Kirkpatrick Model: Four Levels of Learning Evaluation

The Kirkpatrick Model is probably the best known model for analyzing and evaluating the results of training and educational programs. Youarehere:Home/Frameworks&Theories/KirkpatrickModel:FourLevelsofLearningEvaluation Courses&Certification  InstructionalDesignCertificate(FullyOnline).Thisfullyonlineprogramisforanyonedevelopingand/orteachinganonlinecourse.Learnmore... ADDIEInstructionalDesignCertificateProgram(FullyOnline).ThisfullyonlineprogramisdesignedforindividualsinterestedinlearningmoreabouttheADDIEmodel.Learnmore... InstructionalDesignModelsCertificate(FullyOnline).Youwillexploretraditionalinstructionaldesignmodelsandtheprogressionofthelearningdesignapproachtocreatingonlinelearningexperiences.Learnmore... TheKirkpatrickModelisprobablythebestknownmodel foranalyzingandevaluatingtheresultsoftrainingandeducationalprograms.Ittakesintoaccountanystyleoftraining,bothinformalorformal,todetermineaptitudebasedonfourlevelscriteria. Level1Reactionmeasureshowparticipantsreacttothetraining(e.g.,satisfaction?).Level2Learninganalyzesiftheytrulyunderstoodthetraining(e.g.,increaseinknowledge,skillsorexperience?).Level3Behaviorlooksatiftheyareutilizingwhattheylearnedatwork(e.g.,changeinbehaviors?),andLevel4Resultsdeterminesifthematerialhadapositiveimpactonthebusiness/organization. ThismodelwasdevelopedbyDr.DonaldKirkpatrick(1924–2014)inthe1950s.Themodelcanbeimplementedbefore,throughout,andfollowingtrainingtoshowthevalueoftrainingtothebusiness. Asoutlinedbythissystem,evaluationneedstostartwithlevelone,afterwhichastimeandresourceswillallow,shouldproceedinorderthroughlevelstwo,three,andfour.Datafromallofthepreviouslevelscanbeusedasafoundationforthefollowinglevels’analysis.Asaresult,eachsubsequentlevelprovidesanevenmoreaccuratemeasurementoftheusefulnessofthetrainingcourse,yetsimultaneouslycallsforasignificantlymoretime-consuminganddemandingevaluation. Undoubtedly,themostwidelyusedandin-demandmethodfortheassessmentoftraininginbusinessesnowadaysisKirkpatrick’ssystembasedaroundthefourlevelsasguidelines.TheKirkpatrickmodelhasbeenusedforover30yearsbymanydifferenttypesofcompaniesasthemajorsystemfortrainingevaluations.ItisevidentthatKirkpatrick’svisionhasmadeapositiveimpacttotheoverallpracticeoftrainingevaluation. TheKirkpatrickModel Seealso:Instructionaldesignmodels Listedbelowisanin-depthlookintothefourlevelsoftheKirkpatrickModel: Level1Evaluation–Reaction Inwhatways participantslikedaparticularprogram/training?Howparticipantsfeel? Theobjectiveforthislevelisstraightforward,itevaluateshowindividualsreacttothetrainingmodelbyaskingquestionsthatestablishesthetrainees’thoughts.Questionswillfigureoutiftheparticipantenjoyedtheirexperienceandiftheyfoundthematerialintheprogramusefulfortheirwork.Thisparticularformofevaluationistypicallyreferredtoasa“smilesheet.” AsoutlinedbyKirkpatrick,eachprogramneedstobeassessedatthisleveltohelpimprovethemodelforfutureuse.Ontopofthat,theparticipants’responsesisessentialfordetermininghowinvestedtheywillbeinlearningthenextlevel.Eventhoughanoptimisticreactiondoesnotensurelearning,anunfavorableonedefinitelymakesitlesslikelythattheuserwillpayattentiontothetraining. Examplesofresourcesandtechniquesforlevelone: Onlineassessmentthatcanbegradedbydelegates/evaluators. Interviews Canbedoneimmediatelyafterthetrainingends. Aretheparticipantshappywiththeinstructor(s)? Didthetrainingmeettheparticipant’sneeds? Aretheattendee’shappywiththeeducationaltoolsemployed(e.g.,PowerPoint,handoutsetc) Printedororalreportsprovidedbydelegates/evaluatorstosupervisorsattheparticipants’organizations. “Smilesheets”. Commentformsdeterminedbysubjectiveindividualreactiontothetrainingcourse. Post-trainingprogramquestionnaires. Verbalresponsesthatcanbetakenintoconsiderationandconsidered. Especiallyencouragewrittencomments Trytogethonestresponsesandfeedbacks Readmore… Level2Evaluation–Learning Newskills/knowledge/attitudes?Whatwaslearned?andWhatwasnotlearned? Evaluatingatthislevelismeanttogaugethelevelparticipantshavedevelopedinexpertise,knowledge,ormindset.Explorationatthislevelisfarmorechallengingandtime-consumingcomparedtolevelone. Techniquesvaryfrominformaltoformaltestsandself-assessmenttoteamassessment.Ifatallpossible,individualstakethetestorevaluationpriortothetraining(pre-test)andfollowingtraining(post-test)tofigureouthowmuchtheparticipantcomprehended. Examplesoftoolsandproceduresforleveltwo: Measurementandevaluationissimpleandstraightforwardforanygroupsize. Youmayuseacontrolgrouptocompare. Exams,interviewsorassessmentspriortoandimmediatelyafterthetraining. Observationsbypeersandinstructors Strategiesforassessmentshouldberelevanttothegoalsofthetrainingprogram. Adistinctclearscoringprocessneedstobedeterminedinordertoreducethepossibilityofinconsistentevaluationreports. Interview,printed,orelectronictypeexaminationscanbecarriedout. Aninterviewcanbecarriedoutbeforeandaftertheassessment,thoughthisistime-consumingandunreliable. Readmore… Level3Evaluation–Transfer Wastheleaningbeingappliedbytheattendees?  