🎓 ePortfolio Project  ·  MS in Instructional Design & Technology, UAGC  ·  In Development

C-Store Operations & Leadership
Certificate Program

A 12-week asynchronous and synchronous online certificate program currently in development — designed and produced by Dr. Larry W. Boustead, PhD as an applied ePortfolio project within the Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology program at the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC). Built entirely around the four-volume C-Store Management Series and grounded in ADDIE methodology, adult learning principles, and 25+ years of field-tested practice.

This program began as face-to-face instruction delivered to upcoming convenience store managers. It is now being formally developed as an asynchronous and synchronous online course through application of the ADDIE process. The course has been tested with a small group and continues to be refined.

📅 12 Weeks 🎥 Async + Sync 📋 10 CLOs ❓ 240 Quiz Questions 🏪 5 Live Workshops 🎓 Certificate of Completion
🖥️ Open Interactive Course Site →
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From the Field to the Classroom — An Applied ADDIE Project

This certificate program was not built in a vacuum. It originated as face-to-face instruction where Dr. Boustead trained upcoming convenience store managers — observing what worked, what failed, and what needed to be redesigned. That real-world experience became the foundation for a formal instructional design project pursued through the Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology program at UAGC. Applying the ADDIE framework — Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation — Dr. Boustead is formalizing this lived experience into a structured, replicable online learning environment. The course has been tested with a small group and is actively being refined. Every quiz question, discussion prompt, and workshop scenario traces directly to a specific chapter in the assigned reading — because these are the books Dr. Boustead actually wrote and actually uses in the field.

12
Weeks
240
Quiz Questions
10
Course Learning Outcomes
5
Live Workshops
4
Required Texts

Designed for Real-World Delivery

📋 Program Details

Format 12-Week Online — Asynchronous (weekly) + Synchronous (5 live workshops via Zoom)
Required Texts 4-Volume C-Store Management Series: Stopping the C-Store Leak · C-Store Cashier Excellence · C-Store Ethos · Training the Trainers
Target Learners Convenience store managers and district-level operations supervisors
Weekly Structure Reading → Async Discussion Forum → 20-Question Quiz → Bloom's L3–L5 Application Questions
Passing Threshold 85% per quiz (17/20) — genuine mastery, not participation credit

📊 Assessment Structure

Weekly Quizzes 20 questions × 12 weeks = 240 total questions; all sourced from assigned chapters
Discussions Scaffolded in 3 parts: context → personal application → peer response (250-word minimum + 2 peer replies)
Workshops 5 synchronous role-play/scenario workshops at Weeks 2, 5, 7, 10, and 12
Bloom's Levels Quizzes: L1–L2 (recall/comprehension) · App Questions: L3–L5 · Workshops: L3–L5 exclusively
Capstone Week 12 / Workshop 5: synthesize all 10 CLOs into a personal C-Store leadership and training philosophy

12-Week Schedule

Orange circles indicate weeks with synchronous live workshops.

1

Foundations of Training Needs Analysis

D01 — Stopping the C-Store Leak, Ch. 1–3

2

Learner Analysis and Competency Gaps

D01 — Stopping the C-Store Leak, Ch. 4–5

🎤 Workshop 1
3

Principles of Adult Learning

D01 — Stopping the C-Store Leak, Ch. 6–7

4

Cashier Onboarding: The First 5 Days

D02 — C-Store Cashier Excellence, Ch. 1–3

5

Training Delivery and Verification

D02 — C-Store Cashier Excellence, Ch. 4–6

🎤 Workshop 2
6

Performance Standards and Evaluation Design

D02 — C-Store Cashier Excellence, Ch. 7–9

7

Kirkpatrick Four-Level Evaluation

D02 — C-Store Cashier Excellence, Ch. 10–12

🎤 Workshop 3
8

C-Store Culture and Ethical Standards

D03 — C-Store Ethos, Ch. 1–4

9

Trust, Accountability, and Adaptive Culture

D03 — C-Store Ethos, Ch. 5–8

10

Persuasion, Coaching, and Power Dynamics

D03 Ch. 9 + D04 — Training the Trainers, Ch. 1–2

🎤 Workshop 4
11

Instructional Leadership Development

D04 — Training the Trainers, Ch. 3–5

12

Capstone Integration and Certification

D04 — Training the Trainers, Ch. 6–8

🏆 Workshop 5 — Capstone

10 Measurable Competencies

Every week, every quiz, and every discussion is mapped to at least one CLO. All outcomes are assessed and verifiable.

