Implementing the Four Levels: A Practical Guide for Effective Evaluation of Training Programs
Donald L. Kirkpatrick is Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin and a widely respected teacher, author, and consultant. He has over thirty years' experience as Professor of Management at the University of Wisconsin and has held professional training and human resource positions with International Minerals and Chemical Corporation and Bendix Corporation. He is the author of eight "Management Inventories" and six books, including: Managing Change Effectively; Improving Employee Performance Through Appraisal and Coaching; 2nd edition, Developing Supervisors and Team Leaders; How to Plan and Conduct Productive Business Meetings; and No-Nonsense Communication. The first two titles received the "best book of the year" award from the Society For Human Resource Management (SHRM). Donald Kirkpatrick is a past president of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and in 2004 he received its highest award, Lifetime Achievement in Workplace Learning and Performance. In 1997, he was inducted into the exclusive Training magazine's Hall of Fame.  Jim Kirkpatrick has worked in the field of organizational development for over 15 years. He works for Corporate University Enterprise, Inc., as its Senior Consultant for Evaluation Services, where his main responsibility is the delivery of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Certification Program to organizations and individuals. Prior to his new position, from 1997 to 2004, Jim was the Director of the Corporate University for First Indiana Bank in Indianapolis, where he was responsible for the bank's Balanced Scorecard Management System; Leadership Development; Training; and the Career Development Program.  Jim has worked as a management consultant in the fields of health care, education, finance, manufacturing, A--not-A--for-profits, and government, and he has also had relevant experience as a career consultant and clinical psychologist. He has given workshops and consulted in a number of U.S. cities as well as in Canada, England, the Netherlands, Colombia, Australia, India, and Malaysia. Jim and his father, Don Kirkpatrick, have co-authored a book, Transferring Learning to Behavior: Using the Four Levels to Improve Performance (Berrett-Koehler, 2005). Cofounder of the downtown Indianapolis Organizational Development Network and on the board of the American Red Cross, Jim has a Ph.D in Counseling Psychology from Indiana State University and a master's degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin.