Assignment 5 – Evaluating the Training Program

Assignment 5 – Evaluating the Training Program
Brittany Hobbs
EDU535
Project description
The last step in the training process is to conduct an evaluation. The organization’s training department and managers are interested in knowing whether the new training program met its goals and objectives. They are also curious about the trainees reaction to the new training, as well as how much learning has occurred.

When evaluating the training program for your organization, consider the following questions:
How will the training be evaluated?
How will effectiveness of the training program be assessed?
Were the training needs identified correctly?
Did the training program meet all the training objectives?
Did the training program gain the learners attention and motivate the learner?

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:
Revise Assignment 4 based on your professors feedback. (Revision is not included in the required page count.)
Recommend two (2) assessment methods/tools to collect data for the evaluation of your training program, providing a rationale for each.
Analyze the components, challenges, and benefits of the assessment methods / tools you recommended. Explain the rationale for your selection.
Develop two (2) assessment methods / tools for your project. (Note: Use the figures and examples in Chapter 9 as guidelines for developing your evaluation tools.)
Develop six to eight (6-8) evaluation questions that you will ask learners and include the evaluation scale or rating range for each question (e.g., 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest).
Include at least four (4) peer-reviewed references (published within the last five 5 years) from material outside the textbook.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the students name, the professors name, the course title, and the date. The cover page, revision, and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

Evaluating the Training Program
The evaluation of a training program is a very significant procedure in determining the impacts and outcomes of such a program on the employees, the organization’s productivity and customer relations. It is from such assessments that the organizations identify and correct the loopholes that might have caused a shortfall in the training and correct the mistake in the future training programs. Additionally, the evaluators report can tell much about how a training program has helped in increasing production levels and efficiency among other benefits. The training method that is preferred for evaluating the program we developed will be Kirkpatrick Evaluation Strategy. It is a four level evaluation method that has proved quite fruitful when implemented for many organizations amidst a few challenges.
The Reaction (Level 1)
The reaction level of evaluation solicits trainees’ opinions on learning experience after they have received training. The common questions under this level seek to find out the extent to which the training program was valued amongst the trainees, the level of their engagement in the training program and their feelings about the relevancy of the training course. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the training program will be based on the feedback, the trainees’ perceptions on the potential areas of future improvements and also the justification for the expenditure on the training course, as evidenced in Alvarez, Salas and Garofano (2004). Level 1 of training evaluation is very significant as many scholars now consent that nearly 80 percent of the training courses lie under it. From this level of evaluation, not only the level of learners’ understanding of the course materials is assessed, but also items missing out of the training content are identified.

Learning (Level 2)
Learning assessment done in level 2 of the evaluation of the training program is used to determine whether the objectives of the training were met. It is intended to measure the extent to which the trainees acquired the intended knowledge, skills and attitudes following a training session. The organization, out of the knowledge of what their employee-trainees are learning and that, which they are not, can make significant improvement on their future training program developments (Salas, Wilson, Priest & Guthrie, 2006). Learning level of evaluation can be completed both as a pre- and a post-evaluation. The assessments at level 2 should preferably begin from the specific learning objectives spelt out at the begging of the program and the evaluators should notice the different ways through which the objectives of the training can be measured depending on whether the interest of assessments is based on the objectives of the training or the change the training program has brought on the skills, knowledge and, or attitudes.
Behavior (Level 3)
The basic element used for evaluation of the impact of training is based on the behavioral change observed among the employee-trainees. The causal impact level on the training received on the behavior change of employee-trainees is assessed based on how employees apply the information taught (Phillips J & Phillips P, 2016). The evaluators must realize most importantly that behavior change only occurs when conditions are favorable. For instance, supposing that an assessor skips the first two of the Kirkpatrick levels, goes on to scout for behavior change and finds none, the whole evaluation process could be inaccurately invalidated. As a result, the trainer is at risk of assuming that the employee-trainees have not gained any skills, knowledge and attitudes thus validating the ineffectiveness of the training program. Nonetheless, the absence of change in behavior among the trainees does not necessarily mean the training has not had any impacts on them. The absence of behavioral change could perhaps be caused by a boss so determined not to let the trainees apply the new knowledge or lack of desire among the employees to apply the teaching.
Level 4 (Results)
The level 4 of Kirkpatrick’s training evaluation model bases its conclusions on the different aspects of the potential results of training program. The evaluator analyzes the final results of a training program which include the outcomes determined by the organization and marked as good for employees, the organization and the bottom line. Outcome evaluation, according to Salas, Wilson, Priest and Guthrie (2006), is a long-term evaluation method and seeks to answer the questions about what happened to the skills, knowledge and attitudes of the employee-trainees. The training program must have had impacts and outcomes at least of some significance even if small. The outcome evaluation specifically responds to the enquiries about the role played by the participants in at training program. The outcome data should point to what the participants did during the training and what they actually did in the job following the training course.
Applications of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Strategy
The Kirkpatrick Evaluation leaning and evaluation strategy will be modified to determine the returns on expectations (ROE) of shareholders in easier way. According to Phillips and Phillips (2016), many partners to the aforementioned strategy of evaluation contend that ROE is the ultimate measure of the value of training. Surprisingly, numerous organizations are in continued their struggle on implementation of the four levels of this model, especially on quantifying the levels three and four.
The challenge the assessment of the training programmers are posed with presently is the increased availability of the learning content through the informal channels. Learners easily incorporate the materials into their personal fortification and professional training methods. The informal channels mostly don not include the pre and post-evaluation assessment tools to measure the effectiveness. Training organizations, determined to mitigate situation created by the absence of measuring tools in informal channels of information, have adopted advancements such as Experience API and Tin Can API to effectively trace and assess to informal learning activities (Phillips & Phillips, 2016).
Training evaluation Tools
There are various tools that are available for training evaluation. The choice of a tool depends on the company’s budget for evaluation, time constraints and the suitability of the tool to the situation in which the evaluation is done. Eseryel (2002) agrees that the evaluation tools include data collection tools such as feedback forms, surveys, action plans and follow-ups. The surveys in which written questionnaires are mailed or written copies distributed have the challenge of receiving less than a 100 percent response.
In conclusion, a training program evaluation is important in assessing the impact and the outcomes of the training. Kirkpatrick Evaluation Strategy is a four level strategy that addresses most of the concerns about the usefulness of a training program. The four levels include reaction of the participants to training, what the participants have learnt, the behavior change in participants due to training and the outcomes of training. An evaluator of a training program can also chose from a pool of tools to assess the impacts and outcomes of training.

References
Alvarez, K., Salas, E., & Garofano, C. M. (2004). An Integrated Model of Training Evaluation and Effectiveness. Human resource development Review, 3(4), 385-416.
Eseryel, D. (2002). Approaches To Evaluation of Training: Theory & practice. Educational Technology & Society, 5(2), 93-98.
Phillips, J. J., & Phillips, P. P. (2016). Handbook of training evaluation and measurement methods. Routledge.
Salas, E., Wilson, K. A., Priest, H. A., & Guthrie, J. W. (2006). Design, Delivery, and Evaluation of Training Systems. Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics, Third Edition, 472-512.