The main purpose of this action research study was to understand the most appropriate methods to replicate expertise and expert performance in an ever-changing and dynamic global organization. It was also meant to empower team members in becoming more decisive experts within their respective fields/domains. In this study, ten (10) “snackable” videos were created to support microlearning on expertise. Interviews were conducted with experts across Microsoft spanning the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Using knowledge management theory, deliberate practice, and organizational learning theory helped create the framework. Phenomenological inquiry, narrative inquiry, and digital storytelling supported the enactment of the study. The Expert-to-Expert Practice Framework (E2EPF) is a capability that was created to connect outsider knowledge with internal requirements using sensemaking, knowledge creation, and team building. It was developed to address the many challenges of building and fostering expertise within a hybrid workplace. The study was conducted during a six-month period starting from March 2022 to September 2022. Ten Microsoft experts, six team members, and one leader participated in this study that included interviews, expert panel discussions, surveys, and the development of the next generation of expert profiles. The qualitative data from this study provides a much richer understanding of the phenomenon of expertise within a global workplace. Insider experts identified that the E2EPF was able to create a differentiated experience for their practice within a relatively short time frame. Four phenomenological themes and the essence of expertise emerged from the data which indicates the effective utilization of the practice framework.

Distance and Blended education have been studied and applied in many disciplines but there has been limited use and assessment of these learning modes for design studios. The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has forced education delivery methods in the United States to become more online/hybrid in the 2020 school year without much preparation. As schools slowly shift to post-pandemic teaching modes, it is necessary to examine and evaluate what was learned during the pandemic online environment for design education. Previous studies have examined the effectiveness of online delivery of design education by virtual design studios using advanced digital technologies and equipment on a variety of platforms to teach specific design skills. In this study, the researcher uses semi-structured interviews of design educators and a survey of design students to examine their experience with their online learning environment during the 2020 school year. The qualitative and quantitative results of the study shed light on the challenges of online design studio learning during the pandemic and revealed opportunities for improving future design studio education. Lack of social interactions during the pandemic online learning impacted students’ motivation. The use of digital technologies improved communication efficiency, but there is also ineffective communication that negatively affected peer interaction and learning, which in turn affected student learning outcomes and learning satisfaction compared to in-person design studios. The results also revealed openings to promote fully online design education, with studio courses reconfigured using the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework and with properly trained design instructors. This hybrid learning environment would lead to students receiving an optimal learning experience that benefits from the advantages of in-person instructions along with the efficiency of digital technology-based learning platforms. Keywords: online design education, hybrid teaching, virtual design studios, COVID-19 pandemic, TPACK.