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Instructional Design Activity: Needs Analysis

 

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:

Hi Ashley: Great job on your Needs Assessment IDA. It is very thorough and specific in many key places. Your instructional goals are well written and should address the problems you described. Dr. Law.

 

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:

High School research for class projects and papers taking place in the Media Center

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:

Sprayberry Media Center classes are offered as a support resource for teachers at Sprayberry High School, a public school within the Cobb County School District in Georgia. Resources available to the media center classes include a classroom set of computers, a media center website, online databases (GALILEO, Gale Resources, Culture Grams, Maps101), Internet access, a variety of print resources, one media specialist, one classroom teacher, and high school students.

The instructor's feedback to step 1:

No specific feedback given on this step.

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:

Students are not using reliable online resources to gather information while working on project research in the Media Center. The information that they gather is often incorrect and teachers will often not accept the sources that students site on their bibliographies. Also students are observed using search engines ineffectively by resorting to broad search terms, sifting through lists of thousands of websites, and accepting websites returned despite their lack of accuracy, bias, and dated information.

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:

Students live in an environment of rapid technological change and an increase in information resources that speak to them, often in an unfiltered format, about products, services, news, and social networks. Because of this increasingly complex environment, students are faced with an abundance of choices in their academic studies, in their personal lives, and in their future workplaces. The American Library Association says that, “Being information literate ultimately improves our quality of life as we make informed decisions when buying a house, choosing a school, hiring staff, making an investment, voting for our representatives, and so much more. Information Literacy is, in fact, the basis of a sound democracy.” If students are not able to critically evaluate online information used in straightforward projects assigned by their teachers, then they will also struggle with more complex, real world situations that require information literacy.

The instructor's feedback to step 2:

No specific feedback given on this step.

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:

Media Center classes do not adequately prepare students to locate and gather reliable online information.

The instructor's feedback to step 3:

No specific feedback given on this step.

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.

 

Data sources (who, what)

Information gathered

What did you find? (Needs)*

Example: Interview participants in course; administer class survey; administer test of understanding.

Example: Participant opinions on IDAs and course; Participant score on test.

Example: Participants believe there is too much jargon (felt need); Participants don't understand ID vocabulary as compared to other classes (comparative need); Participants don't score above national average (comparative need); Participants don't/couldn't see the relation between their work and the ID process)

Your final response:

Survey students about their current online research practices Interview teachers about the results they see from student research Review a sample of student projects and information sources

Your final response:

Student opinions and practices on appropriate online information sources and Internet search strategies Online research strategies used by students that teachers have observed Sources used and the accuracy of information gathered

Your final response:

1.) 85% of students observed do not use reliable sources such as online subscription databases to gather background information before using websites found through a search engine. 2.) 90% of students do not know how to use search engines beyond doing broad key word searches. 3.) 80% of students surveyed do not know what criteria to use when evaluating a website’s reliability. 4.) 25% of teachers interviewed do not feel comfortable locating or using online resources as a source of information.

*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:

No specific feedback given on this step.

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

Prioritized needs

Reasons/evidence for priority

Your final response:

1.) 85% of students observed do not use reliable sources such as online subscription databases to gather background information before using websites found through a search engine. 2.) 80% of students surveyed do not know what criteria to use when evaluating a website’s reliability. 3.) 90% of students do not know how to use search engines beyond doing broad key word searches. 4.) 25% of teachers interviewed do not feel comfortable locating or using online resources as a source of information.

Your final response:

First students need to know what sources to use to learn background information about a topic. This will not only teach them about their subject but will also help them when it comes to evaluating other resources. After they are able to find background information and feel comfortable evaluating sources, then they need to know how to branch out and find relevant websites using search engines. Finally, as students are being taught how to use online resources in the media center, the classroom teachers will also be learning how to use them as well.

The instructor's feedback to step 5:

No specific feedback given on this step.

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:

Media Center classes do not adequately prepare students to locate and evaluate online resources.

The instructor's feedback to step 6:

No specific feedback given on this step.

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.

 

Instructional goals by priority

Reasons for importance

Your final response:

1.) Students participating in media center classes will be able to locate and use online databases to gather background information before using less reliable sources. 2.) Students participating in media center classes will be able to evaluate online resources based on authority, currency, accuracy, coverage, and objectivity. 3.) Student participating in media center classes will be able to effectively locate websites about a given topic using a search engine such as Google.

 

Your final response:

The most important skill is to be able to build a strong foundation to begin research by first learning accurate background information about a topic. After learning about a topic, students can then use their new knowledge to help them evaluate additional sources that might enhance their research.

The instructor's feedback to step 7:

No specific feedback given on this step.