Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
whether there is a dip in performance during the training
event (the second panel in the triptych)? What kind of
evidence would be required to determine if there is a dip in
performance following training (the third panel in the
triptych)?
This chapter stresses the methodological point that the
answer to each question depends on continuous tracking of
performance - throughout the training event for the fi rst
question, and during the immediate post-training period for
the second. Such tracking, taking the form of performance
assessments (most likely in the form of SDAs), will require a
substantial record-keeping effort.
In the typical case, however, assessments are conducted at
only two points in time - one a pre-training assessment just
before the training event, and a second, post-training
assessment, say an “intermediate test” conducted after the
trainees have returned to the job. Given only two data points,
the average performance level would appear to be a straight
line, perhaps upward-sloping to the right, perhaps fl at; in
any case we would not be able to address the questions about
Stolovitch's fi gure.
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These uses of the documentation of training do not have
the enterprise-wide signifi cance of the other two audiences
- the operational use and the auditor's use. The operational
staff represents the line of business. This audience and its
proactive use of training records for work assignments
directly relate to the bottom line. The auditors represent the
regulatory requirements within which the organization will
be profi table (or not).
The training unit is usually viewed as an overhead
department, engaging in capacity building and thereby (only
indirectly) contributing to the bottom line. Donald
Kirkpatrick and others have held that “trainers must justify
their existence.”
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An effective training department should
