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EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 1
Assignment 4
Capstone Theory Paper
December 11, 2012
Linda Dunn
EAD 863
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 2
In my current role as a full-time staff member at Michigan State University, I have
enrolled in many Human Resource Development (HRD) courses and attended professional
conferences to network with peers about communications and marketing issues. I believe that
colleges and universities (higher education) often use staff development and HRD
interchangeably to refer to Training and Professional Development (T&PD) for employees other
than faculty and executive management.
As higher education changes to meet the demands of the 21st century, employees must
adapt and change with it to be successful at both the individual level and the institutional level. I
want to be involved with T&PD in the area of HRD in higher education through a more holistic
training that benefits the learner and the institution from the outset.
Aims and Purposes of Professional Development in Higher Education Human Resource
Development
The aims and purposes of human resource development in a higher education institution
are many. I believe there are two contexts at work here – higher education (colleges and
universities) and human resource development. I am interested in the less visible HRD context,
not the more visible forms of faculty development, leadership development, and staff
development, as noted in Dirkx, Lesson 1. HRD aims to take the individual and the organization
into consideration, and these may compete with one another. A successful HRD program will
offer professional development courses that address issues at both the individual and
organizational levels.
As noted in Gilley, Eggland, and Gilley (2002), HRD can be defined as “the process of
facilitating organizational learning, performance, and change through organized (formal and
informal) interventions, initiatives and management actions for the purpose of enhancing an
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 3
organization’s performance capacity, capability, competitive readiness, and renewal” (Gilley and
Maycunich, 2000a, 6). I believe that MSU must cultivate its workforce to successfully tread the
waters and ride the wave of the new landscape of higher education as it develops.
As noted by Dirkx & Austin (2005), Swanson and Arnold (1996) define human resource
development as a “process of developing or unleashing human expertise through organization
development and personnel training and development for the purpose of improving
performance” (p. 16). Performance improvement is addressed at the organization, process, and
individual levels.
Many professional development activities are oriented towards the needs and interests of
individual participants. On the other hand, many professional development activities are
oriented to bringing about effects at the organizational level. I believe transformational learning
is best achieved when both interests are considered and accounted for in training.
The Learner, the Nature of Knowledge, and Adult Learning within Higher Education
Human Resource Development
Higher Education HRD participants are adult learners, some who have high school
educations, some who have bachelor’s degrees, and some who have graduate degrees. Most of
the HRD participants are staff members, and have widely varied roles within the institution.
The principles of andragogy, the art and science of helping adults learn, are at play in the
context of higher education HRD. As noted in Merriam (p. 84) and based on Malcolm Knowles’
work, adult learners need to know “why” they need to learn something, and they need to know
the immediate relevance of what they are learning. Adult learners bring their own experiences to
their learning and are self-directed learners. They are motivated internally to learn, not by
external forces, and their readiness to learn is related to development tasks of social roles.
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 4
To be effective, HRD offerings must be balanced to align with both individuals’ and the
organization’s needs. McClusky’s Theory of Margin (Merriam, p. 93) brings up an interesting
point about adults balancing internal load and power, with external load and power during their
careers. Recognizing these factors when working with participants in HRD courses may clarify
when learning is most likely to occur for participants.
There are many types of knowledge and learning. Lifelong learning is a concept that is
meaningful to me in the context of higher education HRD. Habermas’ three forms of knowledge
include technical, communicative or practical, and emancipatory or transformative. An example
of an HRD course that is technical in nature would be a course designed to train staff in how to
use a software program. Branch provides many strategies to use for technical and practical
training. An example of a practical HRD course would be diversity training for managers.
Silberman has many strategies for practical training, using team-building methods. A
transformative HRD course could be a leadership development retreat. Cranton and Vella
provide examples of transformative learning. It is possible for transformative learning to occur
in a course focusing on practical knowledge, if the individual’s reflection on their experience
changes their beliefs about some aspect of the learning.
I believe learning is a process, and people have different learning styles. Kolb’s learning
cycle describes experiential learning as a circular process that begins with a concrete experience
and continues through reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active
experimentation, which in turn results in another concrete experience. (Yorks, p. 114). Using
these ideas to provide active training designed for people with different learning styles is
challenging.
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 5
Research has shown that adults learn through self-directed learning, taking control of
their own learning by how they set their own learning goals, finding resources, deciding on
which learning methods to use and evaluating their progress (Brookfield, 1995). Mezirow’s idea
of transformative learning uses the concept that perspective transformation is the central process
of adult development (Cranton, p. 56). Vella explores the idea of reflection using a dialogical
approach to adult learning. The use of open questions and dialogue allows participants to learn
from each other and reflect on that new learning (2002, Chapter 12).
