FORT SILL, Okla. Jan. 28, 2016 -- More than 20 trainers, instructors or managers attended the Kirkpatrick Certification to find better ways to train Soldiers and to find ways to continue that training even after Soldiers leave the schoolhouse. The three-day training event began Jan. 25 and took place at Snow Hall. It featured Jim Kirkpatrick, the senior consultant for Kirkpatrick Partners. He is the creator of the "New World Kirkpatrick model," a training evaluation plan developed from the "Kirkpatrick model" created by his father.
The event was designed to help instructors take their roles as trainers beyond the classroom to include pre-classroom work and post-classroom support after their students have graduated.
"It's really training evaluation certification," said Kirkpatrick. "(The instructors and trainers) are coming to learn how to redefine learning and development to more than just being training-event based with classes and curriculum, to a package approach -- not only training people but helping to make sure they actually apply what they learned and that (what they're teaching) contributes to mission accomplishment."
The conference was divided into three days. The first day Kirkpatrick and Dr. Casey Blaine, Fires Center of Excellence chief of professional development, laid out principles and techniques of how to develop training outside of classroom instruction. The second day is where instructors "roll up their sleeves," said Kirkpatrick.
The attendees will break into groups and take one training class and develop it. The goal is to create a new training package that provides support for students even after they graduate the class and also to receive feedback once those students are back with their units or deployed said Kirkpatrick.
The third day is designed as a refresher and higher-level certification class for those who attended Kirkpatrick's original certification seven months ago. During the previous class, a group of Fort Sill supervisors attended and gave strong feedback said Kirkpatrick.
"There was honesty," he said. "Some said, 'this is too hard. Once these guys are deployed we don't know where they go. How can we keep track of them when they're in Afghanistan?' Others said, 'now wait a minute. We have some ways to get in contact.' There was genuine passion to better serve the Soldiers that they're training. They were bold in mission but humble of personal ego. They all thought 'our guys deserve better than just training them and telling them 'good luck.' We can do better than that.'"
Steven Rachwal, Ordnance Training Detachment, said he volunteered to attend the classes to be able to create better training materials. By the end of the first day, Rachwal said he already looked forward to implementing the concepts he learned in the class, in particular the work conducted before and after the classroom portion.
"We are looking for any way we can to improve our course," said Rachwal, while looking over a pie chart showing the improvements made using alternative training. "We want to produce the best Soldiers that we can and put out a better product. So far we're going to try a couple of things we haven't tried, pre tests and post tests. Seems like a good way to do it."
Once the class is completed, Kirkpatrick said he is available to the trainers and instructors to help them. In the same way he hopes the instructors will make themselves available to their students after graduation.
"We have to practice what we teach," he said. "I follow up with phone calls, emails, they send me the work that they've done. I set them up to talk to other people at other bases who have been successful all in the name of increasing the likeliness that some good will come from it rather than just graduation rates. There's gotta be more to this than that."
Kirkpatrick said his father was a D-Day veteran and that while he never served, he hopes his work helps those who do serve get the training, and support, they deserve.
"I do what I can to help these guys help people like my dad," he said.
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