentence. Try it out!
Chose simplicity
In contrast to my other projects, this one has no characters or narrative. This audience needed clarity, so I kept the design clean and focused and let the practice do the work. Knowing when a course doesn’t need a story is part of the job.
Tested before launch
We tested the courses with a small group before release and refined them based on what we learned.
Results
How it went
- Removed the single-instructor bottleneck: the training is on demand for all 1,000+ employees.
- Cut completion time from about six months to one or two.
- Leveled learning paths through the pre-assessment, so experienced writers aren’t held back and beginners get support.
- Proved the Benefits workflow works beyond its first project.
- Just launched. Results from the first learners are coming soon.