Change management

Organizational and personal change management, process, plans, change management and business development tips. Here are some rules for effective management of change. Managing organizational change will be more successful if you apply these simple principles. Achieving personal change will be more successful too if you use the same approach where relevant. Change management entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes. If you force change on people normally problems arise. Change must be realistic, achievable and measurable. These aspects are especially relevant to managing personal change. Before starting organizational change, ask yourself: What do we want to achieve with this change, why, and how will we know that the change has been achieved? Who is affected by this change, and how will they react to it? How much of this change can we achieve ourselves, and what parts of the change do we need help with? These aspects also relate strongly to the management of personal as well as organizational change. See also the modern principles which underpin successful change. Refer also to Psychological Contract theory, which helps explain the complex relationship between an organization and its employees. Do not 'sell' change to people as a way of accelerating 'agreement' and implementation. 'Selling' change to people is not a sustainable strategy for success, unless your aim is to be bitten on the bum at some time in the future when you least expect it. When people listen to a management high-up 'selling' them a change, decent diligent folk will generally smile and appear to accede, but quietly to themselves, they're thinking, "No bloody chance mate, if you think I'm standing for that load of old bollocks you've another think coming" (And that's just the amenable types - the other more recalcitrant types will be well on the way to making their own particular transition from gamekeepers to poachers.) Instead, change needs to be understood and managed in a way that people can cope effectively with it. Change can be unsettling, so the manager logically needs to be a settling influence. Check that people affected by the change agree with, or at least understand, the need for change, and have a chance to decide how the change will be managed, and to be involved in the planning and implementation of the change. Use face-to-face communications to handle sensitive aspects of organisational change management (see Mehrabian's research on conveying meaning and understanding). Encourage your managers to communicate face-to-face with their people too if they are helping you manage an organizational change. Email and written notices are extremely weak at conveying and developing understanding. If you think that you need to make a change quickly, probe the reasons - is the urgency real? Will the effects of agreeing a more sensible time-frame really be more disastrous than presiding over a disastrous change? Quick change prevents proper consultation and involvement, which leads to difficulties that take time to resolve. For complex changes, refer to the process of project management, and ensure that you augment this with consultative communications to agree and gain support for the reasons for the change. Involving and informing people also creates opportunities for others to participate in planning and implementing the changes, which lightens your burden, spreads the organizational load, and creates a sense of ownership and familiarity among the people affected. See also the excellent free decision-making template, designed by Sharon Drew Morgen, with facilitative questions for personal and organizational innovation and change.

To understand more about people's personalities, and how different people react differently to change, see the personality styles section. For organizational change that entails new actions, objectives and processes for a group or team of people, use workshops to achieve understanding, involvement, plans, measurable aims, actions and commitment. Encourage your management team to use workshops with their people too if they are helping you to manage the change. You should even apply these principles to very tough change like making people redundant, closures and integrating merged or acquired organizations. Bad news needs even more careful management than routine change. Hiding behind memos and middle managers will make matters worse. Consulting with people, and helping them to understand does not weaken your position - it strengthens it. Leaders who fail to consult and involve their people in managing bad news are perceived as weak and lacking in integrity. Treat people with humanity and respect and they will reciprocate. Be mindful that the chief insecurity of most staff is change itself. See the process of personal change theory to see how people react to change. Senior managers and directors responsible for managing organizational change do not, as a rule, fear change - they generally thrive on it. So remember that your people do not relish change, they find it deeply disturbing and threatening. Your people's fear of change is as great as your own fear of failure.

responsibility for managing change

The employee does not have a responsibility to manage change - the employee's responsibility is no other than to do their best, which is different for every person and depends on a wide variety of factors (health, maturity, stability, experience, personality, motivation, etc). Responsibility for managing change is with management and executives of the organisation - they must manage the change in a way that employees can cope with it. The manager has a responsibility to facilitate and enable change, and all that is implied within that statement, especially to understand the situation from an objective standpoint (to 'step back', and be nonjudgemental), and then to help people understand reasons, aims, and ways of responding positively according to employees' own situations and capabilities. Increasingly the manager's role is to interpret, communicate and enable - not to instruct and impose, which nobody really responds to well.

change must involve the people - change must not be imposed upon the people
Be wary of expressions like 'mindset change', and 'changing people's mindsets' or 'changing attitudes', because this language often indicates a tendency towards imposed or enforced change (theory x), and it implies strongly that the organization believes that its people currently have the 'wrong' mindset, which is never, ever, the case. If people are not approaching their tasks or the organization effectively, then the organization has the wrong mindset, not the people. Change such as new structures, policies, targets, acquisitions, disposals, re-locations, etc., all create new systems and environments, which need to be explained to people as early as possible, so that people's involvement in validating and refining the changes themselves can be obtained. Whenever an organization imposes new things on people there will be difficulties. Participation, involvement and open, early, full communication are the important factors. Workshops are very useful processes to develop collective understanding, approaches, policies, methods, systems, ideas, etc. See the section on workshops on the website. Staff surveys are a helpful way to repair damage and mistrust among staff - provided you allow allow people to complete them anonymously, and provided you publish and act on the findings.

Management training, empathy and facilitative capability are priority areas - managers are crucial to the change process - they must enable and facilitate, not merely convey and implement policy from above, which does not work. You cannot impose change - people and teams need to be empowered to find their own solutions and responses, with facilitation and support from managers, and tolerance and compassion from the leaders and executives. Management and leadership style and behaviour are more important than clever process and policy. Employees need to be able to trust the organization. The leader must agree and work with these ideas, or change is likely to be very painful, and the best people will be lost in the process.

change management principles

1. At all times involve and agree support from people within system (system = environment, processes, culture, relationships, behaviours, etc., whether personal or organisational). 2. Understand where you/the organisation is at the moment. 3. Understand where you want to be, when, why, and what the measures will be for having got there. 4. Plan development towards above No.3 in appropriate achievable measurable stages. 5. Communicate, involve, enable and facilitate involvement from people, as early and openly and as fully as is possible.

John P Kotter's 'eight steps to successful change'

American John P Kotter (b 1947) is a Harvard Business School professor and leading thinker and author on organizational change management. Kotter's highly regarded books 'Leading Change' (1995) and the followup 'The Heart Of Change' (2002) describe a helpful model for understanding and managing change. Each stage acknowledges a key principle identified by Kotter relating to people's response and approach to change, in which people see, feel and then change. Kotter's eight step change model can be summarised as: 1. Increase urgency - inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant. 2. Build the guiding team - get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. 3. Get the vision right - get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency. 4. Communicate for buy-in - Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to people's needs. De-clutter communications - make technology work for you rather than against. 5. Empower action - Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders - reward and recognise progress and achievements. 6. Create short-term wins - Set aims that are easy to achieve - in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones. 7. Don't let up - Foster and encourage determination and persistence - ongoing change - encourage ongoing progress reporting - highlight achieved and future milestones. 8. Make change stick - Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, new change leaders. Weave change into culture. Kotter's eight step model is explained more fully on his website www.kotterinternational.com.

Related to Kotter's ideas, and particularly helpful in understanding the pressures of change on people, and people's reactions to change, see a detailed interpretation of the personal change process in John Fisher's model of the process of personal change.

ideas on illustrating change management issues

When people are confronted with the need or opportunity to change, especially when it's 'enforced', as they see it, by the organization, they can become emotional. So can the managers who try to manage the change. Diffusing the emotional feelings, taking a step back, encouraging objectivity, are important to enabling sensible and constructive dialogue. To this end, managers and trainers can find it helpful to use analogies to assist themselves and other staff to look at change in a more detached way. On this site there are several illustrations which can be used for this purpose, depending on the type of change faced, and the aspect that is to be addressed. Here are a few examples, useful for team meetings, presentations, one-to-one counselling or self-reminder, particularly to help empathise with others facing change: On the Stories section look at 'Murphy's Plough' (negative thinking = obstacle to change) and 'We've always done it that way' (not questioning need for change). Both good aids for understanding and explaining why people - all of us - find it difficult to change assumptions, conditioned thinking, habit, routine, etc. Look also at the Monkey Story, as to how policies, practices, attitudes and even cultures can become established, and how the tendency is to accept rather than question. Just as the state of 'unconscious incompetence', needs to be developed into 'conscious competence' to provide a basis for training, so a person's subjective emotion needs to be developed into objectivity before beginning to help them handle change. None of us is immune from subjectivity, ignorance or denial. The lessons and reminders found in stories and analogies can help to show a new clear perspective. Aesop's Fables section has other short and beautifully simple analogies useful for illustrating aspects of causing or dealing with change, for example (all on the Aesop's Fables section): The Crow and the Pitcher (change being provoked by pressure or necessity) The North Wind and the Sun (gentle persuasion rather than force) The Lion and The Ass (enforced change - might is right) The Crab and his Mother (lead by example and evidence - or you'll not change people) The Miller, his Son and the Ass (no single change is likely to please everyone - everyone wants something different) The Oak and the Reeds (the need for tolerance - changer or 'changees') The Rich Man and the Tanner, (time softens change - given time people get used to things) The Ass and the Mule (agree to reasonable change now or you can risk far worse enforced change in the future)

job reorganization, task analysis, job transfer due to IT development or outsourcing etc
First see the modern principles which underpin successful change. It's not always easy or perhaps even possible to consider matters at such depth, but try to if you can, or try to persuade others above in their ivory towers to think about the fundamental integrity of the situation, instead of short-term profit, or satisfying greedy shareholders. There are various approaches to task analysis and job reorganization, whether prompted by outsourcing or IT development. Generally change process of this sort is pragmatic, and it's difficult to identify transferable processes, templates, etc. Examples of projects don't generally find their way into the public domain, although the likelihood is increasing of government project pdf's becoming available on the web as this sort of information is increasingly required to be available to the public. IT vendor case studies and trade journals of the IT and outsourcing sectors can also provide indicators of best practice or transferable processes. There are some useful software tools now available, which are helpful, especially if the change involves a high level of complexity and a large scale. As a broad guide when managing this sort of change, these aspects are important for the process:

