Overall Instructor Rating: Satisfactory

Ratings explanation:

• Exemplary - A model answer in almost every way (this is given out very rarely).
• Satisfactory - Very well done; you've met the expectations of the assignment. There are some minor problems, so read my feedback well.
• Marginal Pass - You pass, but there are lots of issues to consider. Read my feedback very carefully and be sure you understand the points/issues I raise.
• Not satisfactory, redo and resubmit - The assignment was not completed appropriately. I am concerned that you do not understand the process well enough yet. To get credit for the assignment, you need to redo it, most probably on another topic. Read and consider my feedback very carefully before redoing.

Instructor's Overall Feedback:

You did a good job here. You seem to understand the process well. Take a look at my feedback below.

1. Preliminary: Describe the context within which this potential instructional problem takes place. This will pinpoint where the problem is located. If instruction is deemed necessary, this will be the place where it will be designed and implemented.

a. List the context, also known as the "system of interest".

Your final response:

Prepare a peer mediation team for the middle school student body

b. Describe or show how the context relates to the bigger environment. Show how this context relates to other levels of the system within which it works.

Your final response:

The peer mediation training course is offered through the counseling department at Williams Middle School. Williams Middle School is part of a county school system that includes 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and two high schools. Within the peer mediation course there are team building activities, communication instruction, conflict management training videos, and role play simulations. This training includes 5 instructors and 4 participants from each grade within the middle school; this includes grades 6, 7, 8. The training will then include a system for which the entire student body can access the mediation team when problems arrise.

The instructor's feedback to step 1:

Good, but I guess your buddies comment tells me that you are not talking about your 6, 7, and 8 graders.

2. Symptoms of a problem. Write a brief description of some symptoms that make you stop and wonder if something is wrong.

Your final response:

52% of all discipline referrals for the 2002-2003 school year were the result of some form of aggressive behavior toward another student.

Using the evidence cited above, describe why you believe that these symptoms signal a problem. Keeping these questions in mind, describe the reasons for identifying these symptoms as problematic.

Your final response:

55% of all Williams County High ninth graders spend approximately 10 academic days suspended out of school, as a result of an aggressive act. According to the National Report on Aggressive Behavior in the Workplace (Reep, 1997), 88% of workers fired for "bullying" behaviors also had multiple reports of such behaviors in school.

The instructor's feedback to step 2:

This is an excellent problem statement. However, it is not stated in a way that points to an instructional solution. Is the reason for the 55% tied to a lack of knowledge and skills related to respect or non-bullying behaviors?

3. Preliminary Problem Statement. Based on 1 and 2, write a preliminary draft problem statement. Your context should be the subject of the statement. This is just the initial pass -- the statement will be revised in subsequent steps.

Your final response:

The counseling department at Williams Middle School is not preparing students to effectively deal with peer conflict.

The instructor's feedback to step 3:

Good, but the way it is stated the target audience will be those who are being bullied. Is that right?

4. Verify the problem and determine specific needs. Two things will now happen concurrently. First, you need a systematic procedure to identify and collect data in order to verify that a problem exists. Second, you must identify information that the data sources may help uncover.

*Note: You are not required to gather data; you can draw on your experience or imagination to list the data you might gather.

The instructor's feedback to step 4:

Why the whole state? Your focus is your county. Also, this is focused on the bullies. Are you going to be doing bully training or protect yourself from bully training?

5. Prioritize your list of needs.Which are most important? Why are they most important?

The instructor's feedback to step 5:

Now I get it. It is the mediators you will be training. Why did you not do needs assessments on what they don't know and what they need to know?

6. Rewrite your problem statement. Take a moment to look carefully at the initial problem statement that you wrote. Revisit your prioritized needs and check if your problem statement is still accurate and appropriate.

Rewrite the problem statement here:

Your final response:

The counseling department of Williams Middle School needs to create a peer mediation team to help students deal with peer conflict through mediation, face to face dicussion, and positive feedback; thus will lower the number of aggressive behaviors in school that lead to suspension and loss of academic time.

The instructor's feedback to step 6:

This is well stated, but I am afraid I am unsure how that content will help resolve the problem?

7. Identify the instructional goals. The last step in Needs Assessment is to list a few goals of instruction. Remember, not all goals can be solved through instruction. The instructional goals you identify will be the starting information for the next steps in the instructional design process. List the instructional goals in order of priority.

The instructor's feedback to step 7:

No specific feedback given yet on this step.