TOOLKIT FORM 2.

2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning,

Training, and Performance
To prepare for a planning meeting with a client, skim the material in the following table, which
summarizes various ideas about learning, training, and performance in the workplace. Such ideas
inform instruction, organization development, and performance improvement practices. While the
table is not exhaustive, it highlights some key ideas and shows when they initially affected
organizations.

As you skim the table, notice how our understandings of learning, training, and performance
changed over time and were influenced by technological advances and other historic events.

Spend some extra time on the jargon, which is italicized, so that you are prepared in case the
client uses one of these terms. Consider using the additional resources for this tool that are in the
References section of the book or searching the Internet to further explore the specific ideas that
might be relevant for your upcoming needs assessment.

Because learning and training are so closely related, they are grouped together in the table.
Learning focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and skills; training focuses on the presentation
of knowledge and skills.

A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission
of Wiley. www.wiley.com
1
 TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance (continued)

of Wiley. www.wiley.com
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright
Stone Age Through Industrial Revolution
500 BC to 1400 to 1700 1760–1850
Stone Age 500 AD 300 to 1300 (Middle Ages) (The Renaissance) Industrial Revolution
Technological People began The Greek and The first universities were The printing press New manufacturing processes
Advances and amassing Roman established in the Arab world. was invented, and were introduced that relied on
Historical Events knowledge and influence During feudal times in Europe, books were written machines rather than hand
developing included law communities formed around the in a language that production.
tools. and philosophy. lord or master. Children were people could The factory system of work was
apprenticed to craftsmen to learn understand. introduced.
Survival
depended on specialized skills. Scientific inquiry was
hunting, Merchant guilds and craft guilds important.
collecting, and provided mutual protection.
farming.
Performance Tools were Merchant guilds and craft guilds The following economic
developed. controlled the quality of work. concepts were introduced:
Workers were paid based on
their production.
Division of labor where
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© workers focused on specific

sub- tasks and became
2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission

skilled and proficient on them.

Learning/ Technical skills Skills such as Merchant and craft guilds The scientific Classrooms were created within
Training were passed agriculture and controlled the transmission of method required factories.
from generation construction technical expertise. observing and Vestibule training was
to generation. were taught The following learning concepts describing introduced that combines OJT
through on-the- were introduced: phenomena, and classroom training. In
job training hypothesizing an vestibule training, classrooms
(OJT) and The teacher arranges the explanation of the
learning environment and are located close to the job site.
apprenticeships phenomena, and In addition, training simulates
. stimulates students to think. using experiments to the workplace and uses the
Education, True learning is an active test the hypotheses. same machines that are used on
logic, and process. the job.
reasoning were Scholasticism dominated
valued. teaching. This method relies on
debate, discussion, and
inferences to resolve
contradictions.
 TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance
(continued)
of Wiley. www.wiley.com
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright
1900s to 1940s
1910s 1940s
1900s (World War I) 1920s 1930s (World War II)
Technological Advances in the Increased Radio and movies with The Great Depression Television became available.
Advances and science of industry sound and color were affected employment
Historical Events psychology and production to developed. worldwide.
management support the war
occurred. effort.
Performance Scientific Mahatma Studies of workforce General systems theory. A
management was Gandhi began productivity were way to think about entities
introduced, relying his nonviolent popular. that are composed of nested
on observing and resistance and interconnected parts
studying tasks as movement The U.S. government (e.g., teams, organizations,
the basis for against British used computers for training programs, etc.).
optimizing work rule. the census counts
processes. and military strategy. Action research: A problem-
solving approach that
Binet-Simon test involves using a systematic
was introduced to process to investigate and
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©
measure resolve an issue. Those who
intelligence of affect and are affected by the
2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission

children. issue participate in the

process.
Seminal research on
overcoming resistance to
organizational change
involved people in the
changes that affected them.
Sociotechnical systems
theory. identifies the
interactions of social and
technical factors that create
the conditions for successful
(and unsuccessful) job
performance.
 TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance (continued)
of Wiley. www.wiley.com
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright 1910s 1940s
1900s (World War I) 1920s 1930s (World War II)
Learning/ Classical conditioning The four-step job Advances were made in Behaviorism continued Programmed instruction:
Training examined the instruction training behaviorism, a school of as a dominant theory in Learners advance at their
learning process that method (JIT) was psychology that focused on psychology. own rate, test their
occurs through developed that relies observable behaviors and answers, and advance to
association. on (1) show, (2) tell, how to manipulate them by new content based on
(3) do, and (4) check. changing the environment. correct answers.
The U.S. military relied on
training and testing. To
support the war effort, the
U.S. military funded
Training Within Industry
(TWI).
Instructional systems
design (ISD), the
systematic process of
creating instruction,
originated.
© Audiovisual technology
5

was introduced into the

2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission

classroom.
Sensitivity training, or T-
groups involved
participants in reflecting on
their group experience
using human behavior
theories and group
feedback.
The hierarchy of needs
was introduced that
defines needs as internal
forces that produce
tension, which the person
is motivated to satisfy and
thus reduce the tension.
 TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance
(continued)
of Wiley. www.wiley.com
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright
1950s to 1990s
1970s
1950s 1960s The Information Age 1980s 1990s
Technological The microchip was The first moon walk Work shifted from Space Shuttle Academicians identified
Advances and invented. took place. traditional industries to Challenger exploded. management as the
Historical Events industries that used cause of American
Sputnik was launched. China’s Cultural computer information. Personal computers business problems, and
Revolution was were introduced. management books
Men returning from launched.
WWII replaced women Microcomputers were proliferated (e.g.,
in the workplace. The precursor to the used in instruction. Competitive Strategy,
Internet and the One Minute Manager,
Most American men knowledge industry, and more).
worked in blue-collar Arpanet, was
or agriculture jobs; developed.
women worked in the
home.

