ISPI SoCal
ISPI SoCal Presents: GEMS RoundTable
Losing Skills with AI - AI Killed the Math Brain
Join us to discuss this month's article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/opinion/ai-coders-jobs.html
Facilitated by: Vince Budrovich
The RoundTable is an exciting approach that stimulates incredible conversation and insight around the topics and trends impacting our discipline.
We read aloud the RoundTable Guidelines and this session's article for about 15 minutes. Then for the next 45 minutes, we offer everyone in attendance equal time to share their thoughts and experiences on or around the topic. Come explore with us!
NOTE! Please download and print the article, or view in browser, for your use during the session (link above).
To facilitate and/or propose an article for a future RoundTable, contact Laura Braeunig laura@nationalitc.com
Follow us on Linked In: Southern CA Chapter of ISPI
#PerformanceImprovement #L&DandInstructionalDesign #GEMSRoundTable
The GEMS RoundTable format was provided by Sue Gabriele, President and Owner, Gabriele Educational Materials and Systems. Website: www.gemslearning.net Email: sgabriele@gemslearning.net
ISPI SoCal Presents: Tuesday Webinars
Evolution of Human Resource Departments in the Age of AI
Anthony Markovich
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way People Operations and Talent Development leaders support and scale employee growth. Whether you’re in HR, L&D, or instructional design, this dynamic session will explore how AI is revolutionizing workforce engagement, retention strategies, and skill development.
Session Description
Note: This webinar is a reproduction / revisitation of our recent "AI @ Work" session with Anthony held on June 11th. We are offering this again for anyone who could not join due to Zoom challenges / technical difficulties.
In this session, Anthony will share how he integrates AI into everyday People Operations—plus, you’ll get a live demo of Second Nature, an AI-powered platform that simulates real-world conversations to develop communication and other critical skills. You’ll learn:
How AI is being used in People Operations to improve engagement and increase retention
Real-life examples of AI-driven learning tools in corporate settings
Ways to build more interactive, cost-effective simulations than ever before
Insights into the future of talent development through AI
This session will conclude with a live demo of Second Nature in action and a Q&A where you can explore practical use cases for your team or organization.
About the Speaker
#PerformanceImprovement #L&DandInstructionalDesign #ISPISoCal
ISPI SoCal Presents: First Tuesday Webinars
Designing First Principles Instruction Using AI
Dr. Timothy Stafford
Dr. Max Cropper
Learn how to use AI for accelerated design and development of transformational instruction based on Merrill's First Principles of Instruction.
Curious how to engineer prompts that create effective, efficient, and engaging instruction? This session is for you!
How effective are Merrill's First Principles? Evidence shows that students who chose to engage with web pages designed with First Principles of Instruction were between three and five times more likely to pass a Certification Test.
About the Speakers
Dr. Timothy Stafford is a futurist, instructional designer, and thought leader specializing in online learning, instructional design, and AI ethics. He currently serves as Director of Graduate Online Academic Affairs and Program Director for the MS in Instructional Design & Technology at St. Thomas University. As the creator of the First Principles AI Course Lab, he integrates AI-driven tools to guide instructional designers in building engaging, outcome-driven courses.
Dr. Max H. Cropper is an award-winning instructional design consultant. He has taught many workshops and presentations on Merrill's First Principles. He has studied, researched, implemented, and taught instructional design, evaluation, performance improvement, and leadership best practices for more than 40 years. Some clients include the EPA, the US Department of Defense, Morgan Stanley, and the US Department of Transportation.
From Cost Center to Strategic Asset: Measure & Report
Dr. Mike Saunderson
Despite billions spent on training each year, most organizations struggle to prove its true value. This interactive session introduces a practical, research-based framework that empowers L&D professionals to measure, communicate, and elevate the business impact of their programs.
Participants will explore five essential questions that align training efforts with behavior change and business results, thereby bridging the gap between learning and organizational performance. Through real-world case examples, live polls, and guided discussions, attendees will apply the framework to their work, gaining clarity on how to identify measurable outcomes, select relevant metrics, and engage stakeholders in meaningful evaluation. The session provides tools and tactics for overcoming skill gaps and challenges in data interpretation.
Attendees will leave equipped with tools and a clear framework to demonstrate the value of training within their organizations. They will learn how to set post-training evaluation plans, identify and align behavior change with business outcomes, and engage stakeholders in ongoing performance discussions and evaluations. Participants will gain strategies for fostering evaluation readiness, cross-functional partnerships, and using data storytelling to influence leadership. These insights will empower professionals to shift perceptions, enhance their strategic influence, and ensure that training makes a meaningful contribution to their organization's long-term success.
Dr. Mike Saunderson is a results-driven leader with over thirteen years of experience supporting Fortune 500 organizations in training needs assessment, instructional design, and evaluation. He has a proven track record of developing learning solutions that drive measurable improvements in employee performance and business outcomes.
Mike earned his Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology from the University of Hawaii, where his research focused on evaluating training transfer and leveraging technology to analyze performance data. His expertise bridges research and practice, enabling him to create learning programs that are both data-informed and performance-focused.
He is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, where he shares evidence-based strategies for evaluating learning effectiveness and measuring behavior change. Mike is also a published author, contributing multiple articles to Training Magazine.
Mike is committed to transforming Learning and Development from a cost center to a strategic asset by helping organizations measure what matters, report meaningful results, and demonstrate the value of training.
Managing Change in the Midst of the AI Storm
James Eicher
What is your organization's human / AI change management strategy?
Organizations are in the midst of escalating social and technological change, driven by rapid development of human / intelligent machine partnerships.
In this session, James Eicher identifies three emerging change challenges:
Current research unequivocally reveals collaboration linking human and intelligent machine expertise results in optimum performance on multiple levels. Note, the current term to characterize and promote human / intelligent machine collaboration is Human AI Team, or "HAT". However, in the midst of the AI driven change storm, have organization leaders made a defined, operational distinction between the impacts of AI and managing the impacts of AI?
Organizational change now includes people change in tandem with intelligent machine change. Thus, organization leaders need to embrace an executable framework of behavioral change in order to optimize HAT performance.
James Eicher is the creator of Cognitive Management™ which applies research from the cognitive sciences to organization and leadership behavior. Mr. Eicher has held leadership positions at KPMG, Booz Allen Hamilton, Symantec and IBM, and has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and Selling magazine.
While an Undergraduate attending UCSC he was both John Grinder’s and the late Gregory Bateson’s teaching assistant. His most recent work, Ecology of Truth, is inspired by Bateson’s work on what he termed the ecology of mind.
Jim is the author of the management communication text Making the Message Clear and many articles, assessments and book chapters. He is co-author, with the late John Jones and William Bearley, of the management assessments the Matrix Manager Inventory: Leading in a Collaborative Environment; the Neurolinguistic Communication Profile; Rapport: Matching and Mirroring Communication and Post-Heroic Leadership: Managing the Virtual Organization.
Jim has also authored or co-authored many articles, assessments and book chapters including: Cognitive Arbitrage: The Outsourcing of Intelligence; the Leader-Manager Profile; The Change Bully: What to do when Demagoguery Masquerades as Organization Change; Making Strategy Happen; Organizational drift: Why organizations drift off keel and what human resource professionals can do about it; The Execution Gap: 7 Questions You Must Ask; the Strategic Action Profile; and Cognitive Management: Managing your Organization’s Mind.
