You're the director of Connect Line Crisis Hotline. Since mid-2020, you've seen a yearly decrease in the Caller De-Escalation Rate (CDR). This means that crisis counselors have been less effective in de-escalating callers with severe emotional distress, resulting in longer calls, more frequent emergency interventions, and increased staff burnout. You decide to hire me to create a course that will help increase the CDR by 10% by January 1, 2025. You also hire Dr. Debra DeWalt as a Subject Matter Expert in crisis counseling.
Let’s walk through the design process to show how Dr. DeWalt and I will build a course that directly addresses your pain points and delivers real solutions.
Our design journey began with a virtual coffee and a candid conversation. I invited Dr. Debra DeWalt, our subject matter expert in crisis counseling, to an informal kickoff meeting—not just to break the ice, but to build trust. After introductions, Dr. DeWalt enthusiastically shared her vision for the course and mentioned she had already created a wealth of materials. I responded with encouragement—"Great! It looks like we have a lot to work with."
But instead of diving into the content, I pivoted the conversation with a deceptively simple question: "What should learners be able to do after this course that they can't do now?" This question, rooted in Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping and Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction, reframed our focus from information to transformation. It signaled that we weren’t just building a course—we were building capability.
As an instructional designer, I’m not satisfied with learners simply completing a course—I want to see immediate behavior change. According to Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model, true instructional impact shows up in how people behave on the job, not just what they know. So to create learning that solves real business problems, I start by identifying what the learners aren’t doing right now—and just as importantly, why.
In the case of Connect Line, the issue was clear: crisis counselors were struggling to de-escalate emotionally distressed callers. This wasn’t a knowledge problem—it was a performance problem. They knew the theory. But something in their practice, environment, or decision-making under pressure wasn’t translating to results. Calls were dragging on, emergency interventions were increasing, and burnout was rising. To address this, I turned to Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping. Rather than starting with content, Dr. DeWalt and I anchored the course design around a clear, measurable business goal:
KPI:The Caller De-Escalation Rate (CDR) will increase by 5% by January 1, 2026, as crisis counselors practice the 6-Step Crisis Intervention Model.
By tying our instructional goal directly to a key performance indicator already tracked by the organization, we ensured that our efforts would be measurable—and meaningful.
To create instruction that drives immediate behavioral change, I need to understand what learners aren’t currently doing—and why. That means going beyond the content to uncover the real barriers to performance. Whether it’s a lack of confidence, unclear expectations, or ineffective habits, identifying the root cause is key to designing training that actually changes behavior.
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With the performance problem clearly defined, the next step was to break down the work itself. What, exactly, do crisis counselors need to do differently during high-stress calls? As my colleague Dr. Tim Stafford puts it, this phase of the process is guided by one essential question: “How much do we assume?” (Stafford, 2021).
It’s about identifying the full scope of the task—not just what’s obvious, but what’s often overlooked.
To tackle this, I collaborated closely with Dr. DeWalt. Together, we deconstructed the entire de-escalation process, identifying each “whole task” a counselor might encounter during a call. These aren’t abstract steps—they’re real-world actions performed on the job, under real pressure. Dr. DeWalt even recommended that we use the 6 Step Crisis Intervention Model to guide our thinking.
Before our working session, I used a custom GPT tool to run an initial task analysis based on known models in crisis intervention. This gave us a solid draft to work from. By the time Dr. DeWalt reviewed it, only a few small adjustments were needed. Her expertise added crucial nuance—like recognizing moments when tone, timing, or silence could influence the direction of a call. With a clear map of the tasks, we had the foundation we needed to design instruction that mirrored the real-world demands of the job.
Example task analysis
With the critical performance gaps defined and tasks broken down, Dr. DeWalt and I moved into the next phase: designing opportunities for learners to see and do. According to Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction, effective learning hinges on two core principles at this stage—demonstration and application. Learners need to watch the skills being modeled before they can successfully apply them in realistic contexts.
