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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:

Great job on this Needs Assessment IDA. You seem to understand this process quite well. Just a few notes for you: I like your thorough description of the context (step 1). I also think it's interesting that you ended up expanding to a dual context - the 7th grade class and the media program - in your problem statement (3 & 6). I would suggest that you stick with one context for your problem statement, though. This would probably be the class itself, and then your instructional design can incorporate use of the media center as part of the solution. Your process in steps 4 & 5, gathering data and identifying needs, looks good. However, I think you forgot to include teacher views in 4b. Also, in 5a, "Students' research scores are low ..." should probably be called a normative need. Finally, in 5c, what is the reason for this particular order of priority? Step 7 is also looking good (though I would spell out Clarke Middle School the first time and abbreviate it the second time, rather than the other way around. Finally, I must comment that you have quite a few typographical errors in your IDA. I normally don't worry about a few of these here and there, but in your case I'd like to ask you to be more careful about these when you submit work to me. And, especially, be aware that there are points to be lost in your team project for this kind of thing, so please give this some thought - thanks. Other than the above points, great job! And thanks for handling this without the benefit of regular buddy feedback. I hope you find my feedback helpful. :) Greg

 

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:

Clarke Middle School 7th Grade Collaborative Social Studies Class

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:

Clarke Middle School in Clarke County, Athens, Georgia houses grade 6-8 and each grade level has 8 classes total with 2 social studies classes. Clarke Middle School is part of Clarke County School System wich includes 4 middle schools, 10 elementary school, 2 high schools, and two alternative placement schools. Within a 7th grade collaborative social studies class there is one general education teacher and one special education teacher who instruct collaboratively using both teacher and student centered methods. Resources are used such as textbooks, class and school websites, istructional tools computer labs with Internet access, Smart Board, and teacher laptops. 18-25 students are present in the class daily for insturction according to state specifications and standards.

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 in the class often have a difficult time finding suitable and reliable sources for research when working on projects for their class using the Internet.

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:

The need to find reliable resources is an important element of the social studies curriculum as well as the English Language Arts Curriculum and will further their understand of many topics in the future. The teachers explained that if students work on their research using broad research tools, such as Google, students have a hard time discerning between reputable and not so reputable sources. Teachers would like for them to understand and use tools such as Compton's Britanica, Galileo and the journals and websites linked within to find info on their topics.

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:

The 7th grade social studies class and/or the Library Media Specialist does not adequately prepare students to do research using reputable sources online.

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:

Interview students, student observations while using computers for research Teacher survey Adminsiter test of understanding

Your final response:

student opinions on finding resources student's research practices

Your final response:

Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies and English for the remainder of their middle and high school career include research and finding reputable sources (anticipated need) Students feel that they do not know how to find good resources (Felt need) Students are not aware of what a reputable source is according to teachers (felt need) Students research scores are low due to inapproprite source use according to teachers (felt need) Students scores in the area of source selection on the CRCT test are lower that the average student in Georgia (comparaitve need)

*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. Students feel that they do not know how to find good resources (Felt need) 2. Students are not aware of what a reputable source is according to teachers (felt need) 3. Students research scores are low due to inapproprite source use according to teachers (felt need) 4. Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies and English for the remainder of their middle and high school career include research and finding reputable sources (anticipated need) 5. Students scores in the area of source selection on the CRCT test are lower that the average student in Georgia (comparaitve need)

Your final response:

Students must first "buy in" to their plan to research in a different way. Students must learn to find information on their own and discern if the information is reputable or not becuase in their education as well as personal future individual need to seek out answers.

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:

The 7th grade social studies class and the media program do not adequately prepare students to do research using reputable online sources.

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:

7th Grade CMS students will demostrate the ability to: 1. access the CMS website 2. use the Clarke Middle School media center website to access Compton's Britanica online 3. Search for information on a specific topic 4. Find info on said topic within Comptons 5. Find information on the topic using journal and magazine links within Compton's

 

Your final response:

Students must first use the school website to find the link to the Compton's online encyclopedia. Students must understand that this online encyclopedia is a reputable source. In learning these sills students will be able to meet their academic and personal reserach goals.

The instructor's feedback to step 7:

No specific feedback given on this step.