Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Many academics reject the role of behavioral objectives in
the university classroom; this highlights the difference
between training in industry, on the one hand, and higher
education on the other. In higher education, accredited
institutions award diplomas to students, on the basis of a
series of learning experiences over an extended period of
time. The organizational objectives include (a) awarding the
diplomas, and (b) maintaining the accreditation. This has
very little to do with training in industry, where the
organizational objectives include (a) improving employees'
task performance on-the-job, and (b) addressing the
requirements of various regulatory regimes.
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5.3.3 Training effectiveness
Assessment of training effectiveness must be distinguished
from evaluation of training programs. There is a difference
in kind - trainees are human individuals, training programs
are organizational entities. Of course trainees participate in
training programs, but the difference in kind means that the
measures are different. For instance, trainee reactions
(Donald Kirkpatrick's Level One)
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are perhaps useful in
evaluating training programs - favorable trainee reactions
may weigh in decisions about program continuity. Trainee
reactions are much less useful in assessing training
effectiveness, which involves assessing performance
improvement that will impact on-the-job - a supervisor's
reactions are much more relevant.
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In the present context, training effectiveness is assessed by
one of two types of measures - a KTA or a SDA. The KTA in
particular need not be validated in terms of the task(s) at
hand. If the KTA is validated, then performance improvement
on-the-job can be predicted from trainee performance on the
KTA. If the KTA has not been validated, the measure can still
