COURSE DESIGN & LEARNING STRATEGY
From Expertise to Impact
You have deep knowledge, hard-won experience, and something meaningful to teach. What you may not have is a clear structure for turning that expertise into a learning experience that actually transforms people.
That’s exactly where I come in.
WHO THIS IS FOR
You know your subject. I’ll help you teach it.
This page is for experts who have been asked, or have decided, to share what they know through workshops, courses, trainings, or presentations. You don’t need a background in instructional design to do this well. You need a clear framework, the right structure, and someone who understands both how adults learn and how expertise gets in the way.
You’re a helping professional…
A coach, counselor, therapist, or social worker
Asked to lead a training, workshop, or CEU session
Who wants your content to land, not just be delivered
You’re an expert in your field…
A consultant, practitioner, or specialist
Building your first course or workshop program
Who knows their subject deeply but not how to teach it
You’re an organization…
A professional association or nonprofit
Looking for a speaker or workshop facilitator
Seeking facilitated learning for members or staff
THE CHALLENGE
Knowing a lot isn’t the same as knowing how to teach it.
The most common mistake experts make when designing a course or workshop isn’t including the wrong information. It’s including too much of it. When you’ve spent years mastering a subject, it’s almost impossible to remember what it felt like not to know it.
This is called the curse of knowledge, and it’s the reason brilliant people create overwhelming learning experiences.
The result? Content that’s dense, structure that’s unclear, and learners who leave informed but not changed.
“Information becomes transformation only when people have the structure, space, and support to do something with it.”
THE FRAMEWORK
Promise → Path → Practice™
Every workshop, course, and training I design, and every client I work with, is built around the Promise → Path → Practice™ framework. It’s a simple, repeatable structure that forces the right decisions at every stage of course design.
Promise → Path → Practice™ is a proprietary course design framework developed by Barbara Tobi, MA, ACC — instructional designer, learning strategist, and coach with 20+ years in healthcare and technology.
01 Promise
Define the transformation.
What change will your learners make?
Don’t focus on what you’ll cover. Focus on what they’ll be able to do, see, or become.
02 Path
Design the journey.
What are the 3–5 essential steps that carry learners to your promised transformation?
What needs to be cut?
03 Practice
Build in application and practice.
How will learners use what they’ve learned? Reflection, action steps, and real-world integration are where learning actually sticks.
01: Workshops & Speaking
For professional associations, conferences, and organizations
I offer workshops and keynote presentations for helping-profession associations, healthcare organizations, coaching communities, and professional development events.
My signature workshop — Course Design for Experts in the Helping Professions — introduces the Promise → Path → Practice™ framework in a 60-minute session designed for coaches, counselors, therapists, social workers, and practitioners who want to teach what they know more effectively.
Available in-person and virtually. Custom workshops and presentations available for your organization’s specific needs and audience.
→ Inquire about availability — use the contact form below
02: Course Design Consulting
For subject matter experts building workshops, courses, or training programs
You have deep expertise and an idea for a course or workshop. What you need is a clear structure, a focused design plan, and someone to help you figure out what to include and what to leave out.
I work with individuals and small organizations through a collaborative, done-with-you process that produces a complete, ready-to-deliver learning experience grounded in adult learning principles.
Engagements are scoped to your project. Whether you’re building a 60-minute workshop or a multi-module online course, we’ll begin with a discovery conversation to understand your goals, your learners, and your timeline.
→ Tell me about your project — use the contact form below
03: Free Resources
The Promise → Path → Practice™ Course Builder and Companion Guide
Not sure where to start? These two tools are designed to be used together and they’re FREE!
The Promise → Path → Practice™ Course Design Builder
A one-page planning template that walks you through the complete framework step by step. Define your transformation, map your path, and build in practice all on a single page.
The Companion Guide
A five-section guide that brings the template to life with a fully worked example, the "Is it essential or just interesting?" cut test, and honest guidance on the hardest design decision you'll face: what to leave out.
Both are free to download. Enter $0 at checkout or pay what you feel they’re worth.
04: Tools & Templates
Practical resources for subject matter experts who want to design better learning experiences on their own.
Each tool is built on the Promise → Path → Practice™ framework and designed for coaches, practitioners, helpers, and experts who teach.
Learning Objectives Toolkit
Know exactly what your learners will be able to do BEFORE you build a single slide.
Writing strong learning objectives is the most important design decision you'll make, and the one most experts get wrong. This toolkit walks you through a simple, repeatable process for writing objectives that actually guide your instruction, keep your content focused, and give your learners a clear sense of what they're working toward.
Includes:
Quick-reference Bloom’s Taxonomy verb bank (organized by level)
10 fill-in-the-blank objective templates for common training scenarios
Before/after examples showing weak vs. strong objectives
A one-page CEU documentation checklist
Bonus: a self-check rubric for evaluating your own objectives
Cost: $27 → Get the Toolkit
Contact Barb.
Use the fields below to let me know what you’re interested in. I’d love to help you turn your expertise into effective, engaging and impactful learning.
barb@barbtobicoaching.com
(802)557-7299