Really understand and clarify mutual expectations about the level of detail and cost that the project requires. Sometimes it's possible to see it what you need on a table napkin. The organisational context, and other strategic drivers, personalities and politics are often more significant influences than the task analysis. If you are a consultant or project manager, agree expectations on a pragmatic basis. Agree the templates and systems to be used and the the level of report data required for the decisions to be made. Assume that the situation can be improved - it generally can be, so while it's essential to capture all activities based on current jobs, many of these can be absorbed, superseded, updated, etc., when you begin to look at the ideal situation ('blank sheet of paper') possibilities, so; A new overview analysis enables fresh unencumbered look at the whole, which suggests new and better ways of doing things. A flip chart and a few creative minds are the main pre-requisites. It makes a great workshop session and is good for creating ownership and buy-in for major change. It's a good process also to cascade down to departments to bring out ideas for improved processes and new ways of doing things. In terms of capturing all current processes and inputs, the individual job analysis templates need to enable jobs to be broken down into sub-tasks, and elements within sub-tasks. This is a tricky one, and not practicable in certain X-Theory cultures, nevertheless, be aware of the high probability of upsetting people whose jobs are threatened by change and try to develop a way of anticipating and reducing damaging fall-out. Treat people at risk with the respect they deserve and avoid keeping them in the dark - involve threatened people wherever possible so they can see what's happening and why. If possible encourage the executive team to take the same humane approach, and try to establish counselling and support resources if none exist already. Analyses are more helpful if they identify critical vs essential task elements - this will help you to help the decision-makers to be more pragmatic (not least because by applying pressure to some of the 'essential' elements will reveal them to be habitual dispensable or traditional replaceable elements). Flow diagrams identify subtask linkage (inter and intra), variation and chronology. Behaviour needs identifying aside from processes. Standards, performance tolerance, % reliability, etc., should be indicated in task analysis as applicable to the sub-task or activity concerned.

other points about people and change

Strong resistance to change is often rooted in deeply conditioned or historically reinforced feelings. Patience and tolerance are required to help people in these situations to see things differently. Bit by bit. There are examples of this sort of gradual staged change everywhere in the living world. The Psychological Contract is a significant aspect of change, and offers helpful models and diagrams in understanding and managing change - potentially at a very fundamental level. Also, certain types of people - the reliable/dependable/steady/habitual/process-oriented types - often find change very unsettling. People who welcome change are not generally the best at being able to work reliably, dependably and follow processes. The reliability/dependability capabilities are directly opposite character traits to mobility/adaptability capabilities. Certain industries and disciplines have a high concentration of staff who need a strong reliability/dependability personality profile, for example, health services and nursing, administration, public sector and government departments, utilities and services; these sectors will tend to have many staff with character profiles who find change difficult. See the personality styles page to help understanding about different types of people. Age is another factor. Erik Erikson's fascinating Psychosocial Theory is helpful for understanding that people's priorities and motivations are different depending on their stage of life. The more you understand people's needs, the better you will be able to manage change. Be mindful of people's strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone welcomes change. Take the time to understand the people you are dealing with, and how and why they feel like they do, before you take action.

business development driven change

Business development potentially includes everything involved with the quality of the business or the organization. Business development planning first requires establishing the business development aims, and then formulating a business development strategy, which would comprise some or all of the following methods of development.

sales development new product development new market development business organization, shape, structure and processes development (eg, outsourcing, e-business, etc) tools, equipment, plant, logistics and supply-chain development people, management and communications (capabilities and training) development strategic partnerships and distribution routes development international development acquisitions and disposals

Generally business development is partly scientific, and partly subjective, based on the feelings and wishes of the business owners or CEO. There are so many ways to develop a business which achieve growth and improvement, and rarely is just one of these a single best solution. Business development is what some people call a 'black art', ie., difficult to analyse, and difficult to apply a replicable process.

fast changing environments

Planning, implementing and managing change in a fast-changing environment is increasingly the situation in which most organizations now work. Dynamic environments such as these require dynamic processes, people, systems and culture, especially for managing change successfully, notably effectively optimising organizational response to market opportunities and threats. Key elements for success:

Plan long-term broadly - a sound strategic vision, not a specific detailed plan (the latter is impossible to predict reliably). Detailed five years plans are out of date two weeks after they are written. Focus on detail for establishing and measuring delivery of immediate actions, not medium-to-long-term plans. Establish forums and communicating methods to enable immediate review and decision-making. Participation of interested people is essential. This enables their input to be gained, their approval and commitment to be secured, and automatically takes care of communicating the actions and expectations. Empower people to make decisions at a local operating level - delegate responsibility and power as much as possible (or at least encourage people to make recommendations which can be quickly approved). Remove (as far as is possible) from strategic change and approval processes and teams (or circumvent) any ultra-cautious, ultra-autocratic or compulsively-interfering executives. Autocracy and interference are the biggest obstacles to establishing a successful and sustainable dynamic culture and capability. Encourage, enable and develop capable people to be active in other areas of the organization via 'virtual teams' and 'matrix management'. Scrutinise and optimise ICT (information and communications technology) systems to enable effective information management and key activity team-working. Use workshops as a vehicle to review priorities, agree broad medium-to-long-term vision and aims, and to agree short term action plans and implementation method and accountabilities. Adjust recruitment, training and development to accelerate the development of people who contribute positively to a culture of empowered dynamism.

'troubleshooting' tips for investigating apparent poor performance

If you are ever give the job of 'troubleshooting' or investigating (apparent) poor performance, perhaps in another location or business belonging to your own organisation, or perhaps as a consultancy project, here are some simple tips: Actually 'troubleshooting' isn't a great word - it scares people. Use 'facilitator' or 'helper' instead. It sets a more helpful and cooperative tone. On which point, you could well find that the main issue will be people's resistance and defensiveness to someone coming in to their organisation do what you are doing. When you overcome that challenge, then you can start comparing what's happening with what the organisation sets out to do (mission, values, goals, priorities, targets, key performance indicators, processes, measures); how the people feel about things (staff turnover, retention, morale, attitudes); and how customers and suppliers feel about things too (actually go out and visit customers, and ex-customers particularly).

You must observe protocols very diligently - introduce yourself properly to people and explain who you are and what you are doing. Don't assume that your task gives you the right to be secretive, or to have access to anyone or anything without permission. Ask for help. Ask for introductions. Ask for permission. Be polite and courteous. Respect people more than you would do normally, because they will be sensitive, understandably so. Look at the Sharon Drew Morgen facilitation method, which helps with the style and approach you should use. You must aim to help, enable and facilitate discovery and clarity, not work in splendid isolation, as an outsider, who's come to 'sort things out'. And then be led by the people there as to what can be improved. You should adopt the role of a researcher and enabler rather than a problem solver. Plan lots of questions that will help people to tell you how they feel about things - customers and staff and suppliers - and what they think can be done to improve things. Avoid asking 'why' unless they're really trusting you and working with you. Used early, 'why' puts people on the defence and you'll not find out anything. Look at the customer relationship materials as well - customers will tell you what's best to focus on, and will give you an early opportunity to facilitate some improvement responses. Also look at the employee motivation survey material. It's likely that you'll have to write a report and recommendations afterwards, in which case try wherever possible to involve the people in what you say about them. Let there be no surprises. Be constructive. Accentuate the positive. Be straight and open with people. Enjoy the experience. Be respectful and helpful to people and they'll be respectful and helpful to you.

training or learning?
modern principles of effective employee training and development - plus training policy and template - and training manuals and templates tips

focus on learning, not training

'Training' suggests putting stuff into people, when actually we should be developing people from the inside out - so they achieve their own individual potential - what they love and enjoy, what they are most capable of, and strong at doing, rather than what we try to make them be. 'Learning' far better expresses this than 'training'. Training is about the organisation. Learning is about the person. Training is (mostly) a chore; people do it because they're paid to. Learning is quite different. People respond to appropriate learning because they want to; because it benefits and interests them; because it helps them to grow and to develop their natural abilities; to make a difference; to be special. Training is something that happens at work. Learning is something that people pursue by choice at their own cost in their own time. Does it not make sense for employers to help and enable that process? Of course it does.

The word 'learning' is significant: it suggests that people are driving their own development for themselves, through relevant experience, beyond work related skills and knowledge and processes. 'Learning' extends the idea of personal development (and thereby organisational development) to beliefs, values, wisdom, compassion, emotional maturity, ethics, integrity - and most important of all, to helping others to identify, aspire to and to achieve and fulfil their own unique individual personal potential. Learning describes a person growing. Whereas 'training' merely describes, and commonly represents, transfer of knowledge or skill for organisational gain, which has generally got bugger-all to do with the trainee. No wonder people don't typically enjoy or queue up for training. When you help people to develop as people, you create far greater alignment and congruence between work and people and lives - you provide more meaning for people at work, and you also build and strengthen platform and readiness for any amount of skills, processes, and knowledge development that your organization will ever need. Obviously do not ignore basic skills and knowledge training, for example: health and safety; how to use the phones, how to drive the fork-lift, etc - of course these basics must be trained - but they are not what makes the difference. Train the essential skills and knowledge of course, but most importantly focus on facilitating learning and development for the person, beyond 'work skills' - help them grow and develop for life - help them to identify, aspire to, and take steps towards fulfilling their own personal unique potential. Experiential learning contains many of the principles explained here. See the guide to facilitating experiential learning activities.

focus on emotional maturity, integrity, compassion - these are the characteristics that really matter
When organisations work well it's always due to emotional maturity and integrity, which together enable self-discipline and right thinking and actions. Compassion helps you to sustain people, and to foster a culture of cooperation and mutual support. Compassion is the bedrock of tolerance and understanding, which governs the effectiveness of internal and external communications and team-working.

develop the person, not just the skills and knowledge

Skills and knowledge are the easy things. Most people will take care of these for themselves. Helping and enabling and encouraging people to become happier more fulfilled people is what employers and organisations should focus on. Achieve this and the skills and knowledge will largely take care of themselves.

give people choice

Give people choice in what, and how and when to learn and develop - there is a world of choice out there, and so many ways to access it all. People have different learning styles, rates of learning, and areas of interest. Why restrict people's learning and development to their job skills? Help them learn and develop in whatever way they want and they will quite naturally become more positive, productive and valuable to your organisation. (You may need to find bigger and/or different roles for them, but that's entirely the point - you want people to be doing what they are good at, and what they enjoy - this is what a good organisation is.) Talk about learning, not training, focus on the person, from the inside out, not the outside in, and offer relevant learning in as many ways as you can.

