The Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation
Summary
TLDRThe video script introduces the Kirkpatrick model, a foundational framework for evaluating training programs, developed in the 1950s. It outlines four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior, and results, each increasing in difficulty but offering more value. The script emphasizes the importance of planning with business outcomes in mind and suggests an iterative approach to training program design. It also recommends the book 'Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation' for deeper insights and provides resources for aspiring instructional designers.
Takeaways
- 📚 The Kirkpatrick model is a widely recognized framework for evaluating training programs, developed in the 1950s by Donald Kirkpatrick.
- 🔍 The model consists of four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior, and results, with each level representing increasing difficulty and value in evaluation.
- 📊 Level one, reaction, focuses on overall satisfaction and engagement, commonly measured through surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
- 🧠 Level two, learning, assesses the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or attitudes, often through quizzes, tests, interviews, and observations.
- 🏢 Level three, behavior, examines whether the taught knowledge and skills are being applied differently in the workplace, with observation and performance reviews being key methods.
- 💼 Level four, results, evaluates the impact of the training on business outcomes, such as customer satisfaction, sales, and employee retention rates.
- 🛠 The planning phase of a training program should begin with defining the desired business results (level four) and work backwards to plan the intervention.
- 🤔 Important planning questions include identifying the desired business outcomes, determining what behaviors need to change to achieve those outcomes, and what knowledge and skills are required.
- 🔄 The evaluation process is iterative, allowing for adjustments and recalibrations based on ongoing data collection and analysis.
- 📘 For a deeper understanding, 'Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation' by James and Wendy Kirkpatrick is recommended reading.
- 📈 The ultimate goal of using the Kirkpatrick model is to determine the effectiveness and return on investment of training programs in relation to business success.
- 💬 The script encourages viewers to engage with the content by asking questions and provides additional resources for those interested in instructional design.
Q & A
What is the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation?
-The Kirkpatrick model of evaluation is a framework developed by Donald Kirkpatrick in the 1950s for assessing the effectiveness of training programs. It consists of four levels: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.
Why is the Kirkpatrick model considered valuable for training evaluation?
-The Kirkpatrick model is valuable because it provides a comprehensive approach to evaluate training programs at different stages, from immediate reactions to long-term business results, offering insights that can help improve program effectiveness.
What does Level One of the Kirkpatrick model focus on?
-Level One focuses on the reaction phase, which measures overall satisfaction and engagement of participants with the training experience, typically through surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
How is learning measured at Level Two of the Kirkpatrick model?
-At Level Two, learning is measured through quizzes, tests, interviews, focus groups, discussions, observations, and presentations to assess if participants have acquired new knowledge, skills, or attitudes.
What is the purpose of Level Three in the Kirkpatrick model?
-Level Three aims to evaluate whether participants are applying the new knowledge, skills, or attitudes in their job behaviors, which can be assessed through surveys, manager observations, work reviews, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
How does Level Four of the Kirkpatrick model differ from the other levels?
-Level Four is the results phase, which is concerned with measuring the impact of the training on business outcomes, such as customer satisfaction, sales, and employee retention rates, rather than just learning or behavior changes.
Why is it important to plan for evaluation from the beginning of a training program?
-Planning for evaluation from the start ensures that the training program is designed with clear objectives and desired outcomes in mind, allowing for more effective and targeted assessments throughout the program's lifecycle.
What is the recommended approach to planning a training program according to the Kirkpatrick model?
-The recommended approach is to start with Level Four, defining the desired business results, and then work backward to determine the behaviors, knowledge, and skills needed, and finally design an engaging intervention to meet these objectives.
How can instructional designers use the Kirkpatrick model to improve their training programs?
-Instructional designers can use the Kirkpatrick model to identify areas of strength and weakness in their programs, make data-driven adjustments, and ensure that training leads to measurable improvements in performance and business outcomes.
What book is recommended for those who want to delve deeper into the Kirkpatrick model?
-The book 'Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation' by James and Wendy Kirkpatrick is recommended for a more in-depth understanding of the model and its practical applications.
How can the Kirkpatrick model be used iteratively during a training program?
