The Kirkpatrick Model

What Is The Kirkpatrick Model?

The Kirkpatrick Model is The Standard for Leveraging and Validating Talent Investments™. It has evolved through over six decades of application by learning and development professionals around the world so you can trust its effectiveness.

Our time-tested method works in all sectors, such as government, military, corporate, consulting, services, and humanitarian. The model is applicable to all programs so we are confident it will work for you. Popular topics for Kirkpatrick program evaluation plans include onboarding, product and program launches, leadership development, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), safety, security, and succession planning.

We have not encountered an industry or program where the model will not work, which is a testament to its timeless, flexible, and elegant design.

Level 1: Reaction
Level 2: Learning
Level 3: Behavior
Level 4: Results

The Kirkpatrick Model

Level 1: Reaction

The degree to which participants find the training favorable, engaging, and relevant to their jobs

Level 2: Learning

The degree to which participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment based on their participation in the training

Level 3: Behavior

The degree to which participants apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job

Level 4: Results

The degree to which targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training and the support and accountability package

How Do You Use The Kirkpatrick Model?

The four levels work in all sectors, so they will work for you! Get inspired by organizations that applied the principles and achieved great results. 

Dr. Don Kirkpatrick, creator of the Kirkpatrick Model or four levels of training evaluation

Where Did The Kirkpatrick Model Come From?

Dr. Donald L. Kirkpatrick is credited with creating The Kirkpatrick Model, or the four levels of training evaluation, in the 1950s when he used it as the basis of the Ph.D. dissertation entitled, “Evaluating Human Relations Programs for Industrial Foremen and Supervisors.”

Don adapted four steps he learned from influential industrial-organizational psychologist, Dr. Raymond Katzell, and applied them to his supervisory training program.

The steps Don applied grew through organic worldwide usage and became known as The Kirkpatrick Model. Through decades of application and validation, it became the standard for demonstrating the effectiveness of training programs.

What is The New World Kirkpatrick Model?

In 2010, Dr. Jim Kirkpatrick, Don’s son, and Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick, slightly modified the definitions of the four levels and began calling it The New World Kirkpatrick Model. These definitions better recognize Don Kirkpatrick’s broader intent with the model and clarify its usage today.

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