training policy and training manuals - definitions, structures, and template examples
A training policy is different to a training manual. A policy is a set of principles. A manual is a far more detailed set of operating procedures and supporting notes for trainers and trainees. This generally dictates that training manuals are required in two different formats - one for trainers and one for trainees. A policy is more fixed and concise than a manual. A manual is subject to greater and more frequent and detailed changes. A policy provides the principles and system on which the manual(s) can be built. A policy reflects philosophy and values and fundamental aims. A manual deals with how the aims are to be achieved in terms that describe (and if appropriate illustrate too) specific tasks and duties. Because training manuals contain operating procedures, instructions and supporting notes that are specific to the training concerned, most training manuals are more liable to change than a policy, and this flexibility for changing and updating content is an important aspect in deciding the overall system for producing and administrating training manual documentation, which is best addressed and defined in the training policy. While a training policy tends to be established and agreed at a higher executive or managerial level than individual training manuals, the above point demonstrates why input from and consultation with training design and delivery staff are important in designing an effective training policy.

training and development policy - definitions and template

Here's a quick simple template or basic structure for a modern effective and socially responsible training and development policy. You might prefer to call it a learning and development policy, or any other title which will be most meaningful for your situation and people. The structure can also be used to create a training and development manual. Drafting or re-drafting a policy inevitably requires an examination - and ideally a consultation among those interested - focusing on what you are trying to achieve, in this case for people's learning and development. This process connects with and potentially improves just about every aspect of the organization, so it's a useful exercise if you've not done it or it needs revisiting. You will find many and various examples of actual training and development policies in use. Several are now published on the web by the organizations which operate them, because this is a demonstration of organizational quality. As such, an effective modern training and development (or learning and development) policy is an increasingly important part of any organization's visibility and image in the eyes of its customers, staff, potential new employees, and the market as a whole. Training policies vary greatly because (rightly) they tend to be very specific for the organization. That said, broadly a good training and development policy will cover the following aspects. There is no set or definitive order. Other people and organizations will have different ideas.

learning/training and development policy structure

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

introduction/definitions/scope (purpose and reach of policy) cultural/philosophical (values, vision, ethos, guiding principles, etc) legal (health and safety, discrimination, etc) people (where people stand in organizational priorities, input, care, compassion, etc) methods (of T&D, career development, succession, recruitment and selection) systems/tools (for T&D - training manuals, media, knowledge and information management, responsibilities, etc) 7. process/operations (how T&D relates to operations) 8. financial (planning, budgets, prioritisation, etc) 9. responsibility/authority (how T&D is managed, enabling voluntary and extra T&D) 10. social responsibility (CSR, ethics, environment, sustainability, diversity, etc) 11. review and measurement (of T&D, accreditation, qualifications, independent audit, etc) 12. scale, geographical and timing factors (can be appended and flexible - relevant to the policy and situation) Your own policy (and structure/template you start with) needs to be suitable for your own situation. You might find other useful ideas in the induction training checklist and other training templates on this website, because they all provide different aspects and potential headings/content for an overall training policy. The challenge in developing an effective training policy is including all the key issues but keeping it concise and compact, so people will actually read and refer to it. Importantly also, a training policy must provide the basic system and management guide for the people who design and develop training manuals within the organization - for example whether manuals must contain, or instead refer to, the training policy; whether manuals are course-specific or job-specific or departmentalspecific; who is responsible for designing and updating manuals; and whether the media formats of manuals (printed, online, etc). Whatever is included in the training policy, keep it simple - the use of short bullet points under each heading will enable greater clarity. Policies are no use if they are so dry and wordy that people are not inclined to read and use them. Seek input from all interested people - especially those who are responsible for fulfilling training responsibilities - again a policy is no use if it is developed in isolation of those who need it. Circulate draft versions of your new policy to people at all levels and in all functions, so that you can be sure the wording is understood and meaningful - and also to arrive at a policy which is agreed and acceptable. More detailed or changeable points can always be appended to the main document, which enables easier changes, and avoids cluttering the main principles. Detailed aspects of training content and trainee notes are not for inclusion in a training policy - specific training (and trainers') notes are for training manuals, not the overriding training policy document.

training manuals - definitions and templates

As stated, a training manual is different to a training policy. A training policy deals with relatively fixed overriding principles and strategy and systems. Training manuals deal with specific training notes and training content such as instructions, procedures, standards, diagrams and illustrations, technical data and trainer's notes. Before writing lots of training manuals it is useful to decide and describe how the manuals

should be structured and organized - which logically is best addressed in the training policy, typically within 'systems/tools' considerations or similar. A training manual can take various forms, and typically covers a defined training area or subject or course. Therefore organizations of a very modest scale (over 20 employees for example) will typically produce and maintain several or many different training manuals. Irrespective of the size of the organization, it is perfectly reasonable to assemble all training manuals within one compendium, which is helpful for all staff and also for the overall management/overseeing of training manual materials. A training manual can cover departmental or job-specific training, or a particular training course (for example sales, finance, operation of equipment, etc). A training manual can also cover training that is relevant to all jobs and departments (for example, induction, health and safety, IT, employment law, management, etc). The two main different versions of training manuals are:

manuals used by trainers - to enable appropriate training planning, design, delivery, assessment and development manuals used by trainees - to provide all necessary information for trainees in support of the respective training received.

Each version contains essentially the same material, but extended and adapted for the different purposes of trainer or trainee. A training policy can be included in a training manual, or kept separate as a reference document, but one way or another it must be made available to people and referred visibly in all training manuals. Whether to include the full training policy within training manuals largely depends on the size of the training policy document and the amount of training manuals updates. A concise inspiring training policy of between one and three pages would fit very well within any number of training manuals, and is probably an ideal approach. However in larger organizations requiring wordier policies, an unavoidably heavy policy of ten pages is instead probably best merely summarised in training manuals, and a reference given for obtaining the whole policy document. Keeping a large policy separate is also sensible where lots of updates are made to manuals. Increasingly training policies and manuals can be made available online, via an intranet or similar, which enables easier and faster updating and communication of changes. Again this is a principle which should initially be agreed at the training policy stage. Here is a sensible structure for a training manual. In this example it is assumed that the training policy is a separate document:

learning/training manual structure template

1. title or heading of subject/course/department/job training 2. index, timetable, programme (especially itemising training content and elements) 3. training policy or policy summary (and reference to full current policy document - emphasise issues about equality and employment/discrimination law) 4. introduction/definitions (manual structure and glossary, terminology, training design rationale, etc) 5. aims, expectations, measures (setting the scene - explaining what will happen - mutual expectations and standards - the Kirkpatrick model is useful for this) 6. use of manual (how the manual works and how it relates to the training and the job)

7. training methods, support, media, materials (the training formats and options, tutors and support) 8. training content/elements (itemised and presented in logical sequence and in suitably sized elements for delegates' learning ability, and reflecting the order of training activities and delivery see example formats below - again see Kirkpatrick's model which can be used as a structure for each element - and also see the VAK learning styles and Kolb learning cycle/styles model, both of which are helpful in ensuring delivery formats meet needs of all preferred learning and communications styles 9. ongoing learning and follow-up (especially help with practical implementation - optionally this section can be included after each training element, which is preferable where content is extensive or complex - include any relevant information to help and encourage learners to apply new capabilities and to continue learning) 10. bibliography and references (further information sources - again optionally this section can be included after each training element if more effective for delegates) 11. copyright and authorship information (as appropriate - obviously more significant for externally provided training)

This template is an example. Sequence and items can be changed to suit situations. Where training is delivered by a trainer (as distinct from online or distance learning) then a trainer's version of the manual should include additional sections covering these aspects, as appropriate to the situation:

training manual - trainer's versions - additional sections/items

trainer's checklist/inventory (all materials and equipment required for course/training - including clarification of anything open to interpretation or confusion) trainers content notes (for the presentation of each section including options and alternatives for different learning styles, levels of ability, and anything relevant, useful or potentially arising in delivery - not restricted to contingencies but also extending to tips and ideas for improving delivery, enjoyment and learning transfer - ideally a growing resource of trainer's help in running the course or programme, assuming a trainer is involved) master copies of trainee notes and handouts (in case of loss or omission or spoiling, and where no copying facilities exist then ample spare copies should be part of the checklist/inventory - web addresses or links can suffice instead of hard copies where materials are organized and available reliably online) trainer's course/training management notes (regarding venue, domestic arrangements, travel and accommodation info, etc) trainer's contact points (for trainer's clarification or assistance with any aspects of course/training delivery - typically an expert or department directly involved in designing the course and/or responsible for the function in which technical content resides in the organization or training provider)

You should develop a structure for your own situation that meets the needs of people using it and what you are aiming to achieve.

training content notes in training manuals - sample formats

There are so many ways to do this. Essentially delegates need notes and supporting information that are appropriate and relevant to the training content being imparted, and also to the preferred styles of the trainees.

For example if the trainees tend to prefer lots of detail, then ensure notes contain lots of detail. If trainees prefer quicker visual representations and diagrams and pictures, then ensure such images feature strongly in the supporting notes. If trainees are very active and practical and seek lots of participative hands-on experience then ensure these aspects are built into the supporting materials. Whatever, make sure that each element of the training content is structured to explain its characteristics, standards/parameters, inputs and outcomes. Charts and grid layouts containing numbered points, comparisons, graphs are much more effective than freerunning text and narrative. You can also use/adapt the main structure of a training planner (or your own local equivalent) to define and present each part or element of the training content in clear consistent sections, for example: This is a just a broad suggestion of format and possible sections - sections sizes depend on the content you'd need to insert in each. training manual - notes page structure example skill/ability/area to be trained - definition purpose/relevance of capability element or part of area to be trained definition purpose/result/aim of training element required standard or parameter current knowledge or ability activity or exercise tools, equipment, materials timings, venue, person responsible notes, diagrams completed references/further info follow-up and measurement

Other frameworks can be used instead or in association with relevant sections above. Select a framework or structure for the format of the notes which fits the situation and the needs of the delegates. The following models and methods provide possible structures to use or adapt or blend in developing a helpful format for the actual training content notes pages of a training manual. Once you have a format you can then more easily fill in the boxes, or even delegate the task of doing so to someone who understands the technicalities of the training element without necessarily being able to design training from scratch. The format is the key.

