Discusses the theories of Robert Gagne who organized what was known about human learning into a useful model for teachers, trainers, and instructional designers. Describes his five domains of performance, eight building blocks of instruction, and nine events of instruction. (JOW)

Looks at models for evaluating training programs and discusses how they have been used by various companies. (JOW)

Six experts discuss four major criticisms of the instructional systems design model: (1) it is too slow and clumsy to meet today's training challenges, (2) it has no substance; (3) used as directed, it produces bad solutions, and (4) it clings to the wrong world view. (JOW)

The authors describe a six-step need-based training system for managers. It includes (1) identifying job duties, (2) describing jobs using competency statements, (3) identifying relative skill importance, (4) identifying employee strengths and weaknesses, (5) evaluating employee proficiency, and (6) preparing individual career plans. (CH)

A study of a team-building workshop demonstrates that all four levels of Donald Kirkpatrick's classic evaluation model could be applied to soft skills training. Results show that such training can be tied to productivity measures and evaluated as a return on investment. (JOW)