Thank your attending my roundtable at the Kansas Leadership Center's Activate conference! Below is additional information and resources to expand on the handout provided during the conference. I welcome the opportunity to consult with you or your organization if you would like further assistance creating high-impact leadership development programs using this framework. Contact me at jason@elevateagency.org!

— Jason Bosch

AHA! A Framework for Designing & Assessing Leadership Development Programs

Leadership developers revel in AHA! Moments — moments of key insight and learning from program participants. An effective leadership program is one that has been developed with intentionality — there is a clear purpose, specific learning objectives are identified, the program is designed to achieve the objectives, and evidence is gathered to determine how successful the program was in achieving its objectives. Using the AHA! framework outlined below can help you craft an intentional and effective leadership development program.

ARTICULATE your learning goals.

The first step is to get clear about the purpose of the program and what you expect participants to gain. Consider questions such as What is the purpose of this program? What would I like for participants to learn? Is the learning something that can be observed or measured — will I be able to gather any evidence to determine if the intended learning occurred? Learning goals for educational programs are often expressed in the form of learning objective statements. See the sections below for resources to help you craft learning objectives for your program!

HOST the program.

The second step is to design and host the program. The design of the program should follow from the learning objectives you identified. At several points before, during, and after the process of designing the program — before you host it — ask yourself how the program will support the learning objectives you identified. For example, if a learning objective is for participants to employ the competency of raise the heat, you might design your program to allow participants to practice raising the heat, to reflect on their practice, and to receive feedback from a peer or instructor/facilitator. Once designed....host it! Have fun! Learn! Grow!

ASSESS what learning occurred.

The third step is to assess the learning your program has generated. Determining how you are going to assess learning should actually begin in the first step — articulate. As you are identifying your learning objectives and designing your program, formulate a plan to gather evidence or data to determine whether participants achieved the intended learning. After you have hosted the program (and often during), gather evidence of learning. Evidence/data gathering can include methods such as participant observation, pre/post inventories, written reflection or knowledge evaluation, and skill demonstration.

Writing Learning Objectives

Once you are clear about the purpose for your program, identify the specific, observable, or measurable learning objectives that you intend to result from a participant's engagement in your program.

• What specific, observable, or measurable knowledge, skills, or attitudes/values do you want participants be able to demonstrate at the end of the program?
• What level of learning is appropriate based on the participants' prior knowledge/experience, and based on the length and intensity of the program (for example, it would unrealistic to expect participants to be completely proficient in the four KLC leadership competencies after a one-hour program)?
• Write your learning objectives using the formula below. Use the information in the Learning Domains section following to assist you in selecting the appropriate cognitive, affective, or psychomotor learning verb(s) for each learning objective you write. Depending on the length and depth of your program, you could have anywhere from one to a dozen or more learning objectives.

Formula:

As a result of participating in (leadership program) + 
participants will be able to (cognitive, affective, or psychomotor verb) +
(intended knowledge, attitude/value, or skill).

Examples:

As a result of participating in the KLC 101 workshop,
participants will be able to name and explain 
the five KLC leadership principles.

As a result of participating in the KLC 201 workshop,
participants will be able to employ 
the competency of "raise the heat".

Learning Domains for Objectives

Learning can generally be categorized into three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Within each domain are multiple levels of learning that progress from more basic, surface-level learning to more complex, deeper-level learning. The level of learning you impact will vary across learning experiences depending on 1) the nature of the experience, 2) the developmental levels and prior knowledge/skills of the participants, and 3) the duration and intensity of the experience. The learning domains outlined below are based on the work of Benjamin Bloom and others, whose works are cited at the bottom of this page.

Cognitive Domain

The cognitive domain deals with how we acquire, process, and use knowledge. It is the "thinking" domain. The table below outlines the six levels in this domain and verbs that can be used to write learning objectives.

Affective Domain

The affective domain deals with our attitudes, values, and emotions. It is the "valuing" domain. The table below outlines the five levels in this domain and verbs that can be used to write learning objectives.

Psychomotor Domain

The psychomotor domain deals with manual or physical skills. It is the "doing" domain. The table below outlines the five levels in this domain and verbs that can be used to write learning objectives.

Anderson, L.W., & Krathwohl, D.R. (eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: Longman.

Dave, R.H. (1975). Developing and writing behavioral objectives. (R J Armstrong, ed.) Educational Innovators Press.

Krathwohl, D.R., Bloom, B.S., & Masia, B.B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay Co.