Kirkpatrick Kolb Bloom VAK/Skills Attitude Knowledge/Multiple Intelligence Conscious Competence Process steps - the 'flatpack furniture' approach - numbered instructional points with diagrams - so called after the instructions typically included with flatpack self-assembly furniture, in which clear diagrams reduce the need for lots of text, and so are quickly and easily understood, even to an extent by foreign language speakers or unskilled readers presentation slide copies with notes (powerpoint or similar) - care is required or this becomes overly dependent on the quality of the slides - supporting notes have to fulfil a different and more instructional and detailed purpose cartoons and illustrations (can help transform dry text-laden content into far more enjoyable and stimulating learning materials)

These templates are a guide - a starting point or a default. Provided you follow an appropriate structure of some sort then your options are limitless - particularly when one begins to consider the growing possibilities of digital and online media. Whatever, strive for a training policy and a training manual methodology that meets the needs of your people and what you are aiming to achieve in the widest and most adventurous way possible. Training must be structured and logical, because it must be appropriate and measurable - moreover it should also be innovative, enjoyable, ethical, and responsive to the increasing expectations of your people and your customers.

kirkpatrick's learning and training evaluation theory

Donald L Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model - the four levels of learning evaluation

also below - HRD performance evaluation guide

Donald L Kirkpatrick, Professor Emeritus, University Of Wisconsin (where he achieved his BBA, MBA and PhD), first published his ideas in 1959, in a series of articles in the Journal of American Society of Training Directors. The articles were subsequently included in Kirkpatrick's book Evaluating Training Programs (originally published in 1994; now in its 3rd edition - Berrett-Koehler Publishers).

Donald Kirkpatrick was president of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in 1975. Kirkpatrick has written several other significant books about training and evaluation, more recently with his similarly inclined son James, and has consulted with some of the world's largest corporations. Donald Kirkpatrick's 1994 book Evaluating Training Programs defined his originally published ideas of 1959, thereby further increasing awareness of them, so that his theory has now become arguably the most widely used and popular model for the evaluation of training and learning. Kirkpatrick's four-level model is now considered an industry standard across the HR and training communities. More recently Don Kirkpatrick formed his own company, Kirkpatrick Partners, whose website provides information about their services and methods, etc.

kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation model

The four levels of Kirkpatrick's evaluation model essentially measure:

reaction of student - what they thought and felt about the training learning - the resulting increase in knowledge or capability behaviour - extent of behaviour and capability improvement and implementation/application results - the effects on the business or environment resulting from the trainee's performance

All these measures are recommended for full and meaningful evaluation of learning in organizations, although their application broadly increases in complexity, and usually cost, through the levels from level 14.

Quick Training Evaluation and Feedback Form, based on Kirkpatrick's Learning Evaluation Model - (Excel file)

kirkpatrick's four levels of training evaluation

This grid illustrates the basic Kirkpatrick structure at a glance. The second grid, beneath this one, is the same thing with more detail.
level evaluation type (what is measured) 1 Reaction evaluation description and characteristics examples of evaluation tools and methods relevance and practicability

Reaction evaluation is how the delegates felt about the training or learning experience. Learning evaluation is the measurement of the increase in knowledge - before and after.

'Happy sheets', feedback forms. Verbal reaction, post-training surveys or questionnaires. Typically assessments or tests before and after the training. Interview or observation can also be used. Observation and interview over time are required to assess change, relevance of change,

Quick and very easy to obtain. Not expensive to gather or to analyse. Relatively simple to set up; clear-cut for quantifiable skills. Less easy for complex learning. Measurement of behaviour change typically requires cooperation and skill of line-managers.

Learning

Behaviour

Behaviour evaluation is the extent of applied learning back on the job -

implementation. 4 Results Results evaluation is the effect on the business or environment by the trainee.

and sustainability of change. Measures are already in place via normal management systems and reporting - the challenge is to relate to the trainee. Individually not difficult; unlike whole organisation. Process must attribute clear accountabilities.

kirkpatrick's four levels of training evaluation in detail

This grid illustrates the Kirkpatrick's structure detail, and particularly the modern-day interpretation of the Kirkpatrick learning evaluation model, usage, implications, and examples of tools and methods. This diagram is the same format as the one above but with more detail and explanation:
evaluation level and type 1. Reaction evaluation description and characteristics Reaction evaluation is how the delegates felt, and their personal reactions to the training or learning experience, for example: Did the trainees like and enjoy the training? Did they consider the training relevant? Was it a good use of their time? Did they like the venue, the style, timing, domestics, etc? Level of participation. Ease and comfort of experience. Level of effort required to make the most of the learning. Perceived practicability and potential for applying the learning. 2. Learning Learning evaluation is the measurement of the increase in knowledge or intellectual capability from before to after the learning experience: Did the trainees learn what what intended to be taught? Did the trainee experience what was intended for them to experience? What is the extent of advancement Typically assessments or tests before and after the training. Interview or observation can be used before and after although this is timeconsuming and can be inconsistent. Methods of assessment need to be closely related to the aims of the learning. Measurement and analysis is possible and easy on a group scale. Relatively simple to set up, but more investment and thought required than reaction evaluation. Highly relevant and clear-cut for certain training such as quantifiable or technical skills. Less easy for more complex learning such as attitudinal development, which is famously difficult to assess. Cost escalates if systems are examples of evaluation tools and methods Typically 'happy sheets'. Feedback forms based on subjective personal reaction to the training experience. Verbal reaction which can be noted and analysed. Post-training surveys or questionnaires. Online evaluation or grading by delegates. Subsequent verbal or written reports given by delegates to managers back at their jobs. relevance and practicability

Can be done immediately the training ends. Very easy to obtain reaction feedback Feedback is not expensive to gather or to analyse for groups. Important to know that people were not upset or disappointed. Important that people give a positive impression when relating their experience to others who might be deciding whether to experience same.

or change in the trainees after the training, in the direction or area that was intended?

Reliable, clear scoring and measurements need to be established, so as to limit the risk of inconsistent assessment. Hard-copy, electronic, online or interview style assessments are all possible.

poorly designed, which increases work required to measure and analyse.

3. Behaviour

Behaviour evaluation is the extent to which the trainees applied the learning and changed their behaviour, and this can be immediately and several months after the training, depending on the situation: Did the trainees put their learning into effect when back on the job? Were the relevant skills and knowledge used Was there noticeable and measurable change in the activity and performance of the trainees when back in their roles? Was the change in behaviour and new level of knowledge sustained? Would the trainee be able to transfer their learning to another person? Is the trainee aware of their change in behaviour, knowledge, skill level?

Observation and interview over time are required to assess change, relevance of change, and sustainability of change. Arbitrary snapshot assessments are not reliable because people change in different ways at different times. Assessments need to be subtle and ongoing, and then transferred to a suitable analysis tool. Assessments need to be designed to reduce subjective judgement of the observer or interviewer, which is a variable factor that can affect reliability and consistency of measurements. The opinion of the trainee, which is a relevant indicator, is also subjective and unreliable, and so needs to be measured in a consistent defined way. 360-degree feedback is useful method and need not be used before training, because respondents can make a judgement as to change after training, and this can be analysed for groups of respondents and trainees. Assessments can be designed around relevant performance scenarios, and specific key performance indicators or criteria. Online and electronic assessments are more difficult to incorporate assessments tend to be more successful when integrated within existing management and coaching protocols. Self-assessment can be useful, using carefully designed criteria and measurements.

Measurement of behaviour change is less easy to quantify and interpret than reaction and learning evaluation. Simple quick response systems unlikely to be adequate. Cooperation and skill of observers, typically linemanagers, are important factors, and difficult to control. Management and analysis of ongoing subtle assessments are difficult, and virtually impossible without a well-designed system from the beginning. Evaluation of implementation and application is an extremely important assessment - there is little point in a good reaction and good increase in capability if nothing changes back in the job, therefore evaluation in this area is vital, albeit challenging. Behaviour change evaluation is possible given good support and involvement from line managers or trainees, so it is helpful to involve them from the start, and to identify benefits for them, which links to the level 4 evaluation below.

4. Results

Results evaluation is the effect on the business or environment resulting from the improved performance of the trainee - it is the acid test. Measures would typically be business or organisational key performance indicators, such as:

It is possible that many of these Individually, results evaluation is measures are already in place via normal not particularly difficult; across management systems and reporting. an entire organisation it becomes very much more challenging, not least because of the reliance on The challenge is to identify which and line-management, and the how relate to to the trainee's input and frequency and scale of changing influence. structures, responsibilities and roles, which complicates the Therefore it is important to identify and agree accountability and relevance with process of attributing clear

Volumes, values, percentages, timescales, return on investment, and other quantifiable aspects of organisational performance, for instance; numbers of complaints, staff turnover, attrition, failures, wastage, non-compliance, quality ratings, achievement of standards and accreditations, growth, retention, etc.

the trainee at the start of the training, so they understand what is to be measured. This process overlays normal good management practice - it simply needs linking to the training input. Failure to link to training input type and timing will greatly reduce the ease by which results can be attributed to the training. For senior people particularly, annual appraisals and ongoing agreement of key business objectives are integral to measuring business results derived from training.

accountability. Also, external factors greatly affect organisational and business performance, which cloud the true cause of good or poor results.

Since Kirkpatrick established his original model, other theorists (for example Jack Phillips), and indeed Kirkpatrick himself, have referred to a possible fifth level, namely ROI (Return On Investment). In my view ROI can easily be included in Kirkpatrick's original fourth level 'Results'. The inclusion and relevance of a fifth level is therefore arguably only relevant if the assessment of Return On Investment might otherwise be ignored or forgotten when referring simply to the 'Results' level. Learning evaluation is a widely researched area. This is understandable since the subject is fundamental to the existence and performance of education around the world, not least universities, which of course contain most of the researchers and writers. While Kirkpatrick's model is not the only one of its type, for most industrial and commercial applications it suffices; indeed most organisations would be absolutely thrilled if their training and learning evaluation, and thereby their ongoing people-development, were planned and managed according to Kirkpatrick's model. For reference, should you be keen to look at more ideas, there are many to choose from...

