How often are decisions at public institutions made without a proper needs assessment? Anyone who works regularly on projects probably has many stories of initiatives gone awry due to insufficient planning and undefined project scope.
In their presentation at the 2009 Canadian e-Learning Conference, The Use of Needs Assessment for the Evaluation of Online Education in Higher Education, OLT instructional designers Sunah Cho and Donna Scalzo discussed the steps necessary to perform a proper needs assessment before launching a new project.
A needs assessment is essentially a tool, a blueprint, which helps identify gaps in existing practices and lays a solid foundation for future planning. “Why do we engage in needs assessment?” asked Donna Scalzo. “To insure that we are providing a high quality learning environment.”
A basic needs assessment involves the following seven steps:
1. Establish objectives
2. Identify the target audience for the project
3. Develop sampling procedures
4. Specify the instruments and protocols that will inform the project
5. Establish data collection methods
6. Establish methods and standards for data analysis
7. Provide full descriptions of decisions made based on the needs analysis
This topic struck a cord with the audience, many of whom were also instructional designers. Participants from smaller institutions worried that they would be denied resources to conduct accurate needs assessments on their projects. Other audience members described working environments where fiscal considerations routinely took precedence over basic project requirements.
Participants also considered the challenges of approaching course design and project needs assessment when so many instructors are still wary of online technology. The group came up with several practical suggestions to deal with this issue:
• Introduce instructors to new technologies before designing their course
• Make sure that course design is grounded in sound pedagogy
• Use templates to facilitate conversations about course design
• Encourage departments to develop templates for their own use
The importance of carefully planned projects can be readily appreciated by anyone who has embarked on a project, particularly those who design courses and must balance many competing interests. No one wants to work on a project that drains away time, energy and resources. Needs assessment is a powerful tool that can lead to better decisions based on objective data.
Sunah Cho summed up the value of needs assessment in this way: “There is an old saying that carpenters use: ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ If you are an instructional designer, you analyze fully and design once.”
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Resource Links
- Frydenberg, J. (2002). Quality Standards in eLearning: A matrix of analysis. The international review of research in open and distance education, 3(2), 1-15. Retrieved March 12, 2009 from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/109/551
- The Michigan Virtual University (MVU), 2002. Retrieved March 12, 2009 from http://standards.mivu.org/
- The Online Course Evaluation Project (OCEP), 2006. Retrieved March 12, 2009 from http://www.montereyinstitute.org/pdf/OCEP%20Evaluation%20Categories.pdf
- The Sloan Consortium, (1997). Five Pillars of Quality Online Education. Retrieved March 12, 2009 from http://www.sloanconsortium.org/effective/index.asp