Can a Multiple-Choice Exam Discriminate Between Masters and Nonniasters of Instructional Design?

This study was conducted to determine if a norm-referenced test designed to assess instructional design competency could be statistically validated (i.e., confirmed statistically to discriminate between known masters and known nonmasters of instructional design). The test was composed of items written to assess verified competencies required of instructional design professionals. A total of 257 respondents participated in the study over the course of three stages: initial item bank construction, item analysis to determine those items with discrimination power, and the concurrent validity calculation, including determination of the mastery cut-off score. Mean scores of five groups of respondents were analyzed in the final stage. Statistically significant differences were found among the Professional Masters, Education Graduate Students and Undergraduates, Noneducation Graduate Students, and Noneducation Undergraduates. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of such an instrument in conducting research in the field.     

A Comprehensive Model for the Transfer of Training

The transfer of newly learned skills from a training situation to actual on-the-job performance is one of the most important aspects of training design and development, since this process is the ultimate goal of nearly any training session. Based on an extensive literature review in a variety of educational and corporate content areas, the following article presents a model for the effective transfer of newly learned skills from the training classroom to worksite implementation. The model includes three overall stages (pre-training, training, and post-training) and specific strategies in each stage for use by trainers, managers, and other corporate professionals. While useful in a variety of settings, this model should prove particularly helpful to instructional designers and corporate trainers involved in developing instruction to improve the performance of employees at all levels.