Jack Phillips' Five Level ROI Model Daniel Stufflebeam's CIPP Model (Context, Input, Process, Product) Robert Stake's Responsive Evaluation Model Robert Stake's Congruence-Contingency Model Kaufman's Five Levels of Evaluation CIRO (Context, Input, Reaction, Outcome) PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) Alkins' UCLA Model Michael Scriven's Goal-Free Evaluation Approach Provus's Discrepancy Model Eisner's Connoisseurship Evaluation Models Illuminative Evaluation Model Portraiture Model and also the American Evaluation Association

Also look at Leslie Rae's excellent Training Evaluation and tools available on this site, which, given Leslie's experience and knowledge, will save you the job of researching and designing your own tools.

evaluation of HRD function performance

If you are responsible for HR functions and services to internal and/or external customers, you might find it useful to go beyond Kirkpatrick's evaluation of training and learning, and to evaluate also satisfaction among staff/customers with HR department's overall performance. The parameters for such an evaluation ultimately depend on what your HR function is responsible for - in other words, evaluate according to expectations. Like anything else, evaluating customer satisfaction must first begin with a clear appreciation of (internal) customers' expectations. Expectations - agreed, stated, published or otherwise - provide the basis for evaluating all types of customer satisfaction. If people have expectations which go beyond HR department's stated and actual responsibilities, then the matter must be pursued because it will almost certainly offer an opportunity to add value to HR's activities, and to add value and competitive advantage to your organisation as a whole. In this fast changing world, HR is increasingly the department which is most likely to see and respond to new opportunities for the support and development of the your people - so respond, understand, and do what you can to meet new demands when you see them. If you are keen to know how well HR department is meeting people's expectations, a questionnaire, and/or some group discussions will shed light on the situation. Here are some example questions. Effectively you should be asking people to say how well HR or HRD department has done the following:

helped me to identify, understand, identify and prioritise my personal development needs and wishes, in terms of: skills, knowledge, experience and attitude (or personal well-being, or emotional maturity, or mood, or mind-set, or any other suitable term meaning mental approach, which people will respond to) helped me to understand my own preferred learning style and learning methods for acquiring new skills, knowledge and attitudinal capabilities helped me to identify and obtain effective learning and development that suits my preferred style and circumstances helped me to measure my development, and for the measurement to be clear to my boss and others in the organisation who should know about my capabilities provided tools and systems to encourage and facilitate my personal development and particularly helped to optimise the relationship between me and my boss relating to assisting my own personal development and well-being provided a working environment that protects me from discrimination and harassment of any sort provided the opportunity for me to voice my grievances if I have any, (in private, to a suitably trained person in the company whom I trust) and then if I so wish for proper consideration and response to be given to them by the company provided the opportunity for me to receive counselling and advice in the event that I need private and supportive help of this type, again from a suitably trained person in the company whom I trust ensured that disciplinary processes are clear and fair, and include the right of appeal ensured that recruitment and promotion of staff are managed fairly and transparently ensuring that systems and activities exist to keep all staff informed of company plans, performance, etc., (as normally included in a Team Briefing system) (if you dare...) ensuring that people are paid and rewarded fairly in relation to other company employees, and separately, paid and rewarded fairly when compared to market norms (your CEO will not like this question, but if you have a problem in this area it's best to know about it...) (and for managers) helped me to ensure the development needs of my staff are identified and supported

This is not an exhaustive list - just some examples. Many of the examples contain elements which should under typical large company circumstances be broken down to create more and smaller questions about more specific aspects of HR support and services. If you work in HR, or run an HR department, and consider that some of these issues and expectations fall outside your remit, then consider who else is responsible for them. I repeat, in this fast changing world, HR is increasingly the department which is most likely to see and respond to new opportunities for the support and development of the your people - so respond, understand, and do what you can to meet new demands when you see them. In doing so you will add value to your people and your organisation - and your department.

kolb learning styles

David Kolb's learning styles model and experiential learning theory (ELT)
Having developed the model over many years prior, David Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984. The model gave rise to related terms such as Kolb's experiential learning theory (ELT), and Kolb's learning styles inventory (LSI). In his publications - notably his 1984 book 'Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development' Kolb acknowledges the early work on experiential learning by others in the 1900's, including Rogers, Jung, and Piaget. In turn, Kolb's learning styles model and experiential learning theory are today acknowledged by academics, teachers, managers and trainers as truly seminal works; fundamental concepts towards our understanding and explaining human learning behaviour, and towards helping others to learn. See also Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and VAK learnings styles models, which assist in understanding and using Kolb's learning styles concepts. In addition to personal business interests (Kolb is founder and chairman of Experience Based Learning Systems), David Kolb is still (at the time I write this, 2005) Professor of Organizational Development at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, where he teaches and researches in the fields of learning and development, adult development, experiential learning, learning style, and notably 'learning focused institutional development in higher education'.

kolb's experiential learning theory (learning styles) model

Kolb's learning theory sets out four distinct learning styles (or preferences), which are based on a fourstage learning cycle. (which might also be interpreted as a 'training cycle'). In this respect Kolb's model is particularly elegant, since it offers both a way to understand individual people's different learning styles, and also an explanation of a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all. Kolb includes this 'cycle of learning' as a central principle his experiential learning theory, typically expressed as four-stage cycle of learning, in which 'immediate or concrete experiences' provide a basis for 'observations and reflections'. These 'observations and reflections' are assimilated and distilled into 'abstract concepts' producing new implications for action which can be 'actively tested' in turn creating new experiences. Kolb says that ideally (and by inference not always) this process represents a learning cycle or spiral where the learner 'touches all the bases', ie., a cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting. Immediate or concrete experiences lead to observations and reflections. These reflections are then assimilated (absorbed

and translated) into abstract concepts with implications for action, which the person can actively test and experiment with, which in turn enable the creation of new experiences. Kolb's model therefore works on two levels - a four-stage cycle: 1. 2. 3. 4. Concrete Experience - (CE) Reflective Observation - (RO) Abstract Conceptualization - (AC) Active Experimentation - (AE)

and a four-type definition of learning styles, (each representing the combination of two preferred styles, rather like a two-by-two matrix of the four-stage cycle styles, as illustrated below), for which Kolb used the terms: 1. 2. 3. 4. Diverging (CE/RO) Assimilating (AC/RO) Converging (AC/AE) Accommodating (CE/AE)

diagrams of kolb's learning styles

Here is a new improved (May 2006) free diagram illustrating Kolb's learning cycle and learning types (MSWord). (Also as a pdf.) Kolb diagrams also in colour (like the image below): Kolb learning styles colour diagram MSWord, and Kolb colour diagram PDF. (Kolb diagrams updated May 2006)

See also the personality styles and models section for help with understanding how Kolb's theory correlates with other personality models and psychometrics (personality testing).

learning styles
(This interpretation was amended and revised March 2006) Kolb explains that different people naturally prefer a certain single different learning style. Various factors influence a person's preferred style: notably in his experiential learning theory model (ELT) Kolb defined three stages of a person's development, and suggests that our propensity to reconcile and successfully integrate the four different learning styles improves as we mature through our development stages. The development stages that Kolb identified are: 1. Acquisition - birth to adolescence - development of basic abilities and 'cognitive structures' 2. Specialization - schooling, early work and personal experiences of adulthood - the development of a particular 'specialized learning style' shaped by 'social, educational, and organizational socialization' 3. Integration - mid-career through to later life - expression of non-dominant learning style in work and personal life. Whatever influences the choice of style, the learning style preference itself is actually the product of two pairs of variables, or two separate 'choices' that we make, which Kolb presented as lines of axis, each with 'conflicting' modes at either end: Concrete Experience - CE (feeling) -----V-----Abstract Conceptualization - AC (thinking)

Active Experimentation - AE (doing)-----V----- Reflective Observation - RO (watching) A typical presentation of Kolb's two continuums is that the east-west axis is called the Processing Continuum (how we approach a task), and the north-south axis is called the Perception Continuum (our emotional response, or how we think or feel about it). These learning styles are the combination of two lines of axis (continuums) each formed between what Kolb calls 'dialectically related modes' of 'grasping experience' (doing or watching), and 'transforming experience' (feeling or thinking):

The word 'dialectically' is not widely understood, and yet carries an essential meaning, namely 'conflicting' (its ancient Greek root means 'debate' - and I thank P Stern for helping clarify this precise meaning). Kolb meant by this that we cannot do both at the same time, and to an extent our urge to want to do both creates conflict, which we resolve through choice when confronted with a new learning situation. We internally decide whether we wish to do or watch, and at the same time we decide whether to think or feel. The result of these two decisions produces (and helps to form throughout our lives) the preferred learning style, hence the two-by-two matrix below. We choose a way of 'grasping the experience', which defines our approach to it, and we choose a way to 'transform the experience' into something meaningful and usable, which defines our emotional response to the experience. Our learning style is a product of these two choice decisions: 1. how to approach a task - ie., 'grasping experience' - preferring to (a) watch or (b) do , and 2. our emotional response to the experience - ie., 'transforming experience' - preferring to (a) think or (b) feel.

In other words we choose our approach to the task or experience ('grasping the experience') by opting for 1(a) or 1(b):

1(a) - though watching others involved in the experience and reflecting on what happens ('reflective observation' - 'watching') or 1(b) - through 'jumping straight in' and just doing it ('active experimentation' - 'doing')

And at the same time we choose how to emotionally transform the experience into something meaningful and useful by opting for 2(a) or 2(b):

2(a) - through gaining new information by thinking, analyzing, or planning ('abstract conceptualization' - 'thinking') or 2(b) - through experiencing the 'concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world' ('concrete experience' - 'feeling')

The combination of these two choices produces a preferred learning style. See the matrix below.

kolb's learning styles - matrix view

It's often easier to see the construction of Kolb's learning styles in terms of a two-by-two matrix. The diagram also highlights Kolb's terminology for the four learning styles; diverging, assimilating, and converging, accommodating:

doing (Active Experimentation - AE) feeling (Concrete Experience - CE) thinking (Abstract Conceptualization AC)

watching (Reflective Observation RO)

accommodating (CE/AE) converging (AC/AE)

diverging (CE/RO) assimilating (AC/RO)

Thus, for example, a person with a dominant learning style of 'doing' rather than 'watching' the task, and 'feeling' rather than 'thinking' about the experience, will have a learning style which combines and represents those processes, namely an 'Accommodating' learning style, in Kolb's terminology.

kolb learning styles definitions and descriptions

Knowing a person's (and your own) learning style enables learning to be orientated according to the preferred method. That said, everyone responds to and needs the stimulus of all types of learning styles to one extent or another - it's a matter of using emphasis that fits best with the given situation and a person's learning style preferences. Here are brief descriptions of the four Kolb learning styles:

Diverging (feeling and watching - CE/RO) - These people are able to look at things from different perspectives. They are sensitive. They prefer to watch rather than do, tending to gather information and use imagination to solve problems. They are best at viewing concrete situations several different viewpoints. Kolb called this style 'Diverging' because these people perform better in situations that require ideas-generation, for example, brainstorming. People with a Diverging learning style have broad cultural interests and like to gather information. They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative and emotional, and tend to be strong in the arts. People with the Diverging style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal feedback. Assimilating (watching and thinking - AC/RO) - The Assimilating learning preference is for a concise, logical approach. Ideas and concepts are more important than people. These people require good clear explanation rather than practical opportunity. They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organising it a clear logical format. People with an Assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts. People with this style are more attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. These learning style people is important for effectiveness in information and science careers. In formal learning situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through. Converging (doing and thinking - AC/AE) - People with a Converging learning style can solve problems and will use their learning to find solutions to practical issues. They prefer technical tasks, and are less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects. People with a Converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories. They can solve problems and make decisions by finding solutions to questions and problems. People with a Converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than social or interpersonal issues. A Converging learning style enables specialist and technology abilities. People with a Converging style like to experiment with new ideas, to simulate, and to work with practical applications. Accommodating (doing and feeling - CE/AE) - The Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on', and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people's analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act on 'gut' instinct rather than logical analysis. People with an Accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for information than carry out their own analysis. This learning style is prevalent and useful in roles requiring action and initiative. People with an Accommodating learning style prefer to work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets and actively work in the field trying different ways to achieve an objective.