-The Kirkpatrick model can be used iteratively by continuously evaluating and adjusting the training program based on feedback and performance data at each level, ensuring that the program stays aligned with its objectives and produces the desired results.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Kirkpatrick's Model
The video script introduces the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation, a widely recognized framework in the field of instructional design and training program evaluation. Developed in the 1950s by Donald Kirkpatrick, the model consists of four levels: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. Each level represents a progressively deeper and more valuable evaluation of training effectiveness, starting with immediate reactions to the training experience and culminating in the assessment of long-term business results. The script emphasizes the importance of understanding each level and suggests that while the first two levels are commonly assessed, the latter two offer significant insights into the true impact of training on business performance.
📈 Planning and Evaluating Training Programs
This paragraph delves into the planning phase of training programs, highlighting the importance of aligning them with business outcomes from the outset. The script suggests a backward planning approach, starting with the desired business results (level four) and working down to the necessary behaviors (level three), knowledge, and skills (level two), and finally the design of the training intervention (level one). It stresses the iterative nature of evaluation, allowing for adjustments to be made during the training process to ensure it leads to the desired changes in behavior and business outcomes. The script concludes with recommendations for further reading and resources for those interested in instructional design, including a book by James and Wendy Kirkpatrick and a video on acing instructional design interviews.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Kirkpatrick Model
💡Training Evaluation
💡Reaction
💡Learning
💡Behavior
💡Results
💡Instructional Designer
💡Surveys
💡KPIs
💡Planning Phase
💡Iterative Process
Highlights
The Kirkpatrick model of evaluation was developed in the 1950s by Donald Kirkpatrick and has become the most popular model for training evaluation.
The model consists of four levels of training evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior, and results.
Level one, reaction, measures overall satisfaction and engagement through surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Level two, learning, assesses the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or attitudes using quizzes, tests, interviews, and observations.
Level three, behavior, evaluates whether employees are performing differently on the job after training.
Level four, results, examines the impact of training on business outcomes and KPIs like customer satisfaction and sales.
Most learning professionals focus on levels one and two, but levels three and four provide more value and insight.
Evaluation planning should begin with defining the desired business results, aligning with level four.
Identifying the behaviors needed to achieve business results is crucial for effective training evaluation.
Understanding what knowledge and skills are required for different behaviors is key to level two evaluation.
Designing an engaging and effective training intervention is essential for knowledge and skill acquisition.
Starting with level four when planning a training program ensures alignment with organizational goals.
The Kirkpatrick model is an iterative process, allowing for adjustments and recalibrations based on evaluation data.
For a deeper understanding of the Kirkpatrick model, 'Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation' by James and Wendy Kirkpatrick is recommended.
Instructional designers can use the Kirkpatrick model to excel in their field and interviews.
The video provides a comprehensive guide on how to implement the Kirkpatrick model for training evaluation.
Engagement through surveys is a common method to measure reaction, but observation and work reviews can also provide valuable insights.
Evaluating the effectiveness of training programs requires looking beyond just learning outcomes to actual business impact.
Transcripts
if you're trying to become an instructional designer or evaluate a training program
it's a great idea to learn more about the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation
so the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation was developed all the way back in the 1950s by
Donald Kirkpatrick himself since then it has hands down become probably the most popular
model for training evaluation so again whether you're just learning about the field or if you
want to start implementing this model to evaluate your own programs this is a very very good place
to start so let's dive into it the Kirkpatrick model is made up of these four levels of training
evaluation so as we move down this list so you know it starts with level one the reaction then
learning then behavior then results as we work our way down the levels become increasingly difficult
to evaluate but also increasingly valuable for us to conduct those evaluations so we're just going
to go through each of these levels in order to make sure you know what each of them consists of
so the first one is reaction how are people reacting to the experience
so what we're really measuring at this point is the overall satisfaction and engagement
so you might see questions on how satisfied are you with this experience would you recommend this
experience to a friend you know were you engaged and some of these things can also be measured by
the like the facilitator or an observer but most commonly these this is measured via a survey
so at the end of the course you take a survey asks you questions about how satisfied you are
how relevant what you feel what you learned is to your job and this can also be done in interviews
and focus groups but again surveys are definitely the most common way to measure reaction data
so level two this is where we're actually measuring the learning so are these people
learning new knowledge new skills or new attitudes that's the big question for level two
and the most common ways to measure this are with quizzes or tests so you know pre-test post-test
or like little knowledge checks throughout an experience but also interviews focus groups
discussions observations and and the list goes on you know you can have people give presentations
