Kirkpatrick's Model of Training Evaluation

Donald Kirkpatrick, former Professor Emeritus at The University of Wisconsin developed the Kirkpatrick Model to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs. Later it evolved into the four-level training evaluation model discussed below.

The Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation has four levels. Those four levels are:

Reaction - How well do participants react to their training?

Learning - How has the training impacted the skill level and confidence of the trainee?

Behavior - How well are people applying the learned concepts?

Results - Were the desired training outcomes achieved?

I want to discuss the four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model from a VR training perspective:

Reaction - It is very important to know how the participants react to their training. Knowing their levels of engagement and the emotions produced by a training module is important. These inputs can be instrumental in creating a training module that excites participants. With immersive learning technologies, it is relatively easy to observe and track participants as they go through their training. It’s a digital environment where you can get unfiltered reactions from participants.

Learning - The main objective of any training experience is to improve the skills of participants. It is important to identify the learning outcomes of the experience and to note the learner’s baseline levels of skill. That allows trainers to measure proficiency levels from before and after training. VR Training is an excellent way to implement and measure learning. Learners can be trained and tested in a virtual environment where their learning can be quantified. They can also retrain on the different modules until they reach a required level of competency in a given task.

Behavior - Learning a skill matters most when the learner can apply that skill. How well does the trained employee perform on the job? Once learners are trained using VR, they should ideally apply their learned skills in their jobs. L&D departments are responsible for making sure that learners have an opportunity to apply their new skills. Learners are then observed to see if they are applying the learned concepts in real-life situations. Most importantly, with current technology in VR Training development, the transition from virtual environments to real life is easy and enjoyable.

Results - Every training initiative introduced by an organization has a business goal attached to it. Examples include cost-cutting, productivity increases, etc. Training should obviously tie back to that identified goal in a meaningful way. VR provides a powerful way to measure training results. Organizations are encouraged to do post-VR training assessments to quantify success and ultimately identify areas where they can replicate the model in order to achieve better results.

How does your company assess the effectiveness of its training programs?