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Agency/Program Visit: American Society of Training & Development (ASTD) Gaylen F. Brannon Colorado State University Adult Education EDAE 520 December 2, 2012
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD History and Description American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) is the worlds largest professional association dedicated to the training and development field. In more than 100 countries, ASTDs members work in organizations of all sizes, in the private and public sectors, as independent consultants, and as suppliers. Members who total over 44, 000, connect locally in more than 120 U.S. chapters and with 20 international partners. The organization is a widely sought-after voice on critical public policy issues in the field of training and development. (ASTD, 2011)
ASTD had humble beginnings. It began with a training committee meeting of the American Petroleum Institute in 1942. The following year, a group of 15 training men met for the first board meeting of the American Society of Training Directors. They became the governing body of the association, which convened ASTD's membership in 1945. Soon other local, regional, and industry-specific training groups began to align with ASTD. At the 1946 convention, ASTD adopted a constitution with the goals of: raising awareness on the standards and prestige of the industrial training profession and furthering the professionals education and development. (Wikipedia)
In 1964, the association changed its name to the American Society for Training & Development. ASTD eventually widened its focus to connect learning and performance with business results. In 2000, the organization chose to refer to itself just by the letters ASTD, to underscore that it wanted to broaden its scope as a professional organization. It then adopted the tagline, create a world that works better.(Wikipedia)
Budget/Funding sources Jennifer Homer (Homer 2012), Vice-president of Communications and Career Development stated, We are a non profit, membership organization. Membership is a primary source of funding but we have multiple streams of income, which include conferences and expositions, education, publishing and training.
Overview of Programs and Training Supports A competency study conducted by, ASTD in 2004, established the basis for their current competency model. This model serves as a guide for the organizations professional constituency, trainings and program offerings.
The model was built using a data-driven approach with content validated by thousands of learning and development professionals. The competencies encompass clusters of skills, knowledge, abilities, and behaviors required for people to succeed in the learning and development field. The model is based on three layers of successive building blocks. Foundational Level: Foundational Competencies Focus Level: Areas of Expertise Execution Level: Professional Roles ("Astd competency model,")
ASTD provides a variety of education programs and supports. These include: Credentials and certificates such as the Certified Professional in Learning,
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD Multimedia for Instructional Designers Certificate, Transforming Traditional Learning and Development: Doing More with Less Certificate for the government audiences and a coaching certificate. The mission of the training program is to promote a standard of excellence and provide learning and development
professionals with a platform to demonstrate and validate their competencies, prove their worth, and increase the impact that they have on organizations. (ASTD, 2011)
There is also a career-planning tool, called the Career Navigator. This tool assesses current skills and reports how one rates against targeted proficiencies. It then helps a person explore career roles and highlights the skills needed in those roles and resources available to support that development.
Training Assessment/Programs Development As a training organization, ASTD stays abreast of trends in the field and our sensitive to the needs and requests of members. We must be relevant and serve the needs of the industry and our members. (Homer 2012) Yearly, ASTD conducts several research projects on the workplace and investment in learning which continues to inform how they serve members. Last year they continued to expand their research offerings. In addition to the State of the Industry Report, they conducted and published the following studies: Developing Results: Aligning Learnings Goals and Outcomes with Business Performance Measures Learning to Innovate: Exploring Learnings Critical Role in Fostering Innovation
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD Mobile Learning: Learning in the Palm of Your Hand Salary & Compensation Report, 2011
Suite Synchronicity: Exploring the Relationship and Alignment between the CLO and the Executive Suite (ASTD, 2011)
Class Visit I visited a class called Telling Aint Training. The facilitator was Dr. Harold Stolovitch, one of the authors of the book bearing the same name. Dr. Stolovitch, is Emeritus Professor, Universit de Montral. He is a principal of HSA LEARNING & PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS LLC, an international consulting firm. His research and consulting activities have included projects with major corporations and organizations around the world. He is an experienced workshop leader and a keynote speaker at major conferences and organizations, worldwide, and a prolific writer with 13 books and almost 200 articles and book chapters. (Stolovitch)
This workshop was held in Dallas, Texas. The goal of the class was to engage participants in understanding the research that supports learner retention and help participants avoid practices that harm the instructional process. The facilitator used experiential activities done with individuals, pairs and small groups. These approaches immersed learners in fun, playful ways. The participants were primarily from the business sector and consultants. The learners with whom I spoke were there to increase their personal/professional development skills as trainers. I had the opportunity to talk intensively with Tracy Schiffmann, (Schiffmann 2012) a
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD long-time member of ASTD and participant in a variety of courses, said, Being a part of this organization has been vital to my work. I am an independent business owner. Many of the contracts Ive secured have come the job bank. I rely on the resources they offer to support my work. Their trainings are expensive but top quality.
Reflection ASTD is the premiere organization in the training and development field. They do an excellent job of staying abreast of trends, supporting members and participants through professional communities of practice, information and trainings that hone their skills/abilities and keeps them on the cutting edge of the profession.
ASTD has an extensive audience of business and government professionals. They recently started a community of practice for higher education and in my opinion; they should extend their reach in this sector. There is overlap in the principles and practices of quality learning experiences. Anyone who is an educator could benefit from what ASTD have to offer. I think this organization should consider ways to intentionally expand their training to more educators. This approach would be aligned with their mission of creating a world that works better.
This assignment opened my eyes to another aspect of professional trainers and the many qualifications expected of them. ASTD provides a variety of education programs and supports. These include:
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD credentials and certificates such as the Certified Professional in Learning, Multimedia for Instructional Designers Certificate, Transforming Traditional Learning and Development: Doing More with Less Certificate for the government audiences and a coaching certificate. The mission of the training program is to promote a standard of excellence and provide learning and development
professionals with a platform to demonstrate and validate their competencies, prove their worth, and increase the impact that they have on organizations. (ASTD, 2011)
There is also a career-planning tool, called the Career Navigator. This tool assesses current skills and reports how one rates against targeted proficiencies. It then helps a person explore career roles and highlights the skills needed in those roles and resources available to support that development. Creating a powerful learning experience is only one aspect of the skills needed to be marketable in this industry. Being an effective trainer is also about collaborating with leaders in other departments to strategically identify the needs of learners and what type of experiences will achieve the desired outcomes and ultimately increase the productivity of the organization. Professional trainers must, at the minimum, be proficient in multiple competencies: instructional design, improving human performance, delivering training, measuring and evaluating, facilitating organizational change, coaching, and managing organizational knowledge. I am impressed that such an organization exists with the breadth and depth of resources to support those in this field in developing these competencies.
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD Summary of Report Process The process I used to gather my data included exploring their website for information, conducting an Internet search which led to readings and videos about
the organization. I also conducted a phone interviews with staff at the headquarters and visited a class being held in my area. This gave me an opportunity to interview learners and see an example of how training is delivered.
Running Head: Agency/Program Visit ASTD References ASTD. (2011). Relevant: ASTD 2011 annual report. Alexandra, Virginia: Tony Bingham.
Homer, J. (2012, October 12). Interview by G Brannon [Personal Interview]. Overview of astd.
Schiffmann, T. (2012, October 15). Interview by G Brannon [Personal Interview]. Your experience with astd.
wikipedia. (n.d.). American society of training & development. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org