Evaluation models, levels, and timing

Covering Assessment Criterion 6.5 from 3CO04 Essentials of People Practice, this video addresses how learning and development activity can be evaluated through recognised models and structured approaches. Central to the content is the Kirkpatrick Model, attributed to Donald Kirkpatrick, which the video examines across its four levels: Reaction, Learning, Behaviour, and Results. Each level represents a distinct category of evaluation evidence, ranging from participant satisfaction through to measurable organisational outcomes such as productivity, quality, and safety performance.

Alongside Kirkpatrick, the video introduces several further frameworks that practitioners may encounter when designing evaluation strategies. Jack Phillips's Return on Investment level, the CIRO Model — addressing Context, Input, Reaction, and Outcome — and Brinkerhoff's Success Case Method each feature as alternative or complementary approaches, and the video considers the different circumstances in which each may be applicable. The concept of transfer of learning appears in the discussion of behavioural-level evaluation, where line manager feedback, observation, and performance review are identified as relevant sources of evidence.

The video also addresses the question of when evaluation should take place, distinguishing between pre-learning baseline measurement, evaluation conducted during a learning event, immediate post-learning assessment, delayed follow-up, and longer-term longitudinal tracking. This temporal dimension is treated as an integral part of evaluation planning rather than an afterthought, and the video draws a direct connection between the level of evaluation being attempted and the type of information — qualitative or quantitative — that each timing point is likely to yield.