Episode 114 Jenny Varrichio on Applied Games for Corporate L&D
Jenny Varrichio on Applied Games for Corporate L&D
Episode Summary:
In this episode of "Experience Points" by University XP, host Dave Eng interviews Jenny Varrichio, an associate director of training at United Healthcare with expertise in instructional design, particularly gamification for adult learners. Jenny shares her 15 years of experience, focusing on integrating gamified elements into corporate environments. The conversation covers her diverse design experiences, her doctoral research on formative game-based activities for workplace learning, and the launch of her consultancy, "Learning Mechanic." The episode concludes with Dave Eng announcing the upcoming launch of Learning Mechanic and encouraging listeners to explore a free course on gamification.
Jenny Varrichio
she/her/hers
Associate Director of Training
UnitedHealthcare - UnitedHealthcare Networks
I serve as an Associate Director of Training at UnitedHealthcare. I hold a PMP certification and a Ph.D. in Education, specializing in Instructional Design for Online Learning. My research examined how strategic instructional design using formative assessment mechanics can better ensure effective implementations of gamification and game-based learning for adult distance learners in professional workplace settings. Despite all of the exploration I’ve done so far, there is still a lot to learn and I feel that I am only at the beginning of a long journey of possibilities when it comes to strategic instructional design for gamified learning. I'm based in Miami, FL, and I’ll be launching a new online instructional design consulting business and shop called “Learning Mechanic.” During my spare time, I enjoy playing on my Nintendo Switch or creating art through sketching, painting, and digital design.
(LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-varrichio-ph-d-pmp®-1b844716b/
(Other): https://www.proquest.com/openview/ccc2ba278f5f68dd42230f449d7ae349/
Dave Eng:
Hi, and welcome to Experience Points by University XP. On Experience Points, we explore different ways we can learn from games. I'm your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. Find out more at www.universityxp.com.
On today's episode, we'll learn from Jenny Varrichio. Jenny is an associate director of training at United Healthcare with a PhD in education, she specializes in instructional design for online learning. Her research explores how formative assessments enhance gamified learning for adult distance learners in professional settings.
Based out of Miami, Florida, Jenny leads Learning Mechanic as an online instructional design consultancy. In her downtime, Jenny enjoys gaming on her Nintendo Switch and expressing her creativity through sketching, painting, and digital design. Jenny, welcome to the show!
Jenny Varrichio:
Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
Dave Eng:
Great. Glad to have you here, Jenny. I think that your background is very interesting and that's something I want to dive into with our very first question here. So can you tell me, can you tell the audience overall, more about your background and the specific areas of expertise you bring to the field of instructional design and online learning, especially in gamification and games-based learning?
Jenny Varrichio:
Absolutely. So I've been in some form of instructional design for the last 15 years now. I started working at an online traffic school, building online traffic school courses. I also built alcohol licensing courses for people that wanted to sell liquor, so that was an interesting start. Then moving from there, I worked at a security system, engineering production location, and built security panel certification courses. They also engineered the, I don't know if you've heard of these, I'm sure you have, the little emergency “I've fallen and I can't get up” buttons. So I did a lot of trainings for those. For the last eight years I've been at United Healthcare supporting training for call center agents nationwide. Now in my current role, I designed for contract negotiators who are negotiating contracts with hospitals, individual providers, medical groups, and the throughout the country.
So when it comes to game-based learning and gamification, my interest in that started during my doctoral work and dissertation research and I learned more about its effectiveness even in the corporate spaces. So over the years, I've looked at ways of integrating gamified elements and games-based learning into those corporate environments that I've been working in. This has been successful, sometimes unsuccessful, and I feel like I still have a ton to learn and experiment with.
Dave Eng:
Nice. Thanks for sharing that, Jenny. I think that your background is actually pretty common from what I hear about other people who've come into the world of instructional design. So for disclosure, I am also an instructional designer, also a curriculum developer, and I think designing for multiple different audiences is always really interesting. You brought up before about designing for that traffic school and also designing for alcohol licensing, the audiences in which we design for can be very diverse, but usually those outcomes are generally the same. Is it okay for you to share some of those learning outcomes you're designing for those different populations?
