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Evaluation: navigating the Kirkpatrick magician's maze

By David Laughrin (May 2005 Issue)
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Evaluation matters to us. A quick Google search reveals no fewer than 75 million references, including nearly 200,000 touching on the contribution of Donald Kirkpatrick on training evaluation. But for many – and despite the tips often provided by Training Journal – actually getting something useful from Kirkpatrick’s widely known four-stage model has been more of a struggle. Like those working through a challenging computer game, the model has been hypnotic. It is beguilingly simple. But its practical application has been patchy: what should be done is clear, but how it can be done is elusive. This article seeks to provide one way to navigate through the maze.

Kirkpatrick’s model has not survived for 46 years because it is wrong. It elegantly captures the key questions that we all want to ask about the provision of learning opportunities. Its four levels look at how participants reacted, what they actually learnt, whether they applied it, and whether that application of learning led to beneficial results for them and their organisation. ...

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