Thislevelanalyzesthedifferencesintheparticipant’sbehavioratworkaftercompletingtheprogram.Assessingthechangemakesitpossibletofigureoutiftheknowledge,mindset,orskillstheprogramtaughtarebeingusedtheworkplace. Forthemajorityofindividualsthisleveloffersthetruestevaluationofaprogram’susefulness.Havingsaidthat,testingatthislevelischallengingsinceitisgenerallyimpossibletoanticipatewhenapersonwillstarttoproperlyutilizewhatthey’velearnedfromtheprogram,makingitmoredifficulttodeterminewhen,howoften,andexactlyhowtoevaluateaparticipantpost-assessment. Thislevelstarts3–6monthsafter training. Examplesofassessmentresourcesandtechniquesforlevelthree: Thiscanbecarriedoutthroughobservationsandinterviews. Evaluationshavetobesubtleuntilchangeisnoticeable,afterwhichamorethoroughexaminationtoolcanbeused. Werethelearnedknowledgeandgainedskillsused? Surveysandcloseobservationaftersometimearenecessarytoevaluatesignificantchange,importanceofchange,andhowlongthischangewilllast. Onlineevaluationstendtobemorechallengingtointegrate.Examinationsareusuallymoresuccessfulwhenincorporatedwithinpresentmanagementandtrainingmethodsattheparticipant’sworkplace. Quickexaminationsdoneimmediatelyfollowingtheprogramarenotgoingtobereliablesinceindividualschangeinvariouswaysatdifferenttimes. 360-degreefeedbackisatoolthatmanybusinessesuse,butisnotnecessarybeforestartingthetrainingprogram.Itismuchbetterutilizedaftertrainingsinceparticipantswillbeabletofigureoutontheirownwhattheyneedtododifferent.Afterchangeshavebeenobservedovertimethentheindividual’sperformancecanbereviewedbyothersforproperassessment. 360-degreefeedback Assessmentscanbedevelopedaroundapplicablescenariosanddistinctkeyefficiencyindicatorsorrequirementsrelevanttotheparticipant’sjob. Observationsshouldbemadetominimizeopinion-basedviewsoftheinterviewerasthisfactorisfartoovariable,whichcanaffectconsistencyanddependabilityofassessments. Takingintoconsiderationtheopinionoftheparticipantcanalsobetoovariableofafactorasitmakesevaluationveryunreliable,soitisessentialthatassessmentsfocusmoredefinedfactorssuchasresultsatworkratherthanopinions. Self-assessmentcanbehandy,butonlywithanextensivelydesignedsetofguidelines. Level4Evaluation–Results Whatarethefinalresultsofthetraining? Commonlyregardedastheprimarygoaloftheprogram,levelfourdeterminestheoverallsuccessofthetrainingmodelbymeasuringfactorssuchasloweredspending,higherreturnsoninvestments,improvedqualityofproducts,lessaccidentsintheworkplace,moreefficientproductiontimes,andahigherquantityofsales. Fromabusinessstandpoint,thefactorsabovearethemainreasonforthemodel,evensolevelfourresultsarenotusuallyconsidered.Figuringoutwhetherornottheresultsofthetrainingprogramcanbelinkedtobetterfinancesishardtoaccuratelydetermine. Typesofassessmentstrategiesandtoolsusedforlevelfour: Itshouldbediscussedwiththeparticipantexactlywhatisgoingtobemeasuredthroughoutandafterthetrainingprogramsothattheyknowwhattoexpectandtofullygraspwhatisbeingassessed. Useacontrolgroup Allowenoughtimetomeasure/evaluate Nofinalresultscanbefound unlessapositivechangetakesplace. Improperobservationsandtheinabilitytomakeaconnectionwithtraininginputtypewillmakeithardertoseehowthetrainingprogramhasmadeadifferenceintheworkplace. Theprocessistodeterminewhichmethodsandhowtheseproceduresarerelevanttotheparticipant’sfeedback. Forseniorindividualsinparticular,yearlyevaluationsandregulararrangementsofkeybusinesstargetsareessentialinordertoaccuratelyevaluatebusinessresultsthatarebecauseofthetrainingprogram. References Kirkpatrick,D.(1996).RevisitingKirkpatrick’sfour-level-model.Training&Development,1,54-57. Kirkpatrick,D.L.(1994).Evaluatingtrainingprograms:thefourlevels. SanFrancisco:Berrett-Koehler. ConnectWithUs FacebookTwitter Search RecentBlogPosts AdaptiveLearning:WhatisIt,WhatareitsBenefitsandHowDoesitWork? 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