1
Conduct a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to distinguish training problems from environmental, motivational, and accountability problems before recommending intervention.
2
Analyze learner characteristics and competency gaps using established adult learning and instructional design frameworks.
3
Demonstrate instructional leadership through self-assessment, facilitation planning, and coaching-based manager development.
4
Design a structured 5-day cashier onboarding and training plan using the 10-3-1 method and verification checkpoints.
5
Develop observable performance standards, field observation tools, documentation practices, and evaluation criteria for cashier performance.
6
Apply adult learning principles to the design and delivery of relevant, experience-based, problem-centered training for adult learners.
7
Design evaluation strategies using Kirkpatrick's four levels and identify practical ways to gather behavior and results data in store environments.
8
Analyze the role of trust, accountability, psychological safety, and ethical leadership in building a store culture that supports performance transfer.
9
Use coaching, persuasion, and power-awareness frameworks to manage corrective conversations and strengthen manager authority appropriately.
10
Integrate TNA, training design, evaluation, and cultural leadership into a coherent store-level or district-level training plan.

See the Instructional Design in Action

The following examples show how reading, discussion, and assessment integrate in a single week — every element traceable to a specific book chapter.

5
Training Delivery and Verification
C-Store Cashier Excellence — Ch. 4: Training Delivery Standards · Ch. 5: Verification Checkpoints · Ch. 6: Transfer Context in Cashier Onboarding  |  CLOs: 4, 5  |  🎤 Workshop 2
📋 Weekly Overview

Week 5 deepens the 10-3-1 training methodology by examining delivery standards (Ch. 4), verification checkpoints (Ch. 5), and what must happen in the store environment after training ends (Ch. 6). Learners finalize their 5-Day Training Plan draft for Workshop 2 and apply transfer context principles to diagnose barriers specific to their own store.

💬 Discussion Forum — Assumptions, Delegation & Verification Failures
  • Q1: Share one specific assumption you almost made in your 5-Day Training Plan that could have created a verification gap. What caught it?
  • Q2: Describe a situation where you delegated a training responsibility to a peer trainer or senior cashier. Did you verify the training was actually completed to standard? What does Ch. 5 say you should have done differently?
  • Q3: Chapter 6 asks: what in the work environment prevents a trained employee from applying what they learned? Identify one physical, cultural, or systemic barrier in your store and explain how you would remove it.
❓ Sample Quiz Questions (3 of 20)
Q1. Chapter 6 of C-Store Cashier Excellence argues that training transfer is most directly strengthened when a manager:
Schedules a 30-day post-training check-in
Removes physical and cultural barriers in the store that prevent trained behaviors from being applied
Administers a post-training quiz to verify knowledge retention
Requires employees to sign a training acknowledgment form
Q2. The "delegation without verification" failure pattern illustrates which breakdown from Chapter 6?
Orienting Context — the cultural environment was not supportive
Instructional Context — training failed through an incomplete delegation
Transfer Context — the work environment prevented application
Organizational Context — corporate policy created the gap
Q3. Chapter 5 establishes that verification checkpoints must be task-specific because:
Employees learn better when tested on individual skills rather than combined tasks
Assuming prior experience substitutes for direct observation is an incomplete checkpoint
Written documentation is required for all verification activities
Senior cashiers are more reliable verifiers than managers
9
Trust, Accountability, and Adaptive Culture
C-Store Ethos — Ch. 5: Energizing People · Ch. 6: Purpose Alignment · Ch. 7: Recognition That Resonates · Ch. 8: Adaptive Leadership  |  CLOs: 8, 9
📋 Weekly Overview

Week 9 extends the C-Store Ethos framework to accountability structures, adaptive leadership, and the cultural conditions required for training transfer. Learners apply transfer context principles to identify cultural barriers in their own store and connect recognition and purpose alignment strategies to the employee retention outcomes documented in the doctoral dissertation research.