Jenny Varrichio:
Yeah. So when it came to the alcohol licensing and online driving school, the online driving school was a wide range of learners, anyone that's driving or preparing to drive, or maybe made some bad decisions while driving needs to go back. So there was some different courses that met those needs, and then there was assessment based outcomes there. So if you pass the assessment, you went back to the DMV, that kind of thing, measured their success there.
With the alcohol licensing, it was actually at the same company, very similar. There were state regulations that really dictated how the course materials needed to be communicated. So every state had a different course and different expectations, so that was interesting. So while all the learners were liquor store owners, restaurant owners, those kinds of folks, the regulations really changed how the learning was developed and put together. Yeah. So there's a couple examples, if that's what you're looking for.
Dave Eng:
Yeah. Thank you for sharing. I appreciate that. Now, I think that this is the really interesting part here. I want to jump into our second question, which is, you talked about learning about gamification and games-based learning through your doctoral research. So specifically I'd like to know, in your research, you exploit the decision-making processes of instructional designers in creating formative game-based activities for workplace learning. So could you share with me and the audience some key findings or insights from your study and how this knowledge might benefit educators and instructional designers?
Jenny Varrichio:
Yeah, absolutely. So I explored that strategic use of formative game elements through expert interviews. It was a qualitative study. When I say formative game elements, I'm talking about formative assessments that are used within gamified or games-based learning that may not look like your traditional quiz in the midst of a training. So it's getting them ready to get to that learning goal, making sure they're meeting the objectives, letting them know how they're doing. There's a lot of rapid feedback that games can provide that makes it really kind of a cool space to learn and design for.
So I interviewed 12 expert designers that were internationally based. There was a few US folks. There was someone from Portugal, Egypt, Brazil, Germany. So going back to all those diverse perspectives, it was really exciting to work in and finding again what those commonalities were and those key findings.
So there were three areas that I found key findings in with the study. First was the planning phase with focusing on audience analysis. Second was iteration and prototyping as being a vital design strategy. And then design decisions that are aimed at triggering audience motivation and engagement. So I'll talk about each of those.
In that preparation phase, all of the designers prioritized audience analysis really as a first thing to do. They gathered insights through surveys, polling interviews, stakeholder meetings, and they also talked about maintaining some mental flexibility in that space and reflecting on where their biases came in. Because as someone who also plays games, I'm sure you know, have your favorite games, so you go to your favorite things you like to do. So they talked about the importance of reflecting on that and do I want to put this in there or is it because I like it, and my audience, they'd be neutral or they wouldn't like it.
So that was going into an iteration space, which is the next place where all of them talked about iteration and prototyping in their design to fit within that larger gamified system or games-based learning system. That, again, goes back to that flexibility and testing as key factors in ensuring that that formative activity design was strategic and well implemented.
Dave Eng:
Nice. Thanks for sharing, Jenny. I see a lot of overlap in our studies here, because I also did a qualitative study for my doctoral work. I think that that iterative cycle that you identified in how these different designers are creating their content and really improving on them iteratively based on their experience deploying it and using it with their learners. It's a lot of what I discovered through games-based learning, because games-based learning, learning through games is very much an experiential process, playing with the game and interacting with different elements and just trying things out. Sometimes you'll meet expectations, sometimes you won't, but it's that entire action based aspect of playing the game and experimenting. That is really the crux for how games are used, at least in my study for teaching and learning.
Jenny Varrichio:
Mm-hmm.
Dave Eng:
Yeah.
Jenny Varrichio:
Yeah, completely agree.
Dave Eng:
All right. So I want to jump into our third and last question here, and this is something we talked about a little bit in your intro and in your bio. So you talked a little bit about the launch of your consultancy called The Learning Mechanic. So can you share some insights into the inspiration behind this venture and what unique services or products you plan to offer in the field of instructional design and consulting?
Jenny Varrichio:
Absolutely. I'm really excited about this. I wanted to create an online space for instructional designers, learning and development professionals, people who really started a career in this space, but they're interested in it. I want to create a space where if you want to learn more about how to start a micro-learning project, a gamified learning project, this is the ground zero, as far as there'll be courses available, templates, blogs, and that kind of thing to help guide them in exploring what works best for them and their organization, or if they're on their own, what works best for them.