As with any behavioural model, this is a guide not a strict set of rules. Nevertheless most people clearly exhibit clear strong preferences for a given learning style. The ability to use or 'switch between' different styles is not one that we should assume comes easily or naturally to many people. Simply, people who have a clear learning style preference, for whatever reason, will tend to learn more effectively if learning is orientated according to their preference. For instance - people who prefer the 'Assimilating' learning style will not be comfortable being thrown in at the deep end without notes and instructions. People who like prefer to use an 'Accommodating' learning style are likely to become frustrated if they are forced to read lots of instructions and rules, and are unable to get hands on experience as soon as possible.

relationships between kolb and other behavioural/personality theories

As with many behavioural and personality models, interesting correlations exist between Kolb's theory and other concepts. For example, Kolb says that his experiential learning theory, and therefore the learning styles model within it, builds on Carl Jung's assertion that learning styles result from people's preferred ways of adapting in the world. Among many other correlations between definitions, Kolb points out that Jung's 'Extraversion/Introversion' dialectical dimension - (which features and is measured in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator [MBTI]) correlates with the 'Active/Reflective' (doing/watching) dialectic (east-west continuum) of Kolb's model. Also, the MBTI 'Feeling/Thinking' dimension correlates with the Kolb model Concrete Experience/Abstract Conceptualization dimension (north-south continuum).

honey and mumford's variation on the kolb system

Various resources (including this one in the past) refer to the terms 'activist', 'reflector', 'theorist', and 'pragmatist' (respectively representing the four key stages or learning steps) in seeking to explain Kolb's model. In fact, 'activist', 'reflector', 'theorist', and 'pragmatist' are from a learning styles model developed by Honey and Mumford, which although based on Kolb's work, is different. Arguably therefore the terms 'activist', 'reflector', 'theorist', and 'pragmatist' effectively 'belong' to the Honey and Mumford theory. Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed their learning styles system as a variation on the Kolb model while working on a project for the Chloride corporation in the 1970's. Honey and Mumford say of their system: "Our description of the stages in the learning cycle originated from the work of David Kolb. Kolb uses different words to describe the stages of the learning cycle and four learning styles..." And, "...The similarities between his model and ours are greater than the differences.." (Honey & Mumford) In summary here are brief descriptions of the four H&M key stages/styles, which incidentally are directly mutually corresponding and overlaid, as distinct from the Kolb model in which the learning styles are a product of combinations of the learning cycle stages. The typical presentation of these H&M styles and stages would be respectively at north, east, south and west on a circle or four-stage cyclical flow diagram. 1. 'Having an Experience' (stage 1), and Activists (style 1): 'here and now', gregarious, seek challenge and immediate experience, open-minded, bored with implementation. 2. 'Reviewing the Experience' (stage 2) and Reflectors (style 2): 'stand back', gather data, ponder and analyse, delay reaching conclusions, listen before speaking, thoughtful. 3. 'Concluding from the Experience' (stage 3) and Theorists (style 3): think things through in logical steps, assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories, rationally objective, reject subjectivity and flippancy. 4. 'Planning the next steps' (stage 4) and Pragmatists (style 4): seek and try out new ideas, practical, down-to-earth, enjoy problem solving and decision-making quickly, bored with long discussions. There is arguably a strong similarity between the Honey and Mumford styles/stages and the corresponding Kolb learning styles:

Activist = Accommodating Reflector = Diverging Theorist = Assimilating Pragmatist = Converging

bloom's taxonomy - learning domains

Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains - Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor Domains - design and evaluation toolkit for training and learning
Bloom's Taxonomy, (in full: 'Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains', or strictly speaking: Bloom's 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives') was initially (the first part) published in 1956 under the leadership of American academic and educational expert Dr Benjamin S Bloom. 'Bloom's Taxonomy' was originally created in and for an academic context, (the development commencing in 1948), when Benjamin Bloom chaired a committee of educational psychologists, based in American education, whose aim was to develop a system of categories of learning behaviour to assist in the design and assessment of educational learning. Bloom's Taxonomy has since been expanded over many years by Bloom and other contributors (notably Anderson and Krathwhol as recently as 2001, whose theories extend Bloom's work to far more complex levels than are explained here, and which are more relevant to the field of academic education than to corporate training and development). Where indicated Bloom's Taxonomy tables are adapted and reproduced with permission from Allyn & Bacon, Boston USA, being the publishers and copyright owners of 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives' (Bloom et al 1956). Most corporate trainers and HR professionals, coaches and teachers, will benefit significantly by simply understanding the basics of Bloom's Taxonomy, as featured below. (If you want to know more, there is a vast amount of related reading and references, listed at the end of this summary explanation.) Bloom's Taxonomy was primarily created for academic education, however it is relevant to all types of learning. Interestingly, at the outset, Bloom believed that education should focus on 'mastery' of subjects and the promotion of higher forms of thinking, rather than a utilitarian approach to simply transferring facts. Bloom demonstrated decades ago that most teaching tended to be focused on fact-transfer and information recall the lowest level of training - rather than true meaningful personal development, and this remains a central challenge for educators and trainers in modern times. Much corporate training is also limited to nonparticipative, unfeeling knowledge-transfer, (all those stultifyingly boring powerpoint presentations...), which is reason alone to consider the breadth and depth approach exemplified in Bloom's model. You might find it helpful now to see the Bloom Taxonomy overview. Did you realise there were all these potential dimensions to training and learning?

development of bloom's taxonomy

Benjamin S Bloom (1913-99) attained degrees at Pennsylvania State University in 1935. He joined the Department of Education at the University of Chicago in 1940 and attained a PhD in Education in 1942, during which time he specialised in examining. Here he met his mentor Ralph Tyler with whom he first began to develop his ideas for developing a system (or 'taxonomy') of specifications to enable educational training and learning objectives to be planned and measured properly - improving the effectiveness of developing 'mastery' instead of simply transferring facts for mindless recall. Bloom continued to develop the

Learning Taxonomy model through the 1960's, and was appointed Charles H Swift Distinguished Service Professor at Chicago in 1970. He served as adviser on education to several overseas governments including of Israel and India. Bloom's (and his colleagues') initial attention was focused on the 'Cognitive Domain', which was the first published part of Bloom's Taxonomy, featured in the publication: 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain' (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwohl, 1956). The 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook II, The Affective Domain' (Bloom, Masia, Krathwohl) as the title implies, deals with the detail of the second domain, the 'Affective Domain', and was published in 1964. Various people suggested detail for the third 'Psychomotor Domain', which explains why this domain detail varies in different representations of the complete Bloom Taxonomy. The three most popularly referenced versions of the Psychomotor Domain seem to be those of RH Dave (1967/70), EJ Simpson (1966/72), and AJ Harrow (1972). As such 'Bloom's Taxonomy' describes the three-domain structure, within which the detail may vary, especially for the third domain. Bloom's Taxonomy has therefore since 1956 provided a basis for ideas which have been used (and developed) around the world by academics, educators, teachers and trainers, for the preparation of learning evaluation materials, and also provided the platform for the complete 'Bloom's Taxonomy' (including the detail for the third 'Psychomotor Domain') as we see it today. Collectively these concepts which make up the whole Bloom Taxonomy continue to be useful and very relevant to the planning and design of: school, college and university education, adult and corporate training courses, teaching and lesson plans, and learning materials; they also serve as a template for the evaluation of: training, teaching, learning and development, within every aspect of education and industry. If you are involved in the design, delivery or evaluation of teaching, training, courses, learning and lesson plans, you should find Bloom's Taxonomy useful, as a template, framework or simple checklist to ensure you are using the most appropriate type of training or learning in order to develop the capabilities required or wanted. Training or learning design and evaluation need not cover all aspects of the Taxonomy - just make sure there is coverage of the aspects that are appropriate. As such, if in doubt about your training aims - check what's possible, and perhaps required, by referring to Bloom's Taxonomy.

explanation of bloom's taxonomy

First, don't be put off by the language or the apparent complexity of Bloom's Taxonomy - at this basic level it's a relatively simple and logical model. Taxonomy means 'a set of classification principles', or 'structure', and Domain simply means 'category'. Bloom and his colleagues were academics, looking at learning as a behavioural science, and writing for other academics, which is why they never called it 'Bloom's Learning Structure', which would perhaps have made more sense to people in the business world. (Interestingly this example of the use of technical language provides a helpful lesson in learning itself, namely, if you want to get an idea across to people, you should try to use language that your audience will easily recognise and understand.)

