CPT Instructional Design & Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A performance technologist is designing a blended learning program. Which sequencing strategy best supports transfer of complex skills to the workplace?
- Present all theory first, then all practice
- Interleave conceptual instruction with spaced practice and real-world application (Correct answer)
- Provide job aids only, without formal instruction
- Deliver all content in a single intensive workshop
Correct answer: Interleave conceptual instruction with spaced practice and real-world application
Interleaving instruction with spaced, applied practice strengthens retention and promotes transfer of complex skills.
Question 2: When applying Mager's criterion-referenced instruction model, which element is written FIRST?
- Instructional activities
- Terminal performance objectives (Correct answer)
- Assessment items
- Learner prerequisites
Correct answer: Terminal performance objectives
Mager's model begins with defining terminal performance objectives before designing assessment or instruction.
Question 3: A CPT practitioner discovers that a training program has excellent Kirkpatrick Level 1 scores but no measurable Level 3 results. The MOST likely root cause is:
- The training content was inaccurate
- Learners lacked prerequisite knowledge
- The workplace environment does not support application of learned skills (Correct answer)
- The assessment instruments were invalid
Correct answer: The workplace environment does not support application of learned skills
High learner satisfaction (Level 1) with no behavior transfer (Level 3) typically indicates environmental barriers, not instructional failure.
Question 4: Which instructional design model is MOST appropriate when rapid delivery is critical and content is subject to frequent change?
- Dick and Carey Systems Model
- Agile/Successive Approximation Model (SAM) (Correct answer)
- Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction
- Bloom's Taxonomy-based design
Correct answer: Agile/Successive Approximation Model (SAM)
The SAM model uses iterative, rapid prototyping cycles suited to volatile content and tight timelines.
Question 5: A learner analysis reveals that the target audience has high prior knowledge of the subject. What instructional design adjustment is MOST appropriate?
- Add more foundational content to ensure completeness
- Reduce redundant instruction and use learner-controlled exploration (Correct answer)
- Increase the number of worked examples
- Replace all job aids with formal instruction
Correct answer: Reduce redundant instruction and use learner-controlled exploration
The expertise reversal effect shows that novice scaffolding becomes redundant and even counterproductive for expert learners.
Question 6: In Gagne's conditions of learning, which internal condition is MOST critical for learning intellectual skills?
- Prior learned capabilities (prerequisite rules) (Correct answer)
- Physical workspace ergonomics
- Instructor enthusiasm
- Duration of the training session
Correct answer: Prior learned capabilities (prerequisite rules)
Gagne identified prerequisite subordinate capabilities as the essential internal condition for acquiring new intellectual skills.
Question 7: A designer wants to reduce extraneous cognitive load in an e-learning module about a complex process. Which technique is MOST effective?
- Add decorative graphics to increase visual interest
- Present corresponding text and diagrams simultaneously and in close proximity (Correct answer)
- Include background music to reduce boredom
- Split audio narration across multiple screens
Correct answer: Present corresponding text and diagrams simultaneously and in close proximity
The contiguity principle from multimedia learning theory states that related words and images should be presented together to reduce split-attention.
CPT Instructional Design & Development 2
A performance technologist is designing a blended learning program.
Which sequencing strategy best supports transfer of complex skills to the workplace?