KIRKPATRICK'S MODEL

Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Model





Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Model

Introduction

Don Kirkpatrick in 1954 was doing his PhD at the University of Wisconsin. His scholarly thesis was on evaluating the capability of a supervisory management program he established. Being a very practical man, Kirkpatrick planned on for very simple words- reaction, learning, behavior and results. To characterize how the process of training would carry on to the process of learning, which would direct to on job application, in return getting the desired outcomes.

After acquiring his doctorate, Kirkpatrick did not even think about the four words until Bob Craig got in contact with him asking him to write an article for the American Society Training Directors journal. Kirkpatrick agreed, but in return he said that he would write four articles instead on one; thus producing the Kirkpatrick Four Levels. Kirkpatrick did not even once use the word “levels” nor did he give his idea the label of “model”. At that time, he was not even aware of how his articles would influence the corporate world of learning and development.

After those articles were published in1959, different articles began coming up related to the article of Kirkpatrick, mostly coming from the educational circles. Most of the articles were in concern to the levels 1 and 2. Then at the request of Nancy Olsen who was working at the Journal of American Society Training Directors, Kirkpatrick analyzed the other articles and put down his own language on the paper of evaluation in the year 1965, 1975 and 1985.

In the year 1970, the knowledge of his model had slightly spread, and he came to know that his four levels were being used throughout the world, and they were accepted and approved for training evaluation globally. By the progression of technology Kirkpatrick started using the overhead projector when giving a presentation on the four levels which amazed the audiences. During the whole of 1980s level 1 and level2 from the model of Kirkpatrick was adopted by many organizations (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2009, p. n. d)Later on the series of his articles were assembled and presented as one by the names of “Techniques for Evaluating Training Programs”. Kirkpatrick also wrote a book “Evaluating Training Programs (1975)”. Although Kirkpatrick's book was not published till the year 1994. It was then “the four levels” he introduced gained a lot of popularity worldwide. Currently the four levels of evaluation model are a keystone of the learning industry. Majority of the people associate their benchmark of the evaluation process to the model presented by him. Although he himself did not ever used the expression of “steps neither did he ever referred to his idea as “model”, but instead he used words like “techniques for conducting the evaluation (Craig, 1996, p. 294). Steps of evaluation that Kirkpatrick introduced in his books comprises of:

1. Step 1: Reaction- this term looks it to how much the learner liked the process of learning? 2. Step 2: Learning- this step looks into the learning process of ...