Assignment Two -- Needs Assessment, Goal Analysis, & Performance Assessment -- Identify Instructional Project

Due: September 25 for peer review, Sept 30 final
Points: 100

For this assignment, you will conduct a needs assessment, goal analysis, or performance assessment to identify a potential instructional design unit.  

Lloyd Rieber's Needs Assessment Assignment
Needs Assessment Grading Rubric

2.1 Identifying the Instructional Need

Your first step in the instructional design process is to determine if instruction is really needed to solve a performance problem. Sometimes the problem can be solved logistically, like re-arranging workflow. Other times, people clearly need new instruction to complete work. Your job is to find the "gap" between knowledge and performance.

You should choose a 'real' problem. Think about the organizations to which you belong, Mercer courses you have taken, or your work environment. What tasks do you see people struggling with? After reading Dick & Carey chapter 2, identify a potential topic of instruction you think could be helpful and fill a current learning gap. Then you must collect data to figure out the gap and determine what instruction is needed.

2.2 Needs Assessment

Now that you have identified a tentative topic, you have to gather data to see if instruction is clearly needed, and if so, exactly what content should be taught.

Needs Assessment
Needs Assessment Training
How to do a Training Needs Assessment

 

Procedure

Follow this assignment from Lloyd Rieber to create your document -- follow it step by step.

Also:

1. Read Ch 2 of Dick & Carey.
2. Determine an instructional scenario where new or revised training is appropriate -- where there is an evident gap in knowledge and performance.
3. Determine what techniques you will use to gather data to substantiate the instructional need -- a survey, interviews, questionnaire,etc
4. Develop a needs assessment instrument.
5. Survey your target population/gather your data.
6. Collect and analyze the data.
7. Write a summary of needs assessment data that includes:\
   1. A description of your target population based on your analysis.
   2. A description of the instructional need you have uncovered, including the data (both quantitatively and qualitatively)
   3. A description of the instructional solution you will create
   4. Three to five instructional goals that describe the instruction -- see pp. 31-33
   5. Answer the questions on pp. 31-32 regarding the goals
8. Summarize the needs assessment

With this assignment, you have identified a potential knowledge gap, assessed the need for instruction, identified a topic to create, and described instructional goals to use as you build your design product.

Deliverables -- A Written Report

1. Instructional scenario with a problem -- describe in a paragraph or more
2. Needs assessment instrument -- survey, interviews, etc\
3. List of target audience members from whom to collect data
4. Description & analysis of data collected
5. Survey of the needs assessment results