Instructional Design – EDFN201B

Analysis:Needs Analysis

(source: Morrison, Gary R. Designing Effective Instruction, 6th Edition. John Wiley & Sons)

Presented by: Leesha Roberts,

Instructor II

From a School Perspective goals will refer to the content to be taught.

Needs Analysis and Instructional Problem Identification

Questions to Consider

• What is the problem we are asked to solve?• Will instruction solve the problem, or is there

another approach?• What is the purpose of the planned

instruction?• Is an instructional intervention the best

solution?(Morrison, Gary R. Designing Effective Instruction, 6th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, p. 29).

Before Starting an Instructional Design Project

• Why is instruction (i.e., training) needed? • Under what conditions is it advisable to

undertake a task that is often both costly and time-consuming?

• Let’s examine some situations that might require an instructional intervention.

• (Morrison, Gary R. Designing Effective Instruction, 6th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, p. 30).

• First, suppose performance is not meeting expectations. E.g. the mean score for a fifth standard class on the fractions section of the SEA is below the district means.

• In this situation the students are not performing to expectations.

• Second, the work environment can change as a result of modifications in procedure or the installation of new equipment. E.g. In an elementary school the principal may decide to adopt a problem-based learning approach, requiring staff development and changes in teaching methods.

• Third, a company or industry can expand so rapidly that qualified personnel are in short supply.

• In situations like the three just described, training interventions might help improve productivity or achievement.

• instructional design would provide a means for developing appropriate training or increasing the cost-effectiveness of existing training.

Is Instruction The Answer?

• Do we know that more instruction will solve these problems? Could something in the environment account for the inaccuracies?

• A careful analysis of the situation might reveal these inaccuracies may be based on environmental factors or non instructional factors.

• The purpose for identifying the problem is to determine whether instruction should be part of the solution

Reasons for Conducting the Needs Analysis

• The instructional design process begins with the identification of a problem or need.

• Why is performance below expectations? • Once we know the root cause of the problem,

we can determine whether an instructional intervention will solve the problem.

Approaches to Identifying Instructional Problems

• Instructional designers can use three different approaches to identify instructional problems: – needs assessment– goal analysis– performance assessment.

When does an Instructional Designer Conduct a Needs Assessment

• Rossett (1999) identifies four opportunities for identifying performance problems. – First is the introduction or rollout of a new product. – Second is responding to an existing performance

problem. – Third, a company recognizes a need to develop its

people so they can continue to contribute to the growth of the company.

– Fourth is strategy development, in which an analysis provides useful information for making decisions for strategic planning

The Needs Assessment/Analysis

• The terms needs assessment and needs analysis are often used interchangeably.

• A needs assessment is used to identify gaps in performance and then determine whether the gaps are worth addressing through an intervention.

• If a gap is worth addressing, then recommendations are made to improve performance through some type of intervention.

The Needs Assessment/Analysis

• In contrast, a needs analysis involves examining the gap and identifying potential causes of the gap (also called cause analysis).

• The causes of the gap are used to determine an appropriate intervention.

The Needs Assessment/Analysis

• Needs assessment is a tool designers use to identify performance problems in many different areas.

• Needs assessment is described as a tool for identifying the problem and then selecting an appropriate intervention (Kaufman & English, 1979; Kaufman, Rojas & Mayer, 1993)

4 Functions of the Needs Assessment

• It identifies the needs relevant to a particular job or task, that is, what problems are affecting performance.

• It identifies critical needs. Critical needs include those that have a significant financial impact, affect safety, or disrupt the work or educational environment.

• It sets priorities for selecting an intervention. • It provides baseline data to assess the effectiveness

of the instruction.

Please Note!• Gathering baseline data is not

always possible or cost-effective.

Types of Needs and Data Sources

• Six identifiable categories of needs are used for planning and conducting a needs assessment (Burton & Merrill, 1991).

• These six categories provide a framework for designers to determine the type of information to gather and a means to classify needs.

A normative need

• A normative need is identified by comparing the target audience against a national standard.

• Normative needs in education include national achievement test norms such as those of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), or National Test (NAT), Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA).

A normative need

• A normative need exists when the target population’s performance is below the established norm. Thus, a fifth class that scores 30% below the norm on the math section of the SEA has a defined normative need.

• The first step in defining a normative need is to obtain the normative data. The test administrator’s handbook or test publisher typically provides test norms.

• Once the norm is defined, the instructional designer must collect data from the target audience for comparison with the norm. Again, summarized test data are often available in schools.

