This article is part of the dialogue on human performance technology (HPT) models that began in the October 2011 issue of "Performance Improvement." In 1996, the author shared a new HPT model with "Performance & Instruction" readers. Since then, he has refined the model and added empirical research. In the spirit of continuous improvement, the…

Job rotations have existed as a means of developing individual knowledge and skills since the industrial revolution, and in today's dynamic global workplace, they afford organizations an opportunity to manage changing psychological work contracts and employee desires for self-managed careers. Through the systematic mining of psychology, business,…

The digitized collections of artifacts known as electronic portfolios are creating solutions to a variety of performance improvement needs in ways that are cost-effective and improve both individual and group learning and performance. When social media functionality is embedded in e-portfolios, the tools support collaboration, social learning,…

The future of human performance technology (HPT) will be bright or dismal depending on how well HPT practitioners focus on careful and practical answers to three pivotal questions: What is good practice in human performance technology? What are the differences between good practice and bad? What are the connections between good research and…

What does performance improvement look like in practice in today's organizations? As part of its commitment to the learning profession, the American Society for Training and Development annually judges the practices of organizations through a blind peer review process to determine what merits the best practice designation. This article contains…

The process of improving organizational performance through designing systemic interventions has remarkable similarities to designing instruction for improving learners' performance. Both processes deal with subjects (learners and organizations correspondingly) with certain capabilities that are exposed to novel information designed for producing…

This is the third and final article in a series of three that reviews the citation patterns of references cited in the entire collection of International Society for Performance Improvement journal articles (1962-2007) and all chapters published in the three human performance technology handbooks (Pershing, 2006; Stolovitch & Keeps, 1992, 1999).…

In this article, "Training" asks the 2011 winners to give their predictions for what training--either in general or specifically at their companies--will look like in the next five to 10 years. Perhaps their "training visions" will spark some ideas in one's organization--or at least help prepare for what might be coming in the next decade or so.

Even though 34 states and the District of Columbia have No Child Left Behind Act waivers in hand, many of them are still negotiating with the U.S. Department of Education over their teacher evaluation systems--a crucial component if they want to keep their newfound flexibility. More than six months after waiver recipients turned in their…

Effective leadership is on everyone's mind this presidential election year as the country's citizens look for a strong candidate to guide them through the next four years. Effective leadership is just as critical in the nation's school districts where people prepare their young people to be the global citizens of tomorrow. In most school…

This commentary is part of an ongoing dialogue that began in the October 2011 special issue of "Performance Improvement"--Exploring a Universal Performance Model for HPT: Notes From the Field. The performance improvement/HPT (human performance technology) model represents a unifying process that helps accomplish successful change, create…

Because MOOCs bring big data to the forefront, they confront learning science with technology challenges. We describe an agenda for developing technology that enables MOOC analytics. Such an agenda needs to efficiently address the detailed, low level, high volume nature of MOOC data. It also needs to help exploit the data's capacity to reveal, in…

The purpose of the study was to analyze two certificate programs in regard to the impacts on alumni professional career and strengths and weaknesses of certificate programs in the views of their alumni. The sample consisted of 58 participants who completed one of the certificate programs. The results showed that alumni rated self-improvement as…

In fall of 2011 the University at Buffalo Libraries circulation department undertook Six Sigma training for the purpose of overhauling its student scheduling process. The department was able to mitigate significant staffing budgetary reductions and resource reallocations and to overcome the unique challenges of scheduling student labor for a…

Through vision, leadership, and creativity, Salisbury University's Blackwell Library transformed its access services department structurally and philosophically to better position itself to meet, and strive to exceed, today's user needs and expectations. Restructuring and the introduction of new leadership and new ideas provided the foundation for…