Evaluation

“Knowledge is power…”
– Sir Francis Bacon – Founder of the scientific method

Why should anyone know how effective their training efforts were? Why should anyone take the time to evaluate learning initiatives? The answers are simple… So stakeholders can:

• Baseline current performance
• Assess what employees, partners, and customers are achieving
• Set attainable goals based on data
• Track their investment in learning
• Continuously improve what they do by asking the right questions

The most effective way to improve development and delivery of courseware is through Evaluation. The goals are to assess the value of the course to the stakeholder and to continuously improve that value based on valid metrics. Valid metrics include stakeholder feedback received during the development cycle while success measures should be based on the required skill-sets, performance criteria, and delivery modalities identified during the Analysis phase. As the required skill-sets and performance criteria should be translated into the learning objectives that drive Design and how the course should be Developed, evaluative elements built into the design and developed as part of the course should measure if those learning objectives and success measures are met, or not. It is important to note that levels of evaluation that are measured (or not) are often determined by stakeholder budget, resource availability, and statements of work. When not measured, this often attributed to fear of reprisal based on misuse and misinterpretation of measured outcomes, versus the drive to improve process and the overall learning solution. In the long-term, such misunderstanding detriments all by depriving the process of a feedback loop that adds value for the learner and saves margin or increases profit for the stakeholders. The four levels of training evaluation have evolved into six and are listed in order of robustness below:

Levels 0 through 5 (Kirkpatrick and Phillips):

Level 0 - Participation
Level 1 - Reaction
Level 2 - Learning
Level 3 - Application
Level 4 - Results
Level 5 - ROI

A description of each level will follow shortly...