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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 Ansley: Nice work on improving your Needs Assessment IDA. Your goal is still a little broad and could be more specific but it will work as a starting point. I have updated your rating to satisfactory. Dr. Law. Hi Ansley: Overall, I think you did a really good job with this IDA. I have a few suggestions that I believe will improve your IDA. You stated that many students are writing effectively in your LA class but it is not transferring to the other content areas. Some of my thoughts initially were, Are the other teachers emphasizing the need to write effectively or do they not deduct points for writing errors - in other words, are your efforts in promoting effective writing skills being supported by other teachers? It seems like you would want to interview students that are writing effectively in your class but not in other content areas and find out why they think they don't put the same effort into it? Is it because it doesn't get graded or are they lacking the skills to transfer what you teach them into other types of activities? *I see you addressed my concerns later in your IDA but I would update the problem identification sections at the beginning to include them. You wrote: It is my goal for the "below grade-level" students in my classes to take the information that they learn about writing in Language Arts and to transfer that information to writing assignments in other content areas, particularly in Social Studies. By giving students more opportunities to practice writing in Social Studies' settings, they will become better writers across the curriculum. This will also promote a deeper understanding of the learning and of the content. If you were going to design some instruction to satisfy your goal, what would students be able to do once they completed the instruction? For example, "students will be able to apply effective writing skills in all major subject areas in a writing sample". Or to address the attitudinal component, "students will be able to describe the benefits of writing effectively in all types of academic and professional writing". Please update your IDA to address these issues and send me an e-mail as a notification. 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:

The context where this instructional problem occurs is sixth grade social studies classrooms.

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:

Social Studies classes in this system of interest are taken by sixth grade students (11 and 12 year olds) at Lanier Middle School, in Buford, GA. This class follows the curriculum laid forth by Gwinnett County Public School's Academic Knowledge and Skills Guide. Within this class, there are several resources--computer-mediated communication tools (email, Homework Now), one instructor, two textbooks (Journey Across Time and One World, Many People), and participants who must pass social studies in order to be promoted to seventh grade.

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 transferring the writing skills that they are acquiring during Language Arts to their other content area classes. After reading over journals that my students wrote in their Language Arts class, I was amazed at how much better the quality of writing was on this assignment than on similar assignments in my Social Studies class. It was incredible to see how they utilize their writing skills on Language Arts assignments, but when it comes to activities in other classes, those skills seem to disappear. Students need to realize that it is important to transfer those "Language Arts based skills" to all of their other classes. By doing this, the students will become better writers and will also develop a more thorough understanding of the curriculum.

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 are not carrying their writing skills across the curriculum. As a result, these students are falling behind. Students need to realize that it is important to transfer those "Language Arts based skills" to all of their other classes. By doing this, the students will become better writers and will also develop a more thorough understanding of the curriculum. Writing is a strategy that can be used to learn in all content areas, not just Language Arts. Writing helps students to move from concrete to abstract levels of thinking. It links new information with prior knowledge, provides opportunities for application, and promotes learner involvement.

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:

Sixth grade students are not transferring the writing skills that they acquire during Language Arts to their other core content area classes.

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:

In the beginning of my analysis, I am going to administer a writing test that will cover content from each curriculum. On the test, there will be four essay questions that the students must answer; each question will be content-area specific. There is a rubric that I will use to measure grammar, word usage, mechanics, spelling, as well as content. If a student scores below a certain percentage on the rubric, they will be considered "below grade-level", and I will spend a majority of this project working specifically with them. After the preliminary writing test, I am going to administer a student survey in order to get the students' opinions on why they don't enjoy writing and what educators can do to better help them with this problem. The students will also participate in two more writing tests throughout the course of the project, as a means of gaging their progress.

Your final response:

The survey offered student opinions on writing. Many students fear writing. They are often reluctant to get started because they have difficulty narrowing down the topic. They need specific directions so that they know exactly what the teacher expects from them. Students do not see the importance in writing on a consistent basis. And finally, they find that they are more successful with writing assignments that they can relate to and when they are familiar with the topic. With this data, I can tweak how to incorporate writing skills into my Social Studies class to better suit the students' needs. The first test will determine who is falling below grade-level, and these are the students that I will focus on. The other two tests will allow me to gage how the students are incorporating the new techniques into their writing, and whether or not these techniques are helping them learn the content.

Your final response:

The students who are unable to transfer their writing skills to other curriculum areas are not grasping the content, and are falling behind. These students need to have more opportunities to write so that they can practice using their writing skills in other classes. They also need to have someone model how to use writing in classes other than Language Arts. The students need to realize the importance of writing, and they also need to be motivated to write.

*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 need to be taught the basic writing skills in Language Arts, and the skills should be reinforced in the other classes. They should be able to employ these skills on assignments in other classes. 2. Students should enjoy writing, and not make it just a school assignment. 3. Students need a lot more writing practice. 4. Students need teachers who model good writing. 5. Students need to write for authentic purposes and for authentic audiences.

Your final response:

First of all, they have to know the basics before they begin to write. It is imperative that they are taught grammar, usage, and mechanics in their language arts class, and then the skills can be reinforced in their other classes. When students write on a daily basis, it is more practice for them, thus making them better writers. Also, it becomes less like a chore and the writing comes more easily. It is important to show the students exactly what you expect from them, so that they know what you are looking for. If you model how to write an essay in Social Studies, then that will alleviate many questions from the students. It is critical for teachers to write alongside their students and to explain which modeling strategies are most effective in helping students to write better. If students are going to become lifelong writers, they must see writing as intrinsically important. Motivation plays a critical role in developing young writers. Students must find writing assignments relevant and meaningful. Writing is hard, and if students do not have intrinsic reasons to work hard at developing their writing skills, they won't diligently develop those skills. If the students are given authentic writing tasks, they are able to relate to the material and, as a result, their writing is more thoughtful and meaningful.

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:

Even though students have been taught basic writing skills in Language Arts, they are not transferring those skills to their other curriculum area classes. They are unsure of how to write papers in other classes, and as a result, they are not writing as well as they have shown in Language Arts. Students need to have someone model how to write in these classes, as well as more opportunities to practice writing. It is also imperative that writing is incorporated in such a way so that students are intrinsically motivated to write. In order for students to really produce high-quality writing, they have to enjoy writing.

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:

It is my goal for the "below grade-level" students in my classes to take the information that they learn about writing in Language Arts and to transfer that information to writing assignments in other content areas, particularly in Social Studies. By giving students more opportunities to practice writing in Social Studies' settings, they will become better writers across the curriculum. This will also promote a deeper understanding of the learning and of the content.

 

Your final response:

As an educator, this project is really important to me because writing is a strategy that can be used to learn in all content areas, not just Language Arts. Writing helps students to move from concrete to abstract levels of thinking. It links new information with prior knowledge, provides opportunities for application, and promotes learner involvement.

The instructor's feedback to step 7:

No specific feedback given on this step.