Guest: Alyssa Coiro

In this episode of Become an IDOL, Alyssa Coiro shares her journey from teacher to instructional designer.

Tune in to hear:

• Alyssa's story of how she discovered instructional design during the COVID pandemic and decided to pursue it through IDOL.
• Details about Alyssa's experience building her portfolio within 8 weeks of the IDOL program and starting to apply for jobs.
• An overview of Alyssa's career progression so far, including her roles at Lowe's and a large construction company.

Listen to this episode below: 

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Are you looking for a no-nonsense formula for creating engaging courses and training? Check out my new book, The Do It Messy Approach: A Step-by-Step Guide for Instructional Designers and Online Learners (IDOLs) on Amazon.

Enjoy the Episode Transcript below:   

Dr. Robin Sargent
Welcome to Become an IDOL. I'm Dr. Robin Sargent, owner of IDOL courses. This is the place where newbies come to learn and veterans share their knowledge.

Dr. Robin Sargent
I have here with me today, Alyssa Coiro and she is an IDOL success story from the IDOL Academy but there's so much more to you Alyssa than just that. So will you start off by doing a better job of introducing yourself and giving us a little bit of your background?

Alyssa Coiro
Sure. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. This is very, very cool for me. I listen to this podcast a lot, so this is awesome. I was a teacher for six years. So I started out as a high school social studies teacher in Brooklyn, New York. I taught in a charter school there for two years and then I ended up getting a tenure track position at a public high school out on Long Island. So I did that for about another three and a half, four years and somewhere in there COVID happened. And I just kind of found myself getting the itch, wanting to do something different for a variety of reasons and that's kind of how I found my way into instructional design.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Okay, so I want to get even more specific. So you said COVID happened and then you found your way into instructional design. What did that actually look like? Did you start Googling or do you just like, is there anything else that I can do with the skills that I have? Or what did that path actually look like?

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah, sure. So during that first school year back from the really wonky year, that was COVID, where everybody was kind of at home. So, the 2021 to 2022 school year, I just noticed a lot of shifts in how the school year felt, what teaching was like at that point in time, and I just felt for like a variety of reasons I needed something different. And funny enough, where all good research happens I found myself on TikTok and I stumbled upon a Daphne Gomez TikTok, before I even knew who she was. And she was talking about transitioning out of the classroom, and discussing something called instructional design. So that's kind of how I found the Teacher Career Coach course and her podcast and I spent a lot of time listening to that. And that's how I found you and discovered IDOL because you were a guest on there. So that was the first I had heard of instructional design. I had no idea what it was before that. So I listened to you speak, I learned about IDOL and I actually decided to do Daphne's course first, so I can kind of get the ball rolling. So I want to say in like, maybe February or April of 2022, I joined the Teacher Career Coach course and she had a community board on there for different career paths and I was poking around a few of them and found myself spending a lot of time on the instructional design one. And there were a ton of teachers on there discussing different programs. There's a lot of options out there, but the consistent option was IDOL, a lot of us were talking about potentially doing IDOL. And at that point, I had done a lot of YouTube University, I had listened to a lot of different voices Devlin Peck and people like that. And I felt pretty confident that instructional design could be a great next step for me. So there were a bunch of women on that message board who actually decided, you know, we were all going to do IDOL together, which was really cool. So I yeah, I started IDOL in June. I think I was cohort 11. I want to say.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Yes, you were!

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah. Okay, what... great Cohort 11. And we did it together and that was super cool, because we got to ask each other the questions that like, you felt kind of silly, maybe asking somebody who knew a lot or, you know, run ideas off each other or cry to each other. It was just a really cathartic group of women and we're still in touch to this day, we do monthly happy hours, and we update each other on where we're at, so. That's kind of been my journey into the instructional design space.

Dr. Robin Sargent
How many people enrolled together? How many is in that group that you just mentioned?

Alyssa Coiro
So out of the gate, I want to say that there are about eight of us roughly, and there's still I want to say like consistenly on a, if not weekly, or daily, like a weekly or semi weekly basis, there's about six of us who are actively chatting back and forth. Yeah.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Did all six of you reach your goals?

