The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery [Hardcover]

George Piskurich (Author), Peter Beckschi (Author), Brandon Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0071343105 | ISBN-13: 978-0071343107 | Edition: 2nd

This comprehensive companion volume to the bestselling ASTD Training and Development Handbook (Craig, ed.) helps trainers design classroom, self-study, or technology-based training programs. Delivering the latest information on how adults learn best and human performance technology, it shows trainers how to prepare lesson plans, create visual aids, and deliver highly memorable presentations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This one-stop resource explains the advantages and weaknesses of every important training approach in today's bewildering array of classroom techniques, new technologies, and creative teaching strategies. The authors, all experts in training design and delivery, provide the essentials for preparing an effective lesson plan, choosing the most effective visual aids, and learning to present new knowledge and skills so that trainees will understand and apply what they learn. This comprehensive reference handbook has been created in response to dramatic changes and advances in training programs, including Web-based training and technology-based instruction. Man chapters address such issues as instructional design, media options for the training classroom, and new trends in designing self-directed programs. No other guide available today offers such a comprehensive overview for designing classroom, self-study, or technology-based programs. For the human resource manager, trainer, or instructional designer, The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery can be used quickly and efficiently to brush up for a new assignment, as a comprehensive refresher, or as a handy on-the-job reference.

About the Author

George M. Piskurich (Greensboro, NC) is an experienced media specialist, trainer, and training director and analyst. He is a former national officer of the ASTD. Peter Beckschi (Philadelphia, PA) is a training manager for a Fortune 500 company. Brandon Hall, Ph.D., (Sunnyvale, CA) is a nationally recognized expert in the technology-based training industry.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2nd edition (November 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071343105
• ISBN-13: 978-0071343107
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Culture > Technical Support

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, March 11, 2003

By 

Amy Hilliard (VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery (Hardcover)

I finishing my PhD in Cognitive Psychology, and I am new to the field of training. My purpose in reading training books is to discover whether or not I would like to pursue being a trainer, or at the very least use the information to help me in my current field. So, you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I know that ASTD is the big professional association for trainers, so I was surprised and disappointed in the limited usefulness of a book sponsored by them.

Other books present design and delivery in a more thorough manner. You can skim this book in a few minutes and get the key points. Whether this is entirely due to the lack of substantive content or due to the book's format is debatable, but I am thinking more the former than the latter.

The key points that are useful are not adequately backed up by sufficient supporting detail or research. I don't think the "Delivery" part should necessarily be backed up by research, but the "Design" part surely should. I would like to know why the techniques they suggest should work and how cognitive processes relate to those techniques. But my thinking that this is important may be more due to my own background, rather than a real flaw of the book. However, even if that is true, I have found other books that do give sufficient supporting detail and/or research.

The other books I recommend instead of this one are:
- Beyond the Podium by Rossett
- Developing Training Courses by Hassell-Corbiell
- Web-Based Training by Horton
- Multimedia for Learning: Methods and Development by Alessi and Trollip
- Building Expertise by Clark

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Reference for all Training Preofessionals, February 9, 2002

By 

Layla Halabi (Dubai - UAE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery (Hardcover)

A quick reference for all things related to Training Design & delivery. However, the coverage is surprisingly deep and some of the chapters are all you'll ever need to know about the topic.

Whether you want an overall picture of Training Design & Delivery or a beginner on his/her first steps and even when you become an expert, you'll find yourself referring to this book again and again.

The Handbook is divided into three section;
1) Instructor Based - Covers such topics as instructional systems design, using technology and games during training and evaluating training programs.
2) Design & delivery of Technology Based Training - If you want a more comprehensive coverage of e-learning, then you should refer to the newly published 'Handbook of e-learning.' However, this section remains quite valuable since it covers some of the other media.
3) Design & delivery of Self Directed Training - If they will learn on their own, then these are all the resources and tools you will need.

This Handbook, together with the 'ASTD Handbook of Training & Development' are essential reference for all Training & Development professionals. I predict that they will also be joined by the 'ATSD Handbook of e-learning' quite soon!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Thorough Learning Resource, November 17, 2009

By 

Alexander Raymond (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The ASTD Handbook of Training Design and Delivery (Hardcover)

This is a solid reference work for professionals in the learning and development space. It covers not only the theory and design, but also gives practical applications that are useful in the professional world.

I use this as a resource for creating online training courses, where most of these principles still apply.

It's a huge book (over 600 pages), so it's not exactly a weekend read, but very useful for learning professionals or those who are interested in human resources. I recommend a copy for your reference library.