FORT SILL, Okla., March 18, 2016 -- Last year, a Kirkpatrick Certification event took place at Fort Sill. The event was designed to help instructors take their roles as trainers beyond the classroom to include pre-classroom work and post-classroom support with regular correspondence after their students graduated.

The certification also included methods of encouraging students to excel in their training. Leaders from Directorate of Training Development and Doctrine implemented the techniques learned into the LEAF Award.

"The LEAF Award provides purpose, direction and motivation for people coming through the class," said Staff Sgt. Aaron Shugard, instructor with the Army Basic Instructor Course. "It creates a kind of competition with a reward at the end. It gets that self-driven individual to step it up a little further."

LEAF stands for "learn, expect, achieve and facilitate," and the award is used to acknowledge behavior changes in the students. Staff Sgt. Kristopher Golden, also an instructor with the course, said the behavior aspect is the third level in the four-level Kirkpatrick model.

The first level evaluates the student's initial reaction and the second evaluates their learning or knowledge absorbed in training. The third level examines the behavior of the students in how they implement changes in their teaching style. It also evaluates their desire to improve the organization. The fourth level looks at the results and is evaluated by the command group once the students returns to their unit.

Golden said the creation of the award had immediate visible effects. Students began to participate more in class and then stay after class to ensure they had a better understanding of the content and also how to apply the knowledge they gained. The award is completely point based. A rubric is used to assign points to students in each of the 13 categories with each category falling under one aspect of LEAF. The student with the most points, wins.

While the award uses the Kirkpatrick model, the award was designed prior to the Kirkpatrick Certification event. Shugard said the concept of creating an award was in development, and when he and other instructors attended the certification, their thoughts and goals for the LEAF award were validated.

"We'd already designed this before the seminar came through so it was just reinforcing what we planned," said Shugard.

Three students were presented the LEAF Award initially. Since then, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Delafuente, and Staff Sgt. Joseph Herrera, both with D Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery, were awarded March 4.