Alyssa Coiro
Out of the eight of us that started? Yeah, all of us... the ones who finished IDOL and really stuck with it, yeah, we're all doing it.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Oh, my gosh, how cool is that? Just like the community, and then you bring like a smaller community, a bigger community, and then you just hold each other accountable and you all just, like, soar together. That's amazing. I didn't even know that piece of it. I love that part. Okay, so you're like, Okay, we got a group together, we're gonna do it, and you all enrolled. And then what was that journey like for you? Like, how long did it take you before you were ready to start applying and interviewing? Tell me that.

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah, so it's no secret to anybody who is in IDOL, that IDOL is effectively endless, like, you can really go. There's no... I'm not sure if there's like ever finishing IDOL. And I knew that and I felt good... I had to get comfortable with the idea that I wasn't going to like finish IDOL, because I got pretty goal oriented. But my goal for the eight weeks was to really commit to the Do It Messy and to really have a portfolio that was like my goal. That was something that I felt would be tough to navigate on my own, especially learning how to use some of the authoring tools like Storyline. I really wanted that assistance. So moving through those eight weeks was really about the portfolio for me and I was able to successfully pretty much get it finished up. I think the only thing I didn't have in there, maybe at the end of the eight weeks was the Storyline course. But the Storyline course, I was able to learn those tools on my own using the Storyline... I think it's like IDOL for Storyline?

Dr. Robin Sargent
Yeah, Storline for IDOL. Yeah.

Alyssa Coiro
There you go. Storyline for IDOL, that's what it's called. I kind of did that on my own and in a weekend, I was able to build my first Storyline course, which was super cool. That is to this day, the Storyline course, that's in my portfolio. And I still go back to that course. I had to use Storyline for the first time in a while, like two months ago, and I went right back through IDOL. Still using it!

Dr. Robin Sargent
Do you... built your portfolio within eight weeks, which is pretty impressive and then did you start applying right away after? Okay, tell me about what that was like.

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah. So, funny enough, the Storyline course that I built that wasn't in there. I guess, technically, at the end of the eight weeks. I did start applying towards the end of IDOL, which I guess would have been like, early August, or like end of July, more so since I was in the June cohort. And my goal originally was to land a position by the time the school year started, which was definitely ambitious, I knew that upfront. That was the dream. And I actually went through the interview process throughout August with a company and I was offered the day before school started. And yeah, literally, it was like a movie the day before school started, I was at their corporate office in New York, it was like the dream you know, this big fancy building, and I interviewed and they offered me and it was all really exciting. And actually the storyline course that like I have in there is the project that I did for that interview process, so that was like a really good framing tool, kind of talk about building the car with the wheels, you know, being thrown on. But I ended up turning that job down, because it just didn't feel like an overall fit. The company culture, just like it was a feeling when I was in the office, it just didn't feel like a fit for me. And the pay wasn't quite where I was hoping it to be. And that was something really important to me as I was leaving the classroom like pay was a big motivating factor. So I ended up leaving that on the table. I started the school year. I want to say I made it to the final interview for an additional two companies before I ended up getting the role that I accepted and was offered which happened in December. So I left the classroom in the middle of the year, which is certainly not ideal, but I was able to get a contract position with Lowe's and that was super cool for me. It was a you know... being in that industry was awesome and Lowe's is a big name company. It was contract which was... wasn't something I was comfortable with out of the gate, but ended up being a really great opportunity because I could learn and be exposed to a lot of different projects and types of assignments without the commitment of needing to be there forever. But I stayed with Lowe's up until my contract ended in October of this past year, so almost a full year with them, which was great.

Dr. Robin Sargent
And so did you... Are you in a full time role now? Or did you stay in the contract world?

Alyssa Coiro
Yes. So I am in a full time role now. So I am with... I think they're the biggest construction company in the country, which is really cool. I'm on a full time instructional design position with them. And it's different from my Lowe's role, not just because it's full time, but just the nature of what I build with my current position. So when I was with Lowe's, I was on their Pro Outside Sales Team. So their structure was pretty unique. Every sector of their company had their own little instructional design, learning and development group. And so I was kind of building all of the trainings for their outside sales teams, the salespeople who would sell to like the big apartment buildings and universities and things like that. So it was a lot of like, soft skills. Some of it was more specific, like construction based or specific to Lowe's. I know it was a lot of video editing. Funny enough. So I would like build the storyboard and then I ended up doing a lot of video stuff, which was new, but really cool to be able to do it. And in my current position I'm working out of their headquarters. So they have 40 different offices across the country and I'm on a team of about three, two to three other designers who make all of the major training needs for all 40 other business units.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Oh, wow.

