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 Heather:
Nice work in revising your IDA to address the issues that I pointed out. I have revised your rating to satisfactory.
Dr. Law
Hi Heather:
This is a very detailed IDA response for the needs assessment activity. Overall, I think it is very solid, especially in how you defined the problem and your data collection activities. Here are my suggestions for improvement:
1. Make the attitudinal component for students more prominent in how you plan to address the problem. I believe you are thinking about changing attitudes through awareness education but it needs to be specifically called out. Many instructional projects have both an attitudinal goal and a knowledge-based goal. For your problem, students need to know both why and how to impact the environment in a positive way.
2. Your problem statement should relate the need to benchmarks or standards for environmental education programs that you have researched. For example, your research could indicate that the EE program at your school is inadequate compared to curricula surveyed throughout the U.S. in similar demographics. In other words, what should the EE program look like based on your analysis of effective programs in other schools.
3. Your goals need to state what the students will be able to do when they finish the instruction not what the instruction will be like. For example, instead of "teachers will be provided" it should read "teachers will be able to use the curriculum materials provided to deliver the EE curriculum to their students". Another instructional goal may be, "Students will be able to identify the key behaviors involved in how humans impact their environment."
Take a look at this items and see if you can revise your IDA to improve it. Feel free to write me back if you need additional clarification.
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:
Fourth and Fifth Grade Elementary School Science Education. Though the problem reaches far beyond a specific school, Fowler Drive Elementary School will serve as our client.
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:
Fowler Drive Elementary is in Athens, GA and is part of the Clarke County School System. They were honored as a Green School in 2006 and 2007, which is part of the Georgia Green and Healthy School Program. Though Fowler Drive is most likely ahead of other schools in environmental knowledge, they are a good example or how instruction initiatives may improve upon the national issue concerning environmental education.
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 knowledgeable of ecological systems and life-support functions and how humans impact and are impacted by these systems.
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:
With lack of knowledge or awareness, behaviors are not supporting the immediate or long-term health of the environment.
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:
Fourth and Fifth grade science education at Fowler Drive Elementary School does not provide adequate instruction and hands-on activities in the area of ecological systems and life support functions.
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.
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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 on present knowledge and behaviors in relation to environmental issues; administer a pre-test to determine the "gap" that will need to be addressed within the instructional development; survey teachers on their present knowledge of ecological systems and what instruction may be necessary for them to implement curricula to the students; obtain support(books, articles) for the necessity of environmental awareness and nature-interaction for the betterment of both children and healthy ecosystems.
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Your final response:
Baseline knowledge of both students and teachers; scores on the pre-test (determining "gap"); statistics and other data concerning improvement in childhood learning disabilities and other problems with environmental education and nature-interaction.
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Your final response:
Students aren't aware of ecological concepts and problems and how they relate to our lives (normative); Teachers are not knowledgeable either and lack training on how to present such instruction (normative); Science education is not given adequate time/emphasis within the school week (felt); Environmental awareness and behaviors are not as positive as in other states (comparative); Environmental degradation will continue in the future, if awareness and behavior does not improve (anticipated).
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*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.Teachers are not knowledgeable either and lack instruction on how to present such instruction (normative);
2.Students aren't aware of ecological concepts and problems and how they relate to our lives (normative);
3.Science education is not given adequate time/emphasis within the school week (felt);
4.Environmental awareness and behaviors are not as positive as in other states (comparative)
5. Environmental degradation will continue in the future, if awareness and behavior does not improve (anticipated)
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Your final response:
One reason why teachers may not be teaching these concepts is for lack of knowledge or skills to do so. Environmental education is not a requirement in Early Childhood Education degrees, therefore supplemental training is necessary. The students are not able to obtain this knowledge without the teachers being instructed first.
Children are our future leaders. The knowledge and behaviors they adopt will shape the future of our environment and will be passed on to their future generations. It is important for children to grasp these concepts early on as they are developing a core belief system. Educating them on the importance of the environment will hopefully ensure its future protection and the well-being of the children as the grow up.
With the implementation of No Child Left Behind, standardized testing has become the priority in education. Unfortunately, this means that students are receiving an abundance of test-taking training, focusing on math and reading. Science and outdoor play, along with other subjects, are suffering because of the NCLB policy. The children are ultimately suffering, being that they are missing out on such an important aspect of their education and general well-being of exercise and exposure to nature.
Compared to other states, particularly in the western United States, Georgia's environmental policy, awareness, and behavior are lacking. Though GA is trying to address many environmental issues, we are still falling behind. Pertaining to Environmental education, many states require EE to be a part of regular science education curricula. EE is integrated into all subjects, as it has been shown that students learn better when lessons are taught using nature and hand-on learning.
Protection of the environment is the ultimate goal for this project. We believe that with increased understanding of the need for healthy ecological systems, attitudes and behaviors will change. This has been shown in numerous studies where environmental education and nature-based activities have been implemented. Not only has environmental awareness improved, but test scores in other subjects, such as math and reading, have gone up. Though this is the most important overall goal, it is difficult to measure long-term. We are not able to see if our instruction will change behavior permanently into the future, therefore it is difficult to measure.
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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:
Fourth and Fifth grade science education at Fowler Drive Elementary School does not provide adequate instruction and hands-on activities in the area of environmental education, specifically in the area of ecological systems and their life-support functions.
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:
* Teachers at Fowler Drive Elementary will be provided instruction/training in environmental education and provided with materials to support instruction.
* Students will provided instruction on ecological systems and the importance of provisional life-support functions. These include pollination services, water purification, air cleaning, pest and disease control, climate control, food production, aesthetics, soil production and recycling services.
* Students will participate in hands-on science inquiry activities that build environmental knowledge.
* Students will take part in service learning activities to understand how their behavior impacts all aspects of the environment, focusing on their local schoolyard and community.
* Students' environmental awareness will grow, which should lead to more positive action and/or less impact on their environment (i.e. start recycling, clean up litter, reduce waste, conserve water, etc.).
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Your final response:
Instructing teachers and providing them with the curriculum is the first step in educating the students. Without this training, it is difficult to meet the rest of the goals.
Meeting the second goal will give students a basic understanding of ecological systems and the many life-support functions or services they provide us with. With this knowledge, students will be able to expand their learning on these topics and realize the importance of lessening our impact on the environment. All other goals will be a follow-up to this initial knowledge.
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The instructor's feedback to step 7:
No specific feedback given on this step.
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