Meeting Management

Course Design Using the ADDIE Model and Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction

The ADDIE Model

Problem:

Students and graduates face inefficiencies in classroom and workplace meetings, highlighting the need for training in effective meeting management.

Assessment:

Collaborated with a Learning Experience Designer to define the target learners through a learner analysis.

Reviewed the instructor-led training (ILT) guide to become familiar with the content.
Researched terminology and topics familiar to STEM learners to create authentic, real-world scenarios, which guided the design of introductory stories, questions, reflections, and activities.

Design:

Developed three focused learning objectives.
Tailored each section of the ILT guide for a STEM audience, applying Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction to guide course design.
Converted the ILT into a self-paced eLearning course, ensuring accessibility and engagement for independent learners.

Development:

Developed a self-paced course in the Thought Industries LMS, combining interactive design with creative solutions to LMS limitations.
Applied university branding and templates, adjusting imagery size based on IT recommendations.
Designed custom icons for flip cards and acronym visuals in Canva, applying the course’s branding colors and typography to ensure a cohesive, visually engaging learning experience.
Met weekly with a Learning Experience Designer to review progress and incorporate feedback into the course design.

Implementation:

The course is set to launch in September 2025.

Evaluation:

Learner feedback will be captured via a questionnaire in the last module to guide future course updates.

Merrill's First Principles of Instruction

The Meeting Management course, grounded in Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction, emphasized learner-centered, application-based learning that fosters active engagement and transfers knowledge to real-world contexts.

Activation:

At the beginning of the course, learners were activated by being prompted to reflect on a meeting they had participated in, considering any leadership roles, challenges, or opportunities to take a more active role as an attendee. This initial reflection set the stage for learning by connecting course content to learners’ own experiences. Each module then included a brief scenario highlighting a meeting mishap, designed to engage learners and demonstrate the relevance of the module’s topics.

Demonstration:

Demonstrations were integrated throughout the course to model essential skills in context; three examples are provided below.

Discussion Goes Astray

This page featured a scenario presented in a slideshow, modeling how a chairperson can maintain control of a meeting while fostering collaboration. Positioned after content on redirecting without offending participants, the story illustrated the EAR technique as a three-step strategy, enabling learners to see the practical application of the concept in action.

Agenda Creation Using the SOAP Technique

This page utilized a list-roll of the SOAP technique, illustrating how to seek input from participants, organize topics, assess relevance, and prioritize items to fit within the meeting timeline. The demonstration highlighted how an actionable agenda can transform a meeting from a simple discussion into a focused decision-making or problem-solving session.

Silence Mobile Phones

This page demonstrated three effective strategies for prompting participants to silence or turn off mobile phones before a meeting. A flip-card interaction was used to reveal additional details for each suggestion, encouraging exploration and reinforcing practical techniques through an engaging, low-stakes activity.

Application:

Application activities were embedded throughout the course following Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction, giving learners the chance to apply concepts and reinforce learning. Three sample implementations are shown below.

Relevant Topics

This activity was designed to strengthen learners’ decision-making skills around agenda planning. Presented with a scenario in which six colleagues submitted potential topics, learners evaluated each submission for its relevance and value to the meeting. They decided whether to include the topic, then clicked the card to reveal targeted feedback explaining the rationale. This interactive design encouraged critical thinking, reinforced best practices for agenda setting, and provided immediate, formative feedback to support deeper learning.

Plan Your Meeting Space

This activity was designed to help learners apply meeting planning principles in a practical context. After creating an agenda and reviewing essentials for effective meetings, learners identified requirements for their meeting space, including essentials, special touches, and seating arrangements. They then justified their seating choice, reflecting on how it aligned with the meeting’s purpose, encouraged participation, and accommodated attendees. This activity promoted applied decision-making, spatial awareness, and intentional design of the meeting environment.

Identify the Best Actions of an Effective Chairperson

This interactive activity was designed to develop learners’ skills in managing common meeting challenges. Through six mini-scenarios, learners analyzed situations and matched them with chairperson actions and best practices. The matching and feedback process reinforced effective facilitation techniques, encouraged critical thinking, and highlighted strategies for guiding discussions and maintaining productive meetings.

Integration:

In the integration phase, learners reflected on how to apply course skills to plan, structure, and manage meetings effectively, handle disruptions, assign roles, and lead productive, engaging sessions, ensuring transfer of learning to real-world practice. By the end of the course, learners developed a comprehensive meeting plan, designed to synthesize and integrate their skills in a future meeting.

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