-
World War II and the Development of the Train-the-Trainer Program (JIT)
At the Beginning of World War II, a lack of vocational trainers and trained employees inspired the Training Within Industry Service of the War Manpower Commission to develop train-the-trainer programs or Job Instructor Program, (JIT). These instructors would instruct new employees on how to systematically complete a production skill (Estep, 2008). -
The 1940's: Development of Leadership in Training and Instructional Design Systems
In 1942, the American Society of Training Directors (ASTD) was formed. Today, ASTD is one of the most influential organizations to research, develop, and publish training competency models. During World War II, a new approach to instructional design was needed to focus on accomplishing learning goals, completing tasks and reinforcing behaviors. The military utilized B.F. Skinner's research and theories of operant conditioning to systematize instructional design (Estep, 2008). -
The 1950's: Human Relations, Individualized Instruction, and Bloom's Taxonomy
Human relations became a popular focus in the 1950's, and supervisors focused on learning human psychology to motivate employees. Employers sought efficiency and affordability in training practices by replacing the trainers with the systematic programmed materials of Individualized Instruction. The classification of learning objectives, Bloom's Taxonomy, was defined to determine what the learner should be able to do after instruction, and Kirkpatricks' Evaluation Model was published. -
The 1960's: Human Performance, Organization Development, and Cognitive Learning Theory
Throughout the 1960's, the new focus was on developing growth in community and organization systems. . Additionally, human performance systems emerged onto the playing field, which helped improve organizations business results and goal achievement through the work of the people. Finally, Jean Piaget, a learning theorist, designed the cognitive development learning theory, which helped form the foundation of constructivism (Estep, 2008). -
The 1970's: The Development of Constructivism
Through out the 1970's, trainers had to understand the social and technical perspectives of an organization to achieve peak performance. The case study method, was used in business schools to explore a topic or objective. Whereas, the laboratory method, or sensitivity training, taught in instructional groups, helping learners understand group dynamics, self-awareness and behavior modification. Learning became a social process through the constructivism learning theory application. -
The 1980's: Global Expansion and the Value of Training and Development
In the 1980's, the global economy became competitive causing organizations to downsize dramatically. Businesses were left pondering the value of training and the topics of cost-benefit analysis and return on Investment (ROI). Trending training models addressed organization development, career development, organizational effectiveness, and the overall purpose of training. Popular trainings during this time include: assertiveness, diversity, teamwork, feedback and corporate culture (Estep, 2015). -
The 1990's: The Great Technological Explosion
Through out the 90's, technology evolved from computer based learning to online instruction. The traditional classroom was no longer alone, and self-paced learning flourished. Employees could learn and organizations could globally connect, but there were some drawbacks, including maintaining learner involvement, development of interpersonal skills and cost. Performance support and learning organizations were popular training topics, in addition to, customer focus and work balance (Estep, 2015). -
The 2000's and Beyond
Learning has grown exponentially with the support of the global economic mindset and research into human learning and behavior. A few popular learning trends includes creating custom e-learning content, developing mindfulness and talent management and retention (Estep, 2015). Traditional instruction has its place in learning. However, great trainers and organizations take into account their employees areas of growth and weakness to help them achieve their individual and organizational goals.