Since our goal was to improve the use of the 6 Step Crisis Intervention Model at Connect Line, the structure of the content naturally followed the model’s sequence. But instead of creating a linear one-step-per-module format, I designed six unique scenarios that allowed the component skills to resurface across different moments and in varied intensities. This followed Merrill’s recommendation to vary problems, giving learners a chance to apply the same skills in new and increasingly complex situations.
Each scenario was carefully mapped to the specific skills learners needed to demonstrate. For example, the skill of “ensuring caller safety” was integrated into three different scenarios—Scenarios 2, 4, and 6—each with its own contextual twist. By re-encountering the same skill in different emotional landscapes, learners were challenged to adapt and deepen their understanding rather than memorize a fixed response.
A varied progression of problems
With Dr. DeWalt's approval of the progression of problems, we were ready to move on to the next step—designing the storyboard. Our goal was to create realistic scenarios where learners could see the results of their actions, both when they handled the situation well and when they didn't.
In the example below, I’ve taken the first set of problems from our crisis response model—the initial response and information-gathering phase—and developed a scenario around them. This will allow learners to practice those critical first steps in the crisis intervention process and understand the immediate consequences of their decisions.
Example text-based storyboard
Once the storyboard was in place, I began working on the visual mockups for the course. This is where the design starts to take shape. I wanted the course to feel professional but also approachable, reflecting the serious nature of crisis counseling while making the learning experience engaging and user-friendly. We decided on a clean, modern look that would help keep learners focused while reinforcing the tone of the training—supportive and professional.
I worked with Dr. DeWalt to make sure the design matched the tone of the content. We kept the look simple and clean, using calming colors and intuitive icons to guide learners through the scenarios. It was important to create an environment that wasn’t distracting but still visually supportive of the learning experience.
Tools: I used Adobe Color to extract a color palette from a photo that matched the mood we were striving for. I then used Adobe Express to create the template below.
Example visual Mockup
With the design and content fully developed, it was time to shift gears into the technical build. I brought the course to life using Articulate Storyline, making sure the interactive components—especially the branching crisis scenarios—were both seamless and meaningful. Each scenario was carefully programmed with conditional triggers, so that learner choices led to different outcomes, simulating the real-time decision-making required in high-stakes situations.
Given the sensitive nature of the content, I paid special attention to pacing. Using a 2-second fade-in trigger throughout the course helped establish a calm, supportive tone appropriate for the material. These subtle design choices reinforced the emotional weight of the scenarios and gave learners space to reflect before making decisions.
Once the course was complete, I uploaded it to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and configured it with SCORM settings to ensure learner progress could be tracked accurately. After testing functionality and ensuring smooth integration, I deployed the course in Canvas using SCORM. This delivery approach ensured that crisis counselors could easily access the training and that we could gather the necessary data to evaluate engagement and completion.
branching scenario in articulate storyline
To evaluate the course's effectiveness, Dr. DeWalt and I used Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Model, aligning it with our KPI of increasing the Caller De-Escalation Rate (CDR) by 5% by January 2026.
Level 1 – Reaction: We gathered feedback from counselors on their experience with the course to ensure it was engaging and relevant.
Level 2 – Learning: We assessed counselors before and after the course to measure improvements in their understanding and application of the 6-Step Crisis Intervention Model.
Level 3 – Behavior: We observed counselors' performance on real crisis calls, tracking how well they applied the learned skills to improve the CDR.
Level 4 – Results: Finally, we tracked the CDR to see if it increased by 5%, directly linking the training to improved outcomes.
Hopefully, you love the results of this project. If not - we'll go back and refine until it is top quality!
Need your team to master a new skill or sharpen an existing one? Let’s pinpoint exactly what they need, and I’ll design a learning experience that keeps them engaged—solving real problems in a low-stakes environment where they can practice, refine, and grow. And best of all, I’ll make sure the results speak for themselves.
