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George M. Piskurich, Peter Beckschi, and Brandon Hall (Editors). The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery: A Comprehensive Guide to Creating and Delivering Training Programs-Instructor-Led, Computer-Based, or Self-Directed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2000, 530 pages, $79.95.
Reviewed by Cheryl Wyrick, SPHR, Associate Professor Management and Human Resources, California State Polytechnic University Pomona, Pomona. CA
The ASTD Handbook of Raining Design and Delivery is designed to be one of the important basic reference books in the field of training and development, along with its companion volume, The ASTD Handbook of Raining and Development. The chapters are written by trainers, some of whom have upwards of 20 years experience, as well as academics in psychology, human resource development, and education. For those who are familiar with trade publications in the field, many of the authors are recognizable. The chapters are arranged by the three approaches of the subtitle: instructor-led, computer-based, and self-directed.
This book is a valuable resource if you need a comprehensive overview of today's training technologies; it contains information for trainers on how to go about designing a training program, gathering content, finding subject matter experts, determining training needs, designing and evaluating training programs, and finding and training instructors. Using information on instructional design and how adults learn best, it explains how to prepare lesson plans, create visual aids, and deliver memorable presentations.
The first section, Instructor-Based, begins with an introduction by Peter Beckschi, one of the editors. This section consists of chapters about the basics of training design and development. Included are topics such as instructional systems design, getting ready to present, evaluation, and return on investment. Overall, the chapters are concise and well written. A tool that is useful for new trainers (Technology in the Classroom: Velcro for the Mind) is presented in Chapter 6. Author Turmel gives a table of technology options, including advantages, disadvantages and costs of each, as well as the optimum number of students for each technology. 1rmel states "Whenever possible, use the...