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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:

You did a very good job with this assignment! Please read my comments below -- I tried to help you clarify your context and resulting problem statement. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

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:

Chinese graduate students and scholars in Athens

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:

There are about four hundred Chinese students who are either pursuing master/PhD degree or doing post-doctoral work or as visiting scholars in Athens. There are about 400,400 Chinese students in US. Almost all of them, when first came to US and started writing course essays or research papers,found they didn't know know how to cite properly in thier writing, espcially about whether and how to use APA Chicago styles.

The instructor's feedback to step 1:

A good start, but 1b is asking you to relate your context (system of interest) to other related systems. For example, you could have explained some of the cultural interrelationships between these Chinese students and scholars to the American culture within which they now find themselves. Part of that American culture is at the University and part is with the local community -- these are two very different systems! Also, I read ahead and so I know that your context (system of interest) probably needs to be altered so that you can pinpoint where the instruction needs to take place. (Read more below to see what I mean.)

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:

· Writing essays or papers is one of their most important things, yet many Chinese students or scholars complain that they don't know how to cite sources in their work or in a bibliography. · Many citations in the body of their work or in the reference part are wrong

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:

My evidence comes from my own frustrating experience and experiences of my fellow Chinese students and scholars, who struggled hard in their paper writing, not knowing exactly how to cite sources. Their teachers in China didn't teach them how to cite sources, neither did their American teachers. These students and scholars need skills of summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and citing of source information for their academic and research work.

The instructor's feedback to step 2:

Very good! I could also imagine lots of other symptoms, such as American professors you know who might comment (or complain) about this problem.

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:

US and Chinese colleges and universities did not do a good job in preparing Chinese student graduates/scholars for research process in terms of proper citation of source material.

The instructor's feedback to step 3:

The context identified in step 1 needs to be the subject of the problem statement. According to what you wrote, the context should be altered to "US and Chinese colleges and universities". But, that will do you no good if you want to help these students now. So, you need to identify a context that now would be an appropriate place to design instruction (if that really is the problem) to help these students. I'll make one up: "UGA American Language Program". Given this, here is a recommended problem statement: "The UGA American Language Program does not adequately prepare Chinese student graduates and scholars to write research papers that correctly cite source material".

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:

a. Personal experience. b. Informal talk with my Chinese friends c. Interview of Chinese graduates and scholars d. Interview with instructors

Your final response:

a. Journal, essay and dissertation requirements b. Different citation styles c. Research shows students have a poor knowledge of source citationd. d. Chinese students report that their professors often ask them to rewrite their papers because of inappropriate citation of sources

Your final response:

a. There is no workshop or seminar offered to students in terms of source citation b. Professor didn't teach students how to cite sources properly c. There need to be a course teaching students how to cite sources properly d. Students, especially Chinese students and scholars need to have clear information about the appropriate form of citation required by different schools, institutions or journals e. US and Chinese schools need to offer seminar or workshop focusing on research processf. f. Students need to read books about citation of sources themselvesg. g. Students need to read more articles to see how other people cite sourcesh. h. There need to be a uniform citation style.

*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:

These are good. You've identified some good data sources and make a good argument for the kinds of needs that result. However, your needs need some rewriting -- I suggest you try to come up with needs that use the categories that we discussed in class. For example, I'm sure there are normative needs -- language or writing standards that show at what level of proficiency these students should be functioning at. Comparative needs would be to compare these Chinese students to their American counterparts. Expressed needs can be those expressed by the students themselves when they recognize that they are lacking understanding according to survey results. See what I mean?

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

Prioritized needs

Reasons/evidence for priority

Your final response:

a. There need to be a course teaching students how to cite sources properly b. US and Chinese schools need to offer seminar or workshop focusing on research processc. c. Students, especially Chinese students and scholars need to have clear information about the appropriate form of citation required by different schools, institutions or journals d. Students need to read books about citation of sources themselvese. 5. There need to be a uniform citation style.

Your final response:

If Chinese/ US professors prepared students for the proper way of citing sources at the beginning of their academic/research work, students/scholars wouldn't be so frustrated. Different citation styles tend to confuse students, especially foreign students

The instructor's feedback to step 5:

Good.

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:

Chinese and American universities do not adequately prepare Chinese graduates and scholars for citation of sources in their academic and research work

The instructor's feedback to step 6:

I think my suggested problem statement from step 3 still applies here.

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:

Chinese graduates and scholars will: a. Demonstrate increased knowledge of citing source materials b. Demonstrate skills in the basic processes of using source material: summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, in-text citing, and bibliographic entry writing c. Check and Correct previous papers in terms of working with source materials d. Write paper with proper citation style

 

Your final response:

· If these students and scholars understand and know how to use the source materials, they will no longer commit the mistakes they used to and their confidence in and ability of writing quality research paper will improve. · If these Chinese students become expert in the process of using source materials, they will help their Chinese /teachers / colleagues become more aware of this issue and they will teach their students the proper way of using sources in their writing when they return to China.

The instructor's feedback to step 7:

Excellent!