Tag Archives: formal learning
How to Evaluate Learning: The Kirkpatrick Model for the 21st Century

How to Evaluate Learning: The Kirkpatrick Model for the 21st Century

by on January 20, 2012 in Evaluation, formal learning, Informal Learning, Instructional Design, Training Development

Recent research by ASTD and REED Learning indicates that the top skills desired by Learning & Development departments are measuring and evaluating training.

Even though many Learning and Development organizations find it a challenge to prove training’s effect beyond how learners react to the training and whether they have learned the training content, senior management and business stakeholders are more and more interested in metrics that show the impact on the organization.

According to Donald L. Kirkpatrick’s revised “Four Levels of Evaluation” model, what we need to do is find out what success looks like in the eyes of these senior managers and stakeholders and let them define their expectations for the training program. Then we need to identify specific metrics to demonstrate and deliver on those expectations.

For those of you who are not familiar with the original Four Levels, this is what they are:

  • Level 1. Reaction: To …
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    How Much Does Informal Learning Actually Cost?

    How Much Does Informal Learning Actually Cost?

    by on November 4, 2011 in formal learning, Informal Learning, Training costs, Training Development

    Current research indicates that 20% of  learning is formal and 80% is informal, yet 80% of training budgets are spent on formal learning and only 20% on informal learning.

    According to  Don Clark in Big Dog, Little Dog: The True Cost of Informal Learning, the trouble with this research is that although the comparative percentages for formal and informal learning are correct, information on what is actually spent on each is based on weak research.

    He says that even if all the numbers were correct, what the organization spends is more important than what the learning department spends.  And he poses an even more important question—if informal learning is so efficient, why does it need training budget support?

    A report coming out of an ASTD research project supported by the U. S. Department of Labor states that employer investment in workplace training is about $210B annually. Of that amount …

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    Avoiding Anarchy in Social Learning

    Avoiding Anarchy in Social Learning

    by on September 29, 2011 in social learning

    A lot of commentators writing about social learning today stress the importance of keeping it free from rules or overarching control.  I myself have, on occasion, made this point.  Key considerations one commonly sees associated with this idea include some or all of the following:

    •  Give everyone the opportunity to teach and learn whatever they know, whenever they have the time;
    • Give everyone the opportunity to learn what they want to know.  Self-directed learning is the best.
    • Avoid being hung up on job description or hierarchy; everyone should be able to share with everyone;
    • Provide tools that allow for the rapid dissemination of thought, such as wikis, internal chat, blogs, etc.  Avoid the temptation to impose structure.

    Central to these tenets of social learning is the importance of keeping things unfettered.   The problem is that in some cases, this call has risen to the level of dogma.  “Don’t direct …

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    Social Learning Has Its Place…And Informal Learning Does Too.

    Social Learning Has Its Place…And Informal Learning Does Too.

    by on August 11, 2011 in Informal Learning, social learning

    Two weeks ago Jane Hart wrote an article titled, Social Learning: to be or not to be?, in which Jane expresses her dislike of the term Social Learning (big S, big L).  Jane claims that “Social Learning has come to refer exclusively to the use of social media in top-down, formal learning.”  She also states that “social learning (small S, small L) happens continuously – freely and openly – in everything we do – in work, learn and study.”

    Although I usually agree with Jane and am humbled by her otherworldly stature within the learning community, I’m going to pick a bone here.  I’ll begin by saying that an overwhelming number of terms we use within this industry are so vague, ambiguous and all-encompassing that it’s hard to fit anything into a nice, neat category.

    That being said, I believe Jane’s first misstep occurs when she uses the term …

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    Can Bill Gates Lead the Informal Learning Revolution?

    Can Bill Gates Lead the Informal Learning Revolution?

    by on June 1, 2011 in blended learning, Classroom Learning, Gaming Theory, Informal Learning, social learning

    A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to hear Julie Dirksen, an instructional designer from Minneapolis, give a presentation on the use of games in learning.  She described games’ effective use of rewards (points, money, etc.), leveling (the strategic increase in difficulty over a period of time) and other psychological techniques and I left wanting to learn more.  I have seen a few uses of gaming in adult education, but nothing overwhelming.  In addition, I’m a novice gamer myself, growing up alongside Nintendo and Sega Genesis, so I sat down at the computer and used some personal directed learning time to explore the prevalence of gaming in education.

    I stumbled upon an article about an effort by the Gates Foundation to swing the direction of education standards with a mega-investment in digital learning.  It turns out Gates has invested millions in educational video games, funded the game-centered Quest2Learn…

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