Unit E.2 Evaluating the training course

Conducting a training evaluation allows you to make continuous improvements to the training and lets your Department managers know what benefits have resulted from their investment in your training efforts.

Training impacts on both internal and external customers. The community expects that its police officers will be both knowledgeable and well trained. Police management expects the hours and money invested in training will be of benefit. Officers want to feel that they have been prepared adequately to perform their duties and responsibilities. A systematic training evaluation process can help to determine if your training meets those needs.

Conducting a training evaluation is the definitive method for determining if the training programme that you have developed will be successful. A well thought-out training evaluation includes both a formative and summative evaluation.

The Aim of this Unit is to allow you to plan and conduct a four-level evaluation of a training programme.

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Define "training evaluation" according to the definition given in class.
2. List the six benefits to an instructional designer that come from conducting a course evaluation.
3. List the steps that must be taken when conducting a training evaluation.
4. List and discuss the four levels of training evaluation.
5. Select a data collection method that is appropriate for the level of evaluation that will be conducted.
6. Given a performance problem, develop a plan to conduct a training evaluation that will address all four levels of evaluation.