A Model for Training and Professional Development in HRD
The Dirkx and Austin Conceptual Framework for Professional Development is quite
meaningful for my aims, purposes, and context (see Appendix, Figure 1). This framework
addresses three dimensions: 1) The overall aim of or purpose for professional development; 2)
The context of professional development; and 3) The primary focus of the professional
development activity (Dirkx, 2005). By looking at these three dimensions, HRD training can be
developed that is specific to the current needs in any one of the areas.
In context of higher education HRD training, there are possibilities for designing courses
based on one of several aims (technical, practical, or emancipator) with either an individual or
organizational focus. This model can be informed by different human, organizational, and
environmental contexts, making it a powerful model.
Instructional and Training Strategies for HRD
The first step in developing instructional and training strategies is to determine the goals
and the content of the T&PD program. A needs assessment will be done to identify the gap
between what is and what is desired. Techniques to assess need include surveys, observations,
interviews, focus groups, tests, job analysis, performance reviews, existing data, social
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 6
indicators, and informal conversations. As Queeney (p. 118) states, “asking individuals to
identify their own learning needs is the simplest form of needs assessment. Identifying why
participants are attending training and the background levels of participants is also important in
choosing methods and examples to use in training sessions.
Developing instructional objectives is necessary to inform the learning activities.
Winegarden notes that objectives should be clearly stated and contain three elements:
performance – what the learner should be able to do; conditions – conditions under which the
performance should take place; and criterion – describes how well the learner should be able to
do the tasks. The sequencing of learning experiences is important, as noted in the Tyler
Rationale.
Training formats and settings that would be useful in higher education HRD include
stand-up presentations, small group work, and perhaps some large group work at the
organizational level. I would use active learning methods from Silberman and Branch. Open
questions and dialogue, along with role playing and journal writing (Vella, 2002) are powerful
instructional tools to use in higher education HRD courses. Providing reflective learning
opportunities is important at both an individual and organizational level.
Evaluating HRD Training and Professional Development Programs
If training is to be valued, it must be evaluated. There are several levels of evaluation to
be considered in higher education HRD training. Some training is initiated by the individual and
some by the institution. Finding a way to evaluate the immediate and long-term value of these
divergent levels can be challenging.
Questions may be asked about whether higher education HRD programs are worth the
investment, since many courses seemingly benefit the individual more than the organization (at
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 7
least at the outset). The hours that employees are away from their work and in training may be
viewed as too costly for the organization. On the other hand, an argument can be made that lack
of training will keep the individual and organization from attaining a higher success level. As
Branch notes, a full cost analysis should take place in the design phase to determine return on
investment.
Evaluation can be done during (formative) the training session (the trainer gets immediate
feedback and may be able to make adjustments), at the end (summative) of the training session
(the trainer gets feedback about what worked and what didn’t work), and again later as a follow-
up a month or two later (after the participant has had time to apply some of what was learned at
the training session). Of course, there is no guarantee that participants will return evaluations if
they are not given at the time of training.
At some point, I believe that adult learners will seek out HRD training that they
individually determine is beneficial to each of them. Some individuals will ignore training
opportunities, and others will take advantage of any and all courses. The challenge for HRD
training lies in the pull between individual and organization, and the sometimes competing needs
and outcomes desired by them. Trainers must be aware of this during planning and design
phases as they identify the learning objectives for their courses. Successful higher education
HRD training and professional development is important to the forward movement of
universities and colleges.
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 8
Appendix
Figure 1 – Dirkx and Austin Conceptual Framework
EAD 863 ASSIGNMENT 4 9
References
Branch, R. (2009). Instructional design: The ADDIE approach. New York: Springer
Science+Business Media, LLC.
Brookfield, S. (1995). Adult learning: An overview. In Tuinjman, A. (ed.) (1995). International
encyclopedia of education. Oxford: Pergamon Press
Cranton, P. (1996). Professional development as transformative learning: New perspectives for
teachers of adults. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Dirkx, J. and Austin, A. (2005). Making sense of conintuing professional development: Toward
an integrated vision of lifelong learning in the professions. Presented at the Continuing
Professional Education Preconference of the 2005 Academy of Human Resource
Development International Reserch Conference, Feb. 22-23, 2005, Estes Park CO.
Gilley, J., Eggland, S. and Gilley, A. (2002). Principles of human resource development, 2nd ed.
Cambridge: Perseus Publishing.
Merriam, S., Cafarella, R. and Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A
comprehensive guide, 3rd edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint.
Queeney, “Methods for beginners” from EAD 863 electronic coursepack.
Silberman, M. (2006). Active training: A handbook of techniques, designs, case examples,
and tips. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Vella, J. (2002). Learning to listen, learning to teach: The power of dialogue in educating adults
(Revised edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Winegarden, B.J. (2005). “Writing instructional objectives.” Retrieved from
http://meded.ucsd.edu/faculty/writing_instructional_objectives.pdf
Yorks, “Theoretical foundations of HRD practice” from EAD 863 electronic coursepack.