Alyssa Coiro
As well as like, yeah, the whole company. So it's big. Yeah.

Dr. Robin Sargent
And what kind of things do you do in your current role? I know you said you're at Lowe's. You do a lot of videos and those soft skills. What kind of things do you focus on now? I mean, you got the whole company, so large, construction company in the United States and so... do you just touch up all kinds of different things? Or what?

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah, the short answer is all kinds of different things. So I've been on board since November. So I'm still learning all the different things that we have our hands in, but in my time with the company so far, I've built an insurance and bonding course, which, what is that? Not sure. I built that out in Rise. So that was kind of cool. And I also just finished the annual compliance, ethics and compliance training that everyone has to take, you know, about not accepting bribes and things like that. So that was a Storyline course and that's why I recently pulled up IDOL. But all kinds of stuff, especially because the company is so large, we're outside of the US too but, you know, headquarters in my role, mainly services the US and Canada. There's laws that change all the time, a project that I'm going to be starting soon, is with a law change that came down in California that has to do with workplace violence. So I'm going to have to make a course, about that law. So I think the nature of the work will have a lot of variety, which is something that I'm really excited for. I'm somebody who kind of needs that change, and to be able to reach different goals and do different things. I have a tendency to get bored easily. So I like that there's a lot going on.

Dr. Robin Sargent
I resonate with that as well. Like you do not, you don't want a bored Robin, I get it. So I make trouble when I get bored. So yes, I also I hear you, right? It's nice to have, you know, the variety in our work projects. So what was something that you... that surprised you? I mean, when you landed the role with Lowe's, what was something that surprised you about what you learned about instructional design and how to do the job, but then, you know, it's always something different when you actually work for an organization because everybody does things differently. What was something that surprised you?

Alyssa Coiro
Oh, that's a good question. I think my understanding... well this one is silly, I'll start with the silly one first. I... before I started working at my first position, and you're learning about instructional design, you're learning about these mythical subject matter experts, and who these people are and they're just like these holders of knowledge. And in my brain, these were like people who were professional SMEs. Like they kind of like came for a project and they just knew all the things and they were kind of like assisting us and that was their job but I learned very quickly that that is not the case. They are people who usually work for the company and they like, if you're making a training for engineers, they're probably an engineer who are just helping you on this project to give you what you need. So that was kind of a silly one. But overall, I think I was just surprised by the variety of the process, how every instructional design role really is different. At my role in Lowe's, at first I wasn't doing any of the storyboarding. I was just picking up storyboards that someone else on my team had done and doing just the development. And then in other projects, then I would do the storyboarding and the development, like there's a lot of variety on how it can look. And then I had no say in like the actual implementation of it, my manager would take those and put them on the LMS. So you're in... on all different spectrums of ADDIE, depending on what your role is. And then my current position, because I guess we're responsible for so much learning I'm kind of the sole instructional designer who does the whole process with the exception of what training gets picked. You know, my manager, they do the analysis and hand off the training to us and then it's really like my baby from start to finish. So I think I didn't really understand the variety that existed, but I'm really glad it does, because I think it offers everyone the opportunity to really lean into their strengths.

Dr. Robin Sargent
What did you find are your strengths? What are the things that you like to do the most?

Alyssa Coiro
I like to do the development the most. And that makes sense to me because when I was teaching, I hated making lesson plans. That really tracks historically for me. Yeah, I like the excitement of figuring it out and making little characters and scenarios and coming up with creative ways to guide a learner through a course that I feel is the most exciting part for me.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Yeah, I like to describe it as similar to like, I'll do the designs, I'll eat my vegetables, but I'm really excited about dessert, which for me is development.

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah. I love that.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Yeah, now eat your vegetables. And then I bet a lot of people are curious, Alyssa, what are some of the things that were like, I don't know, your breath of fresh air moving from the classroom to the corporate world? Like what are the things that you're like, yes, this is exactly what I wanted, plus more. Or just name them. You can go the bathroom when you want. Anything else?

Alyssa Coiro
Oh, yeah. You took it right out of my mouth. Just the autonomy of being a human adult is really quite beautiful, being able to eat when I want or use the restroom when I want. But more than anything, it was work life balance. It actualized the things that I really was looking for when I left the classroom. So I feel really good about that. So again, like for me, the top two things were the work life balance, and then getting that like that pay bump and it truly has been both of those things for me. I feel like I'm paid really well now and I feel like I have great benefits and great work life balance. If I need to go to the dentist in the middle of the day, I can just go and it's okay, just block it off on my calendar. You know, if I want to go for a walk, I can do that. It offers just exactly what I wanted, and met my expectations for sure.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Are you fully remote or you do more of a hybrid?

