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Beth Beck is NASA's Open Innovation program manager. Contact her at beth.beck@nasa.gov.

Beth Beck

November 2016 - The Public Manager

Collaboration Success Stories

Cross-Functional Collaboration Leads to Innovation at NASA

January 2016 - The Public Manager

The federal government is wrought with continuous change. How can agencies foster a culture that is more creative, flexible, and adaptable than ever before?

Conquering Culture Change

Government leaders need to develop creative ways to securely share insights so that agencies can continue to innovate as a community.

Finding the Balance Between Collaboration and Security

Government Workforce: Learning Innovations Conference 2016

I was meeting a new client and introduced myself as a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP). Her immediate response was, “Did you pass it on the first try?” This question didn’t faze me. I smiled and thought to myself, “She knows…Obtaining that certification was no joke.”Unlike some other certification tests, the CPLP Knowledge Exam is not a memorization test. The questions are carefully and deliberately crafted to cover each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Will there be some questions with one obviously correct answer? Yes. But there will also be questions for which several answers are possible and appropriate, but only one yields the best results. Yes. This type of question requires you to imagine each answer in practice, envision how they all play out, and compare the results with one another. It will take some time, so the more thoroughly you know your material, the better you’ll be at answering it.I’m not telling you this to scare you. This insight is meant to prepare you. The Knowledge Exam is difficult, yet achievable. Passing it will instill in you a lasting sense of pride, and you will share a silent understanding with other CPLPs. You quite literally join the club.Focus When StudyingSo how should you best prepare in order to pass this exam? In my previous post, I stressed the importance of changing your daily routine. This is critical to your success. I set aside 45 minutes each morning before work and additional time on Saturdays. Some days I found myself easily distracted by external factors or even my own thoughts. In both cases I simply put in ear plugs. The absolute silence helped me to concentrate.Apply What You LearnI don’t study well in groups, so I had to look for other ways to bring to life the knowledge I was acquiring. Many mornings, I found myself inspired by what I read. I would jot down ideas and use them at work. One of my favorite ideas was a job aid for newly promoted directors. Two of my clients had been recently promoted while I was studying Managing the Learning Function. The new directors appreciated the job aid, and I scored well in that exam area because I had really thought through the material.Practice Taking the ExamIt is not enough to get through the materials. You will need to take the practice exams in order to kinesthetically prepare for the Knowledge Exam. Football players study the plays and then practice on the field. So should you. This will help you get used to the different types of questions and get a feel for taking the test at the exam center. I gave myself a one-month cushion after studying the materials. During that month, I ran through the practice questions over and over, carefully reviewing my notes for the lowest-scoring sections.Reach a State of Quiet AcceptanceI chose St. Patrick’s Day to bring a little luck o’ the Irish with me to the exam. Unfortunately, a late-season snowstorm blew in the night before. I was pretty worried about not being able to get to the exam center. By 5:30 the morning of the exam, I had a call and an email notifying me that the exam center was closed. Rescheduling was quick and easy, and I took the exam a couple of days later.I suppose plenty of people would interpret my luck o’ the Irish as the bonus 48 hours of study time. Not me. I didn’t study on those days. I didn’t need to. I knew I was ready. Most of the material was in my long-term memory and I was at peace.Remember the Bigger PictureMy goal wasn’t to prepare for or even to pass the exam. My mission was to improve my overall level of expertise. This prompted me to take more time to learn the material at a higher level of Bloom’s taxonomy than needed to pass the exam. I know it sounds lofty. However, I invite you to consider striving for the same purpose. Don’t just pass the Knowledge Exam. Incorporate it. Together, this is how we strengthen our profession.Learn more about the CPLP Certification.

Becoming a CPLP: Incorporating the Knowledge Exam

Becoming a CPLP: Not a New Year’s Resolution

Mary Beth Imbarrato, PMP, CSM, SPP, CMS, has more than 25 years of experience in project management, change management, and strategy. Mary Beth has managed a wide range of project efforts in market segments including finance, global risk, telecommunications, IT, publishing, healthcare, nonprofits, state and federal agencies, and energy. She helps clients assess their project management skills and identify ways to become better project managers and better leaders.Mary Beth holds certifications in project management, strategic planning, and change management. Her expertise in these areas dovetails nicely with her desire to help her clients gain the expertise they need to succeed with their projects and strategic goals.Over the years, Mary Beth identified a need to help non-project managers succeed with their projects. She now dedicates her time to providing project management tools and resources to this growing, and often overlooked, population of people who are trying to lead projects while juggling their day jobs. Her latest book, The Project Roadmap—Your Hands-On Guide to Initiating, Planning, Executing and Completing Projects, was written and published to help this growing audience.

Mary Beth Imbarrato

As director of L&D at Comscore—a midsized tech organization in 20 countries—Beth Teixeira, CPTD, manages a team that implements modern, scalable solutions that drive change and growth in learners regardless of level or location. She sponsors Comscore’s six employee resource groups, including for women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+.In 2020, Teixeira earned gold in Brandon Hall Group’s Excellence in HCM awards for best advance in competencies and skill development. In 2019, she received a corporate governance award from Corporate Secretary for best compliance and ethics program, as recognized by NASDAQ. And in 2018, she received an innovation award from Skillsoft for developing a new learning modality called the continuous learning journey (CLJ).After becoming a Certified Professional in Talent Development, Teixeira contributed to the certification’s exam revisions and in the development of ATD’s newest certification, the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD).Prior to her directorship, Teixeira was a learning consultant who managed US-based global clients across a broad array of industries.

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