A Case Study of Needs Assessment in Teacher In-Service Development

In 1996, The Ministry of Education of the Province of Quebec authorized a plan to support the integration of new information technologies and communications (NTIC) in its schools. An expenditure of $318 million dollars was announced for the purchase and upgrade of hardware and software. In response to this initiative, The Concordia University Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) approached the Quebec schoolboards, proposing partnerships between them and the Centre to facilitate the integration of these technologies into pedagogical practices. This article describes a needs assessment performed by the university in two Quebec elementary schools. The collected data revealed that teachers are currently using computers primarily for word processing and to prepare report cards. While they are somewhat dissatisfied with previous professional development, they are still highly interested in receiving training on how to better incorporate technology into their pedagogical practices. General recommendations and a workshop are outlined.     

Needs Assessment as a Change Strategy: A Case Study

Needs assessment provides a tool for gathering data which, when applied back upon the situation it addresses, becomes a first step in a change process. A major criticism of needs assessment has been that frequently the process is an exercise, and that the results are seldom actually applied in the planning process. The question arises whether the process, separate from the intended results, can be beneficial to the organization. This article documents a case study in which needs assessment and a change model were applied in conjunction with each other in such a way that the needs assessment process, independent of data collected, served as a change strategy. In this case, while the results of the needs assessment were important to the planning process, the needs assessment process itself, independent of its conclusions, also contributed to the organization's change goals.     

Project-Based Learning Communities in Developmental Education: A Case Study of Lessons Learned

This case study tracks the application of project-based learning (PBL) during four separate college terms at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. Each term follows a different learning community of first-term college students enrolled in a program of developmental education (DE), reading, writing, math, and college survival and success (CSS) courses. The study documents the journey from a pilot PBL model to the improved model used today, focuses on each term's PBL goal of increasing student success, and outlines how the PBL succeeded or failed based on student demonstration of their learning community's intended core outcomes. Whereas the initial two terms’ projects were unsuccessful, the framing of a new question and the addition of service learning in the next two terms’ projects made a significant improvement in student self-motivation and helped students achieve intended core outcomes by their own agency. Such active learning and self reliance increased students’ confidence as it challenged them to use their new course skills to create a project they were proud to present to a wide audience. This study then explores the challenges and benefits of integrating the two curricular frameworks, learning communities and PBL, within interdisciplinary courses that include service learning. Considering the already established literature on the success of learning communities and the continually growing literature on the implementation of PBL, this study ultimately demonstrates how to arrive at a project that invigorates a learning community of students, whether the learning community is in one course or spread throughout several interdisciplinary courses.     

An Educational Needs Assessment of Pennsylvania Workforce: Opportunities to Redefine Secondary Career and Technical Education to Meet Food Industry Needs

ABSTRACT: This article describes the outcomes of a needs assessment concerning current training needs and performance targets for non-degreed employees in the food industry. Focus groups were used to gather data from 5 food-processing companies: a fresh vegetable company, a canned vegetable company, 2 snack food companies, and a meat company. Focus group participants consisted of 1 senior-level manager each from human resource, production, quality assurance, purchasing, and product development departments within each company. The needs assessment identified 4 major themes that employers indicated as beneficial knowledge and skills for employees to possess: safety training, knowledge of food and production systems, learning and applying mathematical skills, and professional conduct. The authors anticipate that the knowledge of industry needs, with respect to the desired incoming workforce competencies and knowledge, will facilitate the development of integrated curriculum modules for secondary career and technical