Alyssa Coiro
I'm fully remote which has been really nice. And funny enough, my current position, when I applied to it, it said that it was on site. And I was like, Okay, we'll roll with it. And then by the time I got to like the second round, the position was hybrid, like, oh, that's even better. By the end, I realized that my whole team, like the group of us, beyond just the instructional designers, like all of learning and development, we're all across the country. And so it doesn't really make sense for anybody to be in the office full time because you wouldn't have anyone to directly collaborate with so we're all fully remote all 20 something of us and I can go in if I want. We have a really awesome office in Hudson Yards so the option is there for me, but it's really nice to have that option.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Do you ever go in office?

Alyssa Coiro
Not often, no. I was just going to say. I don't often go in but when I do, it's really nice.

Dr. Robin Sargent
For the Christmas party you might go in.

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah, there we go. There we go.

Dr. Robin Sargent
There was one thing I want to go back to Alyssa and that is I think that people might be curious about this too, which is you transitioned from teaching in the middle of the school year. What did that look like? What did you have to do to make that happen and did you have to break a contract? Or what was that like?

Alyssa Coiro
Yeah, it's a really good question. Definitely, it wasn't what I had wanted to do, but knew I needed to do. And I would say, I would say to any teacher who's struggling with that idea, to let go of it, because I think so much of teaching... it.. there's a lot of like, guilt associated with it, like, you know, you stay for the kids, and like, you just feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. But at the end of the day, it is a job. And if something were to happen to you and you couldn't make it into the classroom, like you would get replaced so fast, like, and the kids would be okay, they would adapt, it would be okay. And I think I just had to weigh it for myself and determine that that was what I needed, and the rest would fall into place. So what it looked like for me is I kept it very close to the chest, like my chest. I didn't... of my close friends in my department, who are still my very good friends to this day, they knew I was, you know, interviewing and trying to find my way out but my greater department and my boss really didn't know until I had made the decision. And I, that day, when I knew I was going to put in my resignation, I asked to speak with my supervisor, I spoke to him and let him know. And he ultimately... I was lucky he was very supportive. We had had a personal relationship, even outside of just teaching. I coached at my school, and he was really involved in the sports too, so he was very supportive of me, which I really appreciate. And overall, I basically just had to take a deep breath, send an email to HR, and let them know. And they were fairly flexible, which I also appreciated. I think originally, the plan was, I was going to notify them, I notified them, I want to say, late November, or very early December. And the hope was, I would teach up until that winter break at like, right before Christmas. And then that once I went on that break, then I would kind of start the Lowe's job. It turned out that Lowe's needed me to start in about two weeks, as most jobs do. And we had to move up the timeline, but thankfully my district was flexible. They were able to pull up somebody from the middle school who I think was doing a leave replacement down there. And it ended up being a really unique situation and pretty great for the woman who replaced me because she was able to shadow me for a week. I kind of offered to do whatever I could to bring her on board. So she watched my classes, she got to meet the kids ahead of time. So never ideal to have to leave in the middle of the year but it worked out the best it could I guess.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Yeah, I just wonder, too, I'm just thinking about what people might be asking, Alyssa. Now you got that first job offer, like the day before class, did you consider at that point, like, well, I'm already getting one, shall I just like, you know, put in my resignation now, or? Was there kind of fear around that? Or what do you think? Would you have done it differently? If you knew now what you do now?

Alyssa Coiro
Oh, that's a good question. There it is. You know, no, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, and it's just not my personality to... I like knowing what lies ahead, kind of and it wasn't in my nature to leave the job if I didn't have that financial security, like right there. So, I... and I also was fortunate enough, I will say, to be in a position where it wasn't dire straits from like a mental health standpoint. Like I definitely know that there are teachers who like they need to go and they need to go now. And you know that of course everybody has to make their own decision. But for me personally, I knew that I could wait and I was comfortable waiting. And it kind of worked out that way. But yeah, there were definitely hard times in that little four or five months span. There was another job that was also in the construction industry, was another like big company weirdly enough. I don't know why that industry was... has been really prevalent for me but it was like a learning manager position and it was going to be for more money than I was like as a teacher, I thought I'd ever see. And I made it to the last round. And I really felt good about it, I was so excited for it. And they called me during like a break in between two of my classes where I went out to the parking lot, and I spoke to them and I found out I didn't get the job. And I literally sat in my car and I cried, and I looked at my watch. And I said, I have to go teach now. And I kind of got it together and went up and did it so every teacher knows you have those moments. So you know, that did happen, there were ups and downs but I ultimately knew that my comfort level was, I stay until I have the job I feel excited about and I feel like is a good fit. And it ended up working out, thankfully.