In addition to those resources, I'm going to be also offering consultative services for those navigating the complexities of implementing learning programs or events. So I'll be able to help walk them through different ideas, explore options, talk about learning environments, and look at what's available within their space, such as tech specifications, timing, budget, learner needs. So everything that they would need as just a straightforward support to tailor to helping them make a positive impact with their learning design.
Dave Eng:
I see. Great. Then how did you come up with a name? Because I have an idea, but I wanted to hear from you first.
Jenny Varrichio:
Learning mechanic, I was playing around with the concept of there's all these different instructional design models and frameworks and things and I was picturing it like a car or some kind of machine and taking different pieces and making it work into something, a specific way, or tweaking something so it works a little bit smoother, that kind of thing. So that's where the mechanic piece came into mind.
Dave Eng:
Oh, I see. I thought it was a portmanteau of learning outcome and game mechanic, and you just mushed them together.
Jenny Varrichio:
Oh, maybe on a subconscious level.
Dave Eng:
That's how I came up with University XP. I was like, well, university, it's a place for learning, and experience points is what you're earning in games. So just mash it together and make a new title out of it.
Jenny Varrichio:
Love it.
Dave Eng:
All right. So Jenny, thank you for your time. Where's the best place for people to find out more about you?
Jenny Varrichio:
Right now, just LinkedIn is the best place to go. Feel free to reach out and connect. Then I'll be announcing when Learning Mechanic is live and the services are ready. So yeah, connect with me on LinkedIn.
Dave Eng:
All right, sounds great. I will also include those links in the description and show notes so that our listeners can check those out when they're ready. Jenny, thank you again.
Jenny Varrichio:
Yeah, thank you, Dave. It's great to be here.
Dave Eng:
I hope you found this episode useful. If you'd like to learn more than a great place to start is with my free course on gamification. You can sign up for it at www.universityxp.com/gamification. You can also get a full transcript of this episode, including links to references in the description or show notes. Thanks for joining us.
Again, I'm your host, Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP. On Experience Points, we explore different ways we can learn from games. So if you like this episode, please consider commenting, sharing, and subscribing. Subscribing is absolutely free and ensures that you'll get the next episode of Experience Points delivered directly to you. I'd also love it if you took some time to rate the show. I live to lift others with learning. So if you found this episode useful, consider sharing it with someone who could also benefit.
Also, make sure to visit University XP online at www.universityxp.com. University XP is also on Twitter or X @University_XP and on Facebook and LinkedIn as University XP. Also, feel free to email me anytime. My email address is dave@universityxp.com. Game on!
Cite this Episode
Eng, D. (Host). (2024, June 26). Zack Hartzman on Teaching with Video Games. (No. 114) Video]. Experience Points. University XP. https://www.universityxp.com/video/114
Internal Ref: UXPPNOFZ6SWK
References
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Eng, D. (2019, September 17). Player Interaction. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2019/9/17/player-interaction
Eng, D. (2019, October 29). Gaming with Motivation. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2019/10/29/gaming-with-motivation
Eng, D. (2019, June 18). Feedback Loops. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2019/6/18/feedback-loops-in-games-based-learning
Eng, D. (2020, March 26). What is Games-Based Learning? Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2020/3/26/what-is-games-based-learning
Eng, D. (2020, April 30). What is Gamification? Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2020/4/30/what-is-gamification
Eng, D. (2020, December 3). Game Mechanics for Learning. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from http://www.universityxp.com/blog/2020/12/3/game-mechanics-for-learning
Eng, D. (2021, August 31). Designing learning games with players in mind. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2021/8/31/designing-learning-games-with-players-in-mind
Eng, D. (2022, March 1). What is Player Reflection?. Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2022/3/1/what-is-player-reflection
Gaskin, S. (2022, July 6). Outcomes-based assessment: The key to teaching critical thinking. Pearson Higher Education. https://www.pearson.com/en-us/higher-education/insights-and-events/teaching-and-learning-blog/2022/07/outcomes-based-assessment-the-key-to-teaching-critical-thinking.html
Eng, D. (2023, June 27). What is Choice Architecture? Retrieved January 26, 2024, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2023/6/27/what-is-choice-architecture
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