Bloom's Taxonomy underpins the classical 'Knowledge, Attitude, Skills' structure of learning method and evaluation, and aside from the even simpler Kirkpatrick learning evaluation model, Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains remains the most widely used system of its kind in education particularly, and also industry and corporate training. It's easy to see why, because it is such a simple, clear and effective model, both for explanation and application of learning objectives, teaching and training methods, and measurement of learning outcomes. Bloom's Taxonomy provides an excellent structure for planning, designing, assessing and evaluating training and learning effectiveness. The model also serves as a sort of checklist, by which you can ensure that training is planned to deliver all the necessary development for students, trainees or learners, and a template by which you can assess the validity and coverage of any existing training, be it a course, a curriculum, or an entire training and development programme for a large organisation. It is fascinating that Bloom's Taxonomy model (1956/64) and Kirkpatrick's learning evaluation model (1959) remain classical reference models and tools into the 21st century. This is because concepts such as Bloom's Taxonomy, Kirkpatrick's model, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Mcgregor's XY Theory, The SWOT analysis model, and Berne's Transactional Analysis theory, to name a few other examples, are timeless, and as such will always be relevant to the understanding and development of people and organisations.

bloom's taxonomy definitions

Bloom's Taxonomy model is in three parts, or 'overlapping domains'. Again, Bloom used rather academic language, but the meanings are simple to understand: 1. Cognitive domain (intellectual capability, ie., knowledge, or 'think') 2. Affective domain (feelings, emotions and behaviour, ie., attitude, or 'feel') 3. Psychomotor domain (manual and physical skills, ie., skills, or 'do') This has given rise to the obvious short-hand variations on the theme which summarise the three domains; for example, Skills-Knowledge-Attitude, KAS, Do-Think-Feel, etc. Various people have since built on Bloom's work, notably in the third domain, the 'psychomotor' or skills, which Bloom originally identified in a broad sense, but which he never fully detailed. This was apparently because Bloom and his colleagues felt that the academic environment held insufficient expertise to analyse and create a suitable reliable structure for the physical ability 'Psychomotor' domain. While this might seem strange, such caution is not uncommon among expert and highly specialised academics - they strive for accuracy as well as innovation. In Bloom's case it is as well that he left a few gaps for others to complete the detail; the model seems to have benefited from having several different contributors fill in the detail over the years, such as Anderson, Krathwhol, Masia, Simpson, Harrow and Dave (these last three having each developed versions of the third 'Psychomotor' domain). In each of the three domains Bloom's Taxonomy is based on the premise that the categories are ordered in degree of difficulty. An important premise of Bloom's Taxonomy is that each category (or 'level') must be mastered before progressing to the next. As such the categories within each domain are levels of learning development, and these levels increase in difficulty. The simple matrix structure enables a checklist or template to be constructed for the design of learning programmes, training courses, lesson plans, etc. Effective learning - especially in organisations, where training is to be converted into organisational results - should arguably cover all the levels of each of the domains, where relevant to the situation and the learner.

The learner should benefit from development of knowledge and intellect (Cognitive Domain); attitude and beliefs (Affective Domain); and the ability to put physical and bodily skills into effect - to act (Psychomotor Domain).

bloom's taxonomy overview

Here's a really simple adapted 'at-a-glance' representation of Bloom's Taxonomy. The definitions are intended to be simple modern day language, to assist explanation and understanding. This simple overview can help you (and others) to understand and explain the taxonomy. Refer back to it when considering and getting to grips with the detailed structures - this overview helps to clarify and distinguish the levels. For the more precise original Bloom Taxonomy terminology and definitions see the more detailed domain structures beneath this at-a-glance model. It's helpful at this point to consider also the 'conscious competence' learning stages model, which provides a useful perspective for all three domains, and the concept of developing competence by stages in sequence.

Cognitive
knowledge

Affective
attitude 1. Receive (awareness)

Psychomotor
skills

1. Recall data

1. Imitation (copy)

2. Understand

2. Respond (react)

2. Manipulation (follow instructions)

3. Apply (use)

3. Value (understand and act) 4. Organise personal value system 5. Internalize value system (adopt behaviour)

3. Develop Precision

4. Analyse (structure/elements)

4. Articulation (combine, integrate related skills)

5. Synthesize (create/build)

5. Naturalization (automate, become expert)

6. Evaluate (assess, judge in relational terms)

(Detail of Bloom's Taxonomy Domains: 'Cognitive Domain' - 'Affective Domain' - 'Psychomotor Domain')

N.B. In the Cognitive Domain, levels 5 and 6, Synthesis and Evaluation, were subsequently inverted by Anderson and Krathwhol in 2001. Anderson and Krathwhol also developed a complex two-dimensional extension of the Bloom Taxonomy, which is not explained here. If you want to learn more about the bleeding edge of academic educational learning and evaluation there is a list of further references below. For most mortals in teaching and training what's on this page is probably enough to make a start, and a big difference. Note also that the Psychomotor Domain featured above is based on the domain detail established by RH Dave (who was a student of Bloom) in 1967 (conference paper) and 1970 (book). The Dave model is the simplest and generally easiest to apply in the corporate development environment. Alternative Psychomotor Domains structures have been suggested by others, notably Harrow and Simpson's models detailed below. I urge you explore the Simpson and Harrow Psychomotor Domain alternatives - especially for the development of children and young people, and for developing skills in adults that take people out of their comfort zones. This is because the Simpson and Harrow models offer different emotional perspectives and advantages, which are useful for certain learning situations, and which do not appear so obviously in the structure of the Dave model. (Back to the development of Bloom's Taxonomy.) Bloom's Taxonomy in more detailed structure follows, with more formal terminology and definitions. Refer back to the Bloom Taxonomy overview any time you need to refresh or clarify your perception of the model. It is normal to find that the extra detail can initially cloud the basic structure - which is actually quite simple - so it's helpful to keep the simple overview to hand.

bloom's taxonomy learning domains - detailed structures

1. bloom's taxonomy - cognitive domain - (intellect - knowledge 'think')
Bloom's Taxonomy 1956 Cognitive Domain is as follows. An adjusted model was produced by Anderson and Krathwhol in 2001 in which the levels five and six (synthesis and evaluation) were inverted (reference: Anderson & Krathwohl, A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, 2001). This is why you will see different versions of this Cognitive Domain model. Debate continues as to the order of levels five and six, which is interesting given that Bloom's Taxonomy states that the levels must be mastered in order. In my humble opinion it's possible to argue either case (Synthesis then Evaluation, or vice-versa) depending on the circumstances and the precise criteria stated or represented in the levels concerned, plus the extent of 'creative thinking' and 'strategic authority' attributed to or expected at the 'Synthesis' level. In short - pick the order which suits your situation. (Further comment about synthesis and evaluation priority.)

cognitive domain level category or behaviour examples of 'key words' (verbs

'level'

descriptions

activity to be trained, or demonstration and evidence to be measured

multiple-choice test, recount facts or statistics, recall a process, rules, definitions; quote law or procedure

which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level)

arrange, define, describe, label, list, memorise, recognise, relate, reproduce, select, state

Knowledge

recall or recognise information

Comprehension

understand meaning, re-state data in one's own words, interpret, extrapolate, translate

explain or interpret meaning from a given scenario or statement, suggest treatment, reaction or solution to given problem, create examples or metaphors

explain, reiterate, reword, critique, classify, summarise, illustrate, translate, review, report, discuss, re-write, estimate, interpret, theorise, paraphrase, reference, example use, apply, discover, manage, execute, solve, produce, implement, construct, change, prepare, conduct, perform, react, respond, roleplay

Application

use or apply knowledge, put theory into practice, use knowledge in response to real circumstances

put a theory into practical effect, demonstrate, solve a problem, manage an activity

Analysis

interpret elements, organizational principles, structure, construction, internal relationships; quality, reliability of individual components

identify constituent parts and functions of a process or concept, or de-construct a methodology or process, making qualitative assessment of elements, relationships, values and effects; measure requirements or needs develop plans or procedures, design solutions, integrate methods, resources, ideas, parts; create

analyse, break down, catalogue, compare, quantify, measure, test, examine, experiment, relate, graph, diagram, plot, extrapolate, value, divide

Synthesis (create/build)

develop new unique structures, systems, models, approaches, ideas; creative thinking,

develop, plan, build, create, design, organise, revise, formulate, propose, establish, assemble,

operations

teams or new approaches, write protocols or contingencies review strategic options or plans in terms of efficacy, return on investment or cost-effectiveness, practicability; assess sustainability; perform a SWOT analysis in relation to alternatives; produce a financial justification for a proposition or venture, calculate the effects of a plan or strategy; perform a detailed and costed risk analysis with recommendations and justifications

integrate, re-arrange, modify

Evaluation

assess effectiveness of whole concepts, in relation to values, outputs, efficacy, viability; critical thinking, strategic comparison and review; judgement relating to external criteria

review, justify, assess, present a case for, defend, report on, investigate, direct, appraise, argue, project-manage

Refresh your understanding of where this fits into the Bloom Taxonomy overview. Based on the 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain' (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwohl) 1956. This table is adapted and reproduced with permission from Allyn & Bacon, Boston USA, being the publishers and copyright owners of 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives' (Bloom et al 1956). Note that levels 5 and 6, Synthesis and Evaluation, were subsequently inverted by Anderson and Krathwhol in 2001, on which point:

cognitive domain - order ranking of 'synthesis' and 'evaluation'

In my view, the question of the order of Synthesis and Evaluation is dependent upon the extent of strategic expectation and authority that is built into each, which depends on your situation. Hence it is possible to make a case for Bloom's original order shown above, or Anderson and Krathwhol's version of 2001 (which simply inverts levels 5 and 6). The above version is the original, and according to the examples and assumptions presented in the above matrix, is perfectly appropriate and logical. I also personally believe the above order to be appropriate for corporate and industrial training and development if 'Evaluation' is taken to represent executive or strategic assessment and decision-making, which is effectively at the pinnacle of the corporate intellectset. I believe inversion of Synthesis and Evaluation carries a risk unless it is properly qualified. This is because the highest skill level absolutely must involve strategic evaluation; effective management - especially of large activities or organisations - relies on strategic evaluation. And clearly, strategic evaluation, is by implication included in the 'Evaluation' category.

I would also argue that in order to evaluate properly and strategically, we need first to have learned and experienced the execution of the strategies (ie, to have completed the synthesis step) that we intend to evaluate. However, you should feel free to invert levels 5 and 6 if warranted by your own particular circumstances, particularly if your interpretation of 'Evaluation' is non-strategic, and not linked to decision-making. Changing the order of the levels is warranted if local circumstances alter the degree of difficulty. Remember, the taxonomy is based in the premise that the degree of difficulty increases through the levels - people need to learn to walk before they can run - it's that simple. So, if your situation causes 'Synthesis' to be more challenging than 'Evaluation', then change the order of the levels accordingly (ie., invert 5 and 6 like Anderson and Krathwhol did), so that you train people in the correct order.