Dr. Robin Sargent
I love that. I love that you even stuck with your own intuition. And I think that sometimes when people move into new career spaces, they forget to listen to themselves. They think, oh, I just need to move out, I just needed to kind of take any role that comes to me in this new career field. But I love that your part of the story, Alyssa, is that like it didn't feel right for me, or that wasn't in alignment with my own values or how I work. And that I think ultimately paid off for you. I think that is exactly why you are where you are where you found the role at Lowe's and then that kind of catapulted you to your full time role in the construction sector. And I just I love that you listened to yourself. And so my final question for you is what is your best and final advice for those who want to become an IDOL?

Alyssa Coiro
Oh, well before I even answer that. I want to say just to your last point, I think a lot of what gave me the confidence to do that and to think like, you know what, this might not be the right fit but the next opportunity will come, is really the mentors that IDOL had. Like I... specifically Mandy Brown was one that I built a really great relationship with and she was super supportive. And just like knowing that, we have so much to give, and so many valuable skills as former teachers to not feel pressed in those situations. So yeah, some of it was probably in me naturally, by nature, but I think a lot of it too, had to do with the support that IDOL gave. So I just want to give the mentors and coaches their flowers there.

Alyssa Coiro
As far as advice, I would say imposter syndrome is so silly. I need to like scream that from the rooftops. I can't tell you like, how many times in those interview processes that I was going through, where I was interviewing on a panel or one on one with, you know, managers or directors of learning and development and these people that, like on paper, were so intimidating and so accomplished in the field that I wanted to be in. And I can't tell you how many times they said to me, like, wow, you know a lot about this or like, you know more than I do, or it sounds like you... you know, and it happened all the time. And that was the moment where I realized like, man, this imposter syndrome is so silly because I felt like.... I always felt like an imposter. I was flying by the seat of my pants. I was doing as much as I could but at the end of the day I hadn't had that title instructional designer yet. And so to have that validated back to me by other people was really cool. I think what people don't realize, who are trying to become an instructional designer, or maybe they're thinking about leaving the classroom, is I think our perception is everybody who has the job that they have now, like if they're outside of education, and they're working in the corporate space that they have had as much training and preparation to do the job that they're doing, as you have to be a teacher. And that is just so simply not true. Like there'd be a teacher, you have to take all these exams, and you have to get a master's and there's so many steps and you are like truly a subject matter expert in what you do. The roles that people have outside of the classroom, like a lot of times their company needs them to fill this space and to take on this thing and so they kind of like end up there and they have no formal training to be in that specific situation. Like a lot of people who work in learning development specifically that is how they found themselves there. And so I think if you do something like IDOL, you are already so far ahead of people who have kind of just pieced it together themselves. And that makes the best team because they have the experience that you might feel a little shaky on but you have like, the more of that textbook knowledge and it really can take you very far. So I would say stop feeling like you don't know what you're doing because no one knows what they're doing and we're all just doing our best.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Perfect. You don't need to say another thing, that is it! Alyssa, this was such a pleasure. I learned so much even about your own story and I felt inspired by just hearing you talk about honoring your own value system, staying in alignment with your own intuition and I love hearing where you've actually ended up now. And thank you so much for coming on the Become an IDOL podcast.

Alyssa Coiro
Thank you so much. This was great.

Dr. Robin Sargent
Thank you so much for listening. You can find the show notes for this episode at idolcourses.com. If you liked this podcast and you want to become an instructional designer, an online learning developer, join me in the IDOL courses Academy where you'll learn to build all the assets you need to land your first instructional design job, early access to this podcast, tutorials for how to use the eLearning authoring tools, templates for everything course building and paid instructional design experience opportunities. Go to idolcourses.com/academy and enroll or get on the waitlist. Now get out there and build transcendent courses.

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