We tell L&D professionals to "show the data" all the time - but how often do we actually practice building a real experiment from scratch? This August, ATD Central Mass is doing exactly that. With ice cream.
Join us for an afternoon that's part ice cream social, part hands-on research methods workshop. We'll kick things off with a live experiment: does tasting more ice cream flavors actually make the experience less enjoyable? You'll help us test it. Then we'll pull back the curtain and walk through exactly what we did: how we isolated variables, what a hypothesis actually looks like, and why the same principles behind A/B testing apply directly to evaluating your training programs, not just websites and product launches.
From there, you'll break into small groups to design your own mini-experiment thinking through an L&D lens. You’ll get the exact skills you need to move your organization's L&D evaluation beyond "everyone liked it" and into "here's what actually worked, and why, and most importantly: here’s how we know.”
Who should attend:
This session is built for ice cream enthusiasts, instructional designers, trainers, and L&D generalists who want to strengthen their program evaluation skills especially if you've never had formal research methods training and want a fun, low-stakes way to build that muscle. It's also a great fit if you're working toward a CPTD or APTD certification, since measurement and evaluation are core competencies. No stats background required — just curiosity (and a love of ice cream).
What's included:
A private event at Worker’s Credit Union in Westford, a guided tasting flight of ice cream flavors, all materials for the group experiment-design exercise, and plenty of time to connect with fellow L&D professionals in the ATD Central Mass community.
Space is limited to 20 attendees — register early to grab your spot!
Who will be leading this tasty event?