2. bloom's taxonomy - affective domain - (feeling, emotions attitude - 'feel')

Bloom's Taxonomy second domain, the Affective Domain, was detailed by Bloom, Krathwhol and Masia in 1964 (Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Volume II, The Affective Domain. Bloom, Krathwohl and Masia.) Bloom's theory advocates this structure and sequence for developing attitude - also now commonly expressed in the modern field of personal development as 'beliefs'. Again, as with the other domains, the Affective Domain detail provides a framework for teaching, training, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of training and lesson design and delivery, and also the retention by and affect upon the learner or trainee.

affective domain 'key words' (verbs which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level)
ask, listen, focus, attend, take part, discuss, acknowledge, hear, be open to, retain, follow, concentrate, read, do, feel react, respond, seek clarification, interpret, clarify, provide other references and examples, contribute, question, present, cite, become animated or

level

category or 'level'

behaviour descriptions

examples of experience, or demonstration and evidence to be measured

Receive

open to experience, willing to hear

listen to teacher or trainer, take interest in session or learning experience, take notes, turn up, make time for learning experience, participate passively participate actively in group discussion, active participation in activity, interest in outcomes, enthusiasm for action, question and probe ideas,

Respond

react and participate actively

suggest interpretation

excited, help team, write, perform

Value

attach values and express personal opinions

decide worth and relevance of ideas, experiences; accept or commit to particular stance or action

argue, challenge, debate, refute, confront, justify, persuade, criticise,

Organise or Conceptualize values

reconcile internal conflicts; develop value system

qualify and quantify personal views, state personal position and reasons, state beliefs

build, develop, formulate, defend, modify, relate, prioritise, reconcile, contrast, arrange, compare

Internalize or characterise values

adopt belief system and philosophy

self-reliant; behave consistently with personal value set

act, display, influence, solve, practice,

Based on the 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Volume 2, The Affective Domain' (Bloom, Masia, Krathwohl) 1964. See also 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain' (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwohl) 1956. This table is adapted and reproduced with permission from Allyn & Bacon, Boston USA, being the publishers and copyright owners of 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives' (Bloom et al 1956). This domain for some people can be a little trickier to understand than the others. The differences between the levels, especially between 3, 4, and 5, are subtle, and not so clear as the separations elsewhere in the Taxonomy. You will find it easier to understand if you refer back to the bloom's taxonomy learning domains at-a-glance.

3. bloom's taxonomy - psychomotor domain - (physical - skills 'do')

The Psychomotor Domain was ostensibly established to address skills development relating to manual tasks and physical movement, however it also concerns and covers modern day business and social skills such as communications and operation IT equipment, for example telephone and keyboard skills, or public speaking. Thus, 'motor' skills extend beyond the originally traditionally imagined manual and physical skills, so always consider using this domain, even if you think your environment is covered adequately by the Cognitive and Affective Domains. Whatever the training situation, it is likely that the Psychomotor Domain is significant. The Dave version of the Psychomotor Domain is featured most prominently here because in my view it is the most relevant and helpful for work- and life-related development, although the Psychomotor Domains suggested by Simpson and Harrow are more relevant and helpful for certain types of adult training and development, as well as the teaching and development of young people and children, so do explore them all. Each has its uses and advantages.

dave's psychomotor domain taxonomy

psychomotor domain (dave) 'key words' (verbs which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level)
copy, follow, replicate, repeat, adhere

level

category or 'level'

behaviour descriptions

examples of activity or demonstration and evidence to be measured

Imitation

copy action of another; observe and replicate

watch teacher or trainer and repeat action, process or activity carry out task from written or verbal instruction perform a task or activity with expertise and to high quality without assistance or instruction; able to demonstrate an activity to other learners relate and combine associated activities to develop methods to meet varying, novel requirements

Manipulation

reproduce activity from instruction or memory

re-create, build, perform, execute, implement

Precision

execute skill reliably, independent of help

demonstrate, complete, show, perfect, calibrate, control,

Articulation

adapt and integrate expertise to satisfy a non-standard objective

construct, solve, combine, coordinate, integrate, adapt, develop, formulate, modify, master

Naturalization

automated, unconscious mastery of activity and related skills at strategic level

define aim, approach and strategy for use of activities to meet strategic need

design, specify, manage, invent, project-manage

Based on RH Dave's version of the Psychomotor Domain ('Developing and Writing Behavioral Objectives', 1970. The theory was first presented at a Berlin conference 1967, hence you may see Dave's model attributed to 1967 or 1970). Refresh your understanding of where the Psychomotor Domain fits into the Bloom Taxonomy overview.

It is also useful to refer to the 'Conscious Competence' model, which arguably overlays, and is a particularly helpful perspective for explaining and representing the 'Psychomotor' domain, and notably Dave's version. (The 'Conscious Competence' model also provides a helpful perspective for the other two domains Cognitive and Affective, and for the alternative Psychomotor Domains suggested by Harrow and Simpson below.)

alternative psychomotor domain taxonomy versions

Dave's Psychomotor Domain above is probably the most commonly referenced and used psychomotor domain interpretation. There are certainly two others; Simpson's, and Harrow's, (if you know any others please contact us). It's worth exploring and understanding the differences between the three Psychomotor Domain interpretations. Certainly each is different and has a different use. In my view the Dave model is adequate and appropriate for most adult training in the workplace. For young children, or for adults learning entirely new and challenging physical skills (which may require some additional attention to awareness and perception, and mental preparation), or for anyone learning skills which involve expression of feeling and emotion, then the Simpson or Harrow models can be more useful because they more specifically address these issues. Simpson's version is particularly useful if you are taking adults out of their comfort zones, because it addresses sensory, perception (and by implication attitudinal) and preparation issues. For example anything fearsome or threatening, like emergency routines, conflict situations, tough physical tasks or conditions. Harrow's version is particularly useful if you are developing skills which are intended ultimately to express, convey and/or influence feelings, because its final level specifically addresses the translation of bodily activities (movement, communication, body language, etc) into conveying feelings and emotion, including the effect on others. For example, public speaking, training itself, and high-level presentation skills. The Harrow and Simpson models are also appropriate for other types of adult development. For example, teaching adults to run a difficult meeting, or make a parachute jump, will almost certainly warrant attention on sensory perception and awareness, and on preparing oneself mentally, emotionally, and physically. In such cases therefore, Simpson's or Harrow's model would be more appropriate than Dave's.

simpson's psychomotor domain taxonomy

Elizabeth Simpson's interpretation of the Psychomotor domain differs from Dave's chiefly because it contains extra two levels prior to the initial imitation or copy stage. Arguably for certain situations, Simpson's first two levels, 'Perception' and 'Set' stage are assumed or incorporated within Dave's first 'Imitation' level, assuming that you are dealing with fit and healthy people (probably adults rather than young children), and that 'getting ready' or 'preparing oneself' is part of the routine to be taught, learned or measured. If not, then the more comprehensive Simpson version might help ensure that these two prerequisites for physical task development are checked and covered. As such, the Simpson model or the Harrow version is probably preferable than the Dave model for the development of young children.

psychomotor domain (simpson)

level

category or 'level'

description

examples of activity or demonstration and evidence to be measured

'key words' (verbs which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level)
recognise, distinguish, notice, touch , hear, feel, etc

Perception

awareness

use and/or selection of senses to absorb data for guiding movement mental, physical or emotional preparation before experience or task imitate or follow instruction, trial and error competently respond to stimulus for action

Set

readiness

arrange, prepare, get set

Guided Response

attempt

imitate, copy, follow, try

Mechanism

basic proficiency

make, perform, shape, complete

Complex Overt Response

expert proficiency

execute a complex process with expertise

coordinate, fix, demonstrate

Adaptation

adaptable proficiency

alter response to reliably meet varying challenges develop and execute new integrated responses and activities

adjust, integrate, solve

Origination

creative proficiency

design, formulate, modify, re-design, trouble-shoot

Adapted and simplified representation of Simpson's Psychomotor Domain ('The classification of educational objectives in the psychomotor domain', 1972). Elizabeth Simpson seems actually to have first presented her Psychomotor Domain interpretation in 1966 in the Illinois Journal of Home Economics. Hence you may see the theory attributed to either 1966 or 1972.

harrow's psychomotor domain taxonomy

Harrow's interpretation of the Psychomotor domain is strongly biased towards the development of physical fitness, dexterity and agility, and control of the physical 'body', to a considerable level of expertise. As such

the Harrow model is more appropriate to the development of young children's bodily movement, skills, and expressive movement than, say, the development of a corporate trainee's keyboard skills. By the same token, the Harrow model would be perhaps more useful for the development of adult public speaking or artistic performance skills than Dave's or Simpson's, because the Harrow model focuses on the translation of physical and bodily activity into meaningful expression. The Harrow model is the only one of the three Psychomotor Domain versions which specifically implies emotional influence on others within the most expert level of bodily control, which to me makes it rather special. As ever, choose the framework that best fits your situation, and the needs and aims of the trainees or students.

psychomotor domain (harrow) 'key words' (verbs which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level)
react, respond

level

category or 'level'

description

examples of activity or demonstration and evidence to be measured

Reflex Movement Basic Fundamental Movements

involuntary reaction

respond physically instinctively

basic simple movement

alter position, move, perform simple action

grasp, walk, stand, throw

Perceptual Abilities

basic response

use than one ability in response to different sensory perceptions develop strength, endurance, agility, control execute and adapt advanced, integrated movements

catch, write, explore, distinguish using senses endure, maintain, repeat, increase, improve, exceed drive, build, juggle, play a musical instrument, craft express and convey feeling and meaning through movement and actions

Physical Abilities

fitness

Skilled Movements

complex operations

Non-discursive Communication

meaningfully expressive activity or output

activity expresses meaningful interpretation

Adapted and simplified representation of Harrow's Psychomotor Domain (1972). (Non-discursive means intuitively direct and well expressed.)

in conclusion
Bloom's Taxonomy is a wonderful reference model for all involved in teaching, training, learning, coaching - in the design, delivery and evaluation of these development methods. At its basic level (refresh your memory of the Bloom Taxonomy overview if helpful), the Taxonomy provides a simple, quick and easy checklist to start to plan any type of personal development. It helps to open up possibilities for all aspects of the subject or need concerned, and suggests a variety of the methods available for delivery of teaching and learning. As with any checklist, it also helps to reduce the risks of overlooking some vital aspects of the development required. The more detailed elements within each domain provide additional reference points for learning design and evaluation, whether for a single lesson, session or activity, or training need, or for an entire course, programme or syllabus, across a large group of trainees or students, or a whole organisation. And at its most complex, Bloom's Taxonomy is continuously evolving, through the work of academics following in the footsteps of Bloom's early associates, as a fundamental concept for the development of formalised education across the world. As with so many of the classical models involving the development of people and organisations, you actually have a choice as to how to use Bloom's Taxonomy. It's a tool - or more aptly - a toolbox. Tools are most useful when the user controls them; not vice-versa. Use Bloom's Taxonomy in the ways that you find helpful for your own situation.