©
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2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission

Performance The motivation- Theory X Organization development Benchmarking

hygiene theory (managers view grew in popularity. processes, which
identified workplace employees as lazy) compare an
factors that satisfy and Theory Y The International Board of organization’s
employees and those (managers view Standards for Training, performance measures
that dissatisfy employees as self- Performance, and and processes to other
employees. motivated) were Instruction (ibstpi®) was organizations, were
introduced. established to offer popular.
Work life quality and research-based
productivity were competencies for such The McKinsey 7S model
studied. roles as instructor, online assesses organizational
learner, instructional skills, style, staff, shared
Modern management designer, evaluator, and values, strategy,
practices were training manager. structure, systems.
introduced.
 TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance
(continued)
of Wiley. www.wiley.com
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright
1950s to 1990s (continued)
1950s
Performance Total quality management
(continued) (TQM), which emphasizes
process measurement and
continuous improvement,
was adopted in many
countries.
Critical incident technique
was developed to identify
effective and ineffective
work behaviors.
Techniques of using
surveys for organizational
diagnosis were developed.
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© should have meaning.
2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission
Learning/ Research was published
Training on the hawthorne effect,
which recognizes that
people who know they are
being studied modify their
behaviors.
Bloom’s taxonomy
classified learning
objectives using three
domains: psychomotor,
cognitive, and affective.
1960s
Expectancy theory proposed
that people select behaviors
based on the value of the
rewards and their beliefs that
the behaviors will lead to
performance and the
performance will lead to the
rewards.
The managerial grid model
was introduced identifying
leadership styles based on
concern for production and
people.
The growth of career
counseling in the workplace
reflected the insight that work
Instructional objectives
focused on the learners’
desired performance at the
end of instruction, rather than
the learning process.
Instructional system: A
process for training an
individual to achieve specific
instructional goals.
1970s 1980s 1990s
The Information Age
The idea of engineering The balanced scorecard
human competence was assesses whether current
introduced. organizational performance
meets expectations for
financial and non-financial
measures and the targets
for each measure.
Lean manufacturing is an
improvement process that
eliminates waste,
increases quality, and
decreases costs. Lean
manufacturing tools
include 5S, control charts,
and redesign of work cells.
The ADDIE (analyze, Electronic Computer-based
design, develop, performance instruction (CBI) and
implement, and support computer-assisted
evaluate) model of systems instruction (CAI) were
instructional systems (EPSS) were popular. The computer
design was introduced. developed with could provide each learner
computer- with directions,
Andragogy identifies the based tools instructional content, and
principles and steps for that provide feedback. The computer
planning learning support for could also measure
experiences for adult performing learners’ achievements.
learners. work (e.g., job
aids,
information,
tools, software
tutorials, job
coaching, and
so forth).
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TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance (continued)
of Wiley. www.wiley.com

A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright

1950s 1960s
Learning/ The Four Level Implicit learning occurs
Training Evaluation Model incidentally without the
for training was individual’s awareness.
(continued) introduced: Knowledge, such as riding a
bike or playing soccer, is
Level 1: Reaction, possessed by an individual, but
hard to communicate using
Level 2: Learning,
words and symbols.
Level 3: Behavior,
Criterion-referenced tests
Level 4: Results assess learners on their
performance, without
comparison to others. Norm-
referenced tests compare
learners’ performance on the
test.
The introduction of learning
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1970s 1980s 1990s
The Information Age
Behavioral modeling involves Experiential learning
demonstrating the desired developed that
behaviors to learners who focuses on acquiring
are guided as they imitate knowledge and skills
the behaviors. from experiences that
are gained in or out
Performance needs were side of a classroom.
differentiated based on
whether they could be
addressed by training or non-
training solutions.
The single-loop and double-
loop learning models were
identified. Single-loop
involves repeating a pattern,
and double-loop involves
changing the goal or the

domains, instructional events, strategy.

and hierarchal analysis.
©
2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by

of Wiley. www.wiley.com
A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, Third Edition. Copyright
TOOLKIT FORM 2.2 Advances Over Time in Our Knowledge About Learning, Training, and Performance
(continued)
2000s
2000 to Today
Technological Advances Communications occurred through handheld devices wired to the Internet and became truly global and mobile. Data
and Historical Events were captured. Behaviors could be shared quickly across the globe.
The workforce became less hierarchical and more globally dispersed.
Associations and vendors became adept at creating communities of practice for subscribers to share research,
communications, and software-supported learning and performance services.

Performance HR scorecards linked learning/HRD initiatives and an organization’s business strategy.

Employee engagement linked employee perceptions and organizational productivity, profit, retention, and customer
satisfaction.
The trust of employees, customers, stockholders, etc., became important.
To quantify performance, organizations relied on analytics based on statistics, computer programming, and
operations research to identify meaningful patterns in organizational data.
Vendors offered easy-to-use online tools for selection, assessment, competency management, coaching, training,
etc.
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© Governments optimized workforce skills (e.g., national standards were developed for some professions).
2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Reproduced by permission

Learning/Training Learning management systems (LMS) rely on software to manage training records, administer online training,
manage the instructor-learner communication, etc.
Learning content management systems (LCMS) rely on a central object repository that authors, instructional
designers, developers, subject experts, and others use to create, store, manage, deliver, and reuse training content.
Inverted-teaching, flipped-teaching: Learners access relevant content via computers before or after a class, allowing
more time for interaction during the class.
Learning often occurs when it is needed on the job and in the community, rather than in a training room.
Learners can compare information that is posted on the Internet (both fact and fiction) and that often has been rated
by others.