💬 Discussion Forum — Transfer Barriers & Cultural Accountability
  • Q1: Using the transfer context framework from C-Store Cashier Excellence Ch. 6, diagnose the type of barrier (physical, cultural, or systemic) most present in your current store. What would it take to remove it?
  • Q2: Chapter 7 argues that recognition is most powerful when it is specific, immediate, and personal. Describe one recognition practice you currently use — and evaluate it against these three criteria.
  • Q3: Chapter 8 presents adaptive leadership as reading changing conditions and adjusting approach while maintaining core values. Describe a recent situation that required you to adapt your management approach. What did you change, and what did you hold constant?
❓ Sample Quiz Questions (3 of 20)
Q1. Chapter 5 of C-Store Ethos argues that "energizing people" requires managers to first:
Implement a formal recognition program with structured criteria
Understand what each employee values and connect their daily work to something that matters personally to them
Ensure all operational systems are running before investing time in motivation
Reduce administrative burden so managers have more time for relationships
Q2. Chapter 7 argues that recognition is most powerful when it is:
Standardized — given on a fixed schedule to ensure equal acknowledgment
Specific, immediate, and personal — tied to a concrete behavior and delivered in a way that resonates with the individual
Reserved for exceptional performance to preserve its motivational value
Public — delivered in front of the full team to maximize social reinforcement
Q3. Chapter 8 defines adaptive leadership as the ability to:
Consistently apply the same management framework regardless of situational variables
Read changing conditions and adjust approach while maintaining core organizational values
Delegate decisions to senior cashiers in high-stress situations
Prioritize operational stability over team relationships during high-turnover periods

Built on Five Core Principles

🔗

Source Integrity

Every question and discussion prompt traces directly to a specific chapter in the assigned reading. No question is inferred from secondary sources — because these managers only have access to the four Boustead books.

🧠

Bloom's Taxonomy Integration

Standard quizzes target L1–L2 (recall and comprehension). Each quiz includes supplementary Application Questions at L3–L5 (application, analysis, evaluation). Workshop scenarios operate exclusively at L3–L5.

⚖️

Async + Sync Balance

Five synchronous workshops at strategic application points punctuate the asynchronous schedule. Discussions are scaffolded in three parts: context-setting, personal application, and peer response with constructive feedback.

Assessment Rigor

An 85% passing threshold (17/20) enforces genuine mastery. Discussion rubrics score on relevance, depth, professional application, and quality of peer engagement — not just participation.

🏢

Real-World Grounding

Workshop scenarios are drawn from actual store situations. Every framework in the course has been field-tested: the 10-3-1 method, 5-Day Training Plan, and TNA diagnostic ladder all originate in documented practice — not theory alone.

🗺️

CLO Alignment

Every week maps to at least one of the 10 CLOs. The CLO Alignment Map tracks coverage week-by-week so instructors can verify that every outcome is assessed and no learning gap exists across the 12-week arc.

Complete Course Package

The full certificate program includes eight supporting documents, all produced and available for review.

📄

Course Syllabus

10 CLOs, 12-week schedule, grading breakdown, assessment policy, and course policies

🖥️

Interactive HTML Course Site

Fully navigable browser-based course with embedded quiz engine and Bloom's question tabs

Quiz Bank

240 questions (20 per week × 12 weeks) with answer keys — all chapter-sourced

📘

Instructor's Guide

Facilitation notes, workshop lesson plans, timing guides, and role-play scenarios for all 5 workshops

🗺️

CLO Alignment Map

Week-by-week CLO coverage table showing exact outcome mapping to assessments

📏

Discussion Rubric

Scored rubric covering relevance, depth, professional application, and peer engagement quality

🏆

Certificate Template

Professionally designed certificate of completion issued upon passing all 12 weeks

ℹ️

Program Info Sheet

One-page program overview with competency outcomes, grading structure, and course description

Explore the Interactive Course Site

The HTML course site opens directly in your browser — no login required. Navigate any of the 12 weeks, explore the quiz engine, and review the workshop guides. Please note: this is a working prototype, currently in testing and development as part of an MS-IDT ePortfolio project.