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Learning during World War II
During World War II men were called up to fight leaving companies under staffed. In order to compensate for the large numbers of under skilled men and women entering the workforce to replace those individuals, the War Manpower Commission developed the Job Instructor Program (JIT) as a method of training first and second line supervisors on how to teach their skills to new employees. This would be the first train-the-trainer program (Estep, 2008). -
Learning during the 1950s
In 1953, B.F Skinner, a renowned behavioral psychologist and a proponent of behaviorism, introduced behaviorism to the world when he published the book "Science and Human Behavior". Behaviorism and the concept of job analysis formed the basis for individualized instruction. Individualized instruction provided business a method to provide cheaper and effective training (Estep, 2008). -
Learning during the 1960s
The work of Kurt Lewin on "experiential learning" and "action research" in the late 1940s laid the ground work for the concept of Organizational Development (OD), which took hold in the 1960s (Smith, 2001). OD is a field of research, theory, and practice dedicated to expanding the knowledge/effectiveness of people to accomplish successful organizational change and performance (University of Pennsylvania, n.d.). This is accomplish through coaching, analyzing, and organizational training. -
Learning during the 1970s
Malcolm Knowles, and American educator and author, introduced the Adult Learning Theory and Andragogy to the world. Additionally, Knowles introduced the five key principles that influence adult learning such as "adult learners have a need for self-direction"; "adult learners seek knowledge they can use immediately to solve a problem"; and "adult learners are motivated to learn by internal incentives and curiosity" (Estep, 2008). These very principles are still applicable today. -
Learning during the 1980s
With the advent of new and cheaper technology in the 1980, corporates moved towards using computer-based training (CBT) as a means to train new and current employees (Kentnor, 2015). The introduction of CBT programs proved to increase both productivity and learning. The concept of providing CBT within organizations continues to this very day. -
Online educational programs
In 1989, the University of Phoenix started the first online educational programs using CompuServe, one of the first consumer online services (Businesswire, 2016). This ground breaking idea changed the course of education. -
Learning during the 1990s
In 1991, the University of Phoenix introduced the first Internet based courses (Kentnor, 2015). This would be the start of the concept of e-learning. In 2014, there was an estimated 5.8 million students taking distance/e-learning courses in the United States (Friedman, 2016). -
Learning during the 2000s
Just in time learning (JITL), was a concept that was developed in the 1990s, but took hold in the 2000s. JITL is designed to provide training to employees when they need saving an organization time an resources (Park, 2008). -
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