Introduction to Instructional Development

Process and Technique

Castelle G. Gentry Michigan State University

Job Aid/Visitation

Presented by C. Colette Thompson

Description

A visitation is a carefully planned trip to some location to study some process or activity operating in another environment, for the purpose of determining the appro-

priateness of the process

Use Rationale

Reading about an innovation or hearing about it, is a far cry

from actually seeing it in operation and being able to question those running the

system

Critical Steps

Establish the need for the visit.

Determine the appropriate site for the visit

Get the client to agree to visit the site where innovation is in operation

Critical Step

Arrange for release of the client for visitation.

Critical Step

Get agreement from site personnel for the visit

Critical Step

Establish clearly specified objectives for the visit

Critical Step

Establish criteria to be applied to an innovation, during the visit, to determine if it meets the client’s needs.

Critical Step

Brief the client prior to visiting the installation.

Critical Step

Get agreement on who will be responsible for specific tasks during the visit

Critical Step

Schedule the visit with site personnel

Critical Step

Send an abbreviated statement of expectations to the site

Follow a plan during the visit

Be on time Refrain from being

critical of the innovator or of the innovation

Ask general questions of a specific contact, initially, to ensure that you are not curtailing innovator response, then get more specific in the latter part of meeting

Visit

Use planned times to correct and

consolidate notes on the most recent

contacts

Visit

Ask for examples of actual incidents

to support any declarative

statements made by site personnel about innovation

Visit

Always ask each contact at the end

of an interview. “What are the

major problems that we should look out for if we adopt

this innovation

Visit

Meet periodically with other team

members to share information and

questions, so that they can be on the lookout for answers and corroboration

of information

Visit

Be on the lookout for, and collect,

programs materials,

especially those that site personnel

have added to make the

innovation work

Critical Step

Generate an initial report on the visitation

Critical Step

Get additional input and recommendation from clients

Finial Critical Step in the Job Aid Visitation

Write and submit the final report with recommendations