Comparative Needs

• Comparative needs are similar to normative needs in that both are defined by comparing the status of the target audience to an external measure or status.

• A comparative need, however, is identified by comparing the target group to a peer group, that is, to another company or school as opposed to a norm.

Comparative Needs

• In education, a comparative need is identified by comparing one class to another, equivalent class (e.g., two sixth-grade classes) or comparing two equivalent schools to identify differences such as available equipment or test scores.

• To identify comparative needs, the designer must first determine areas for comparison (e.g., math scores, manufacturing waste, management development).

Comparative Needs

• Data are then collected on the target audience to determine the current status.

• Next, data are collected from the comparative audience. In education, this process may be as simple as calling the other school and requesting the information.

Felt Needs

• A felt need is a desire or want that an individual has to improve either his or her performance or that of the target audience.

• Felt needs express a gap between current performance or skill level and desired performance or skill level.

Felt Needs

• When searching for felt needs, designers must identify needs related to improving performance and individual wants that are motivated by a desire other than performance improvement.

• Felt needs are best identified through interviews and questionnaires

Expressed Needs.

• An expressed need is a felt need turned into action (Bradshaw, 1972). People are often willing to pay to satisfy expressed needs (Burton & Merrill, 1991).

• An individual who chooses one of two or more options—for example, enrolling in a specific course or workshop—is also demonstrating an expressed need.

• Instructional designers are primarily interested in expressed needs that improve the performance of the target audience or person.

Anticipated or Future Needs.

• The instructional design process often focuses on identifying needs related to existing performance problems.

• Anticipated needs are a means of identifying changes that will occur in the future.

• Identifying such needs should be part of any planned change so that any needed training can be designed prior to implementation of the change.

Anticipated or Future Needs.

• For example, a school principal and supervisors might decide to implement a new instructional technique (e.g., argumentation skills) next year.

• An anticipated need is the knowledge teachers need to use problem-based learning effectively in a classroom.

• By anticipating the need, a principal can arrange for the appropriate training before the teachers start the year and difficulties develop with the method.

Critical Incident Needs.

• Critical incident needs are failures that are rare but have significant consequences—for instance, chemical spills, nuclear accidents, medical treatment errors, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes (Mager, 1984b).

• Critical incident needs are identified by analyzing potential problems.

Critical Incident Needs.

• For example, chemical plants, manufacturing facilities, and petroleum refineries often develop employee training programs for handling emergencies such as fires, explosions, or spills.

• Other critical incident needs are identified by asking ‘‘what if’’ questions: for example, ‘‘What would happen if the main computer or phone system failed?’’

In Summary

• When Conducting a Needs Analysis/Needs Assessment an Instructional Designer Should Consider the following questions:– What is the need? Or What is the problem?– What is the root cause of the problem or need?– What are the goals of the instruction?– What information is needed, and how it is gathered?– How will instruction be structured and organized?– How will the instruction be delivered?

Conducting A Needs Assessment

• Four phases constitute a needs assessment: planning, collecting data, analyzing data, and preparing the final report.

CONDUCTING A NEEDS ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT – IDENTIFYING

THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROBLEMCondition (What is happening?)

Cause (Why does the problem exist?)

Criterion(What should be happening?)

Symptoms (What are the effects of the problem?

Gap (What’s the difference?)

Students of the std. 3 class are not reading at their class level

Students should be reading at the level of a Std 3

CONDUCTING A NEEDS ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT – IDENTIFYING

THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROBLEMStudents of the std. 3 class are not reading at their class level

Students have a lack of interest in reading due to poor reading skills

Students should be reading at the level of a Std 3

The students are not able to move on to the Std.4 reading level

There is a difference in reading levels among students

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

• The students of Mt. XYZ std. 3 Primary School, are not reading at their required class level. By now their reading should be able to use and examine the writer‘s craft; choose and use vivid words and details in their writing; Tell a story, using I, my, me‘ or he/she said‖......(point of view); Use flashback‘ in plot development; Appreciate the use of style, imagery and language in general.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

• There is a gap between them being able to repeat a story from their text books and story books. This is because they did not have much practice with reading story books and the exposure of oral exchange of ideas in an interactive environment that promoted vocabulary use. Therefore they have a lack of interest in reading and if they do not acquire competent reading skills they will not be able to effectively cope with the Std. 4 reading content. This instruction is intended to develop students reading abilities by ensuring they can recognize the characteristics of non-fiction, Expository, Newspaper articles Informational texts and Develop their sensitivity to Language. As well as Develop their aesthetic and emotional responses to reading content.