and you can evaluate how well they do there to determine whether or not they learn something
but you get the idea this is where most learning professionals stop so
in the field you know instructional designers in this space of learning and development most
of the evaluation is let's give people a survey at the end of the experience to see if they liked it
and let's give them a test to see if they scored at least 90 and learned something so those are
you know that is a way to address level one and level two but where things start getting really
valuable and interesting are at level three so this is behavior we wanna know are people
performing these critical tasks that we identified are they actually behaving differently on the job
now that we taught them these new knowledge skills or attitudes so are they using what
they learned on the job that's the big question for level three and again you can use surveys
for this probably not the most effective method but you can imagine you know if you're surveying
people's managers and asking them about how their employees are performing you might be able to
get some valuable data about how the employees are performing differently observation though
is a common way you know the managers would be observing the employees to see if they're
using those new skills or that new knowledge work reviews again you want to see if these new skills
were implemented and you can look at KPIs to see things like you know if you're working at a call
center and you want to teach people to use screen sharing on their calls you would look at that
screen sharing key performance indicator to see you know are people actually using this new skill
so again this is this is like the gray area for a lot of instructional designers that
it's it's not very common to actually get into this and see are people performing differently
but this is very important and valuable to know because once you know whether or
not people are performing differently then you can move into level four which is where you see
are we producing are we seeing their desired results from this intervention that we designed
and developed so are we actually seeing results for the business so this is where we're looking
at actual business and sales metrics so we're not just looking at oh are people screen sharing
but are people providing a better customer experience you know are we seeing higher
customer satisfaction ratings and is that leading to more sales or a better customer retention rate
so again this is obviously like gold status what you want to be measuring when you're using so much
time and resources and effort to designing these these big training programs you want to determine
whether or not they're actually producing a return for the business and helping the business succeed
overall not just are people learning something and they like what they learned because you
know that's one thing but connecting that to the business is a completely different piece
so obviously you can't just design a training program put it out there and
then start thinking okay now how am I going to evaluate this thing
I mean you can probably try piecing that together but it won't be extremely effective
so most of the hard work for evaluation comes up front in the planning phase so let's look at
how you might plan to use you know how you might plan to evaluate your learning experience
so the first question you have to ask yourself is which results are we trying to achieve here what
are we trying to do for the business are we trying to reduce that are we trying to increase that
customer retention rate are we trying to reduce the number of you know are we trying to reduce the
number of employees who quit so increase employee retention are we just trying to increase sales
you get the idea and you see this first bullet the very first question we want to ask ourselves
which results do we want to achieve for the business that lines up with level 4 evaluation
okay so take note of that next we need to ask what do people need to do differently to achieve
those results so keyword what do people need to do differently what behaviors do we want to see
and you'll see the second question lines up with level three behavior evaluation so we're
working our way backwards through these levels to plan our learning program or our intervention
so now we might ask okay what knowledge and skills do these people need to do these things
differently so again we're moving into level two and then finally how do we design an attractive
intervention so that people want to engage with it and and acquire those knowledge and skills that
they need so just to jump ahead here you see we are we're basically you want to start with
level four when you're planning an experience like this if we don't start oh how am I going to design
something that people like oh how will I help them learn something that's a counterproductive
way to go about this when we're actually trying to produce results for an organization we need
to start with those results in mind and orient all the rest of our efforts to producing those results
so this is this is a more useful way to think about the Kirkpatrick model just from a planning
perspective again level three and level four not many people venture into that area but that is
where you will see you know that's where you'll get the most value out of your evaluation efforts
because it will actually help you determine whether or not your training program or
intervention was worthwhile in the first place so again it is always an iterative process so
if you like evaluation doesn't have to come at the end of your experience if you're finding
as you go that what your efforts aren't leading to these changed behaviors or these results you
can always adjust at any point recalibrate and you know use this data to keep you on the right track
so I hope that this was helpful if you have any questions drop a comment below
this book right here Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation
by James and Wendy Kirkpatrick is a great read if you want to dive deeper into training evaluation
and how kirkpatrick's model is implemented at organizations today definitely check out this book
I'll link that in the description and also if you are here because you're trying to become
an instructional designer and you want to use this info to ace your interview check out my
full video on becoming an instructional designer which I will also link in the description
so thank you again give it a thumbs up if you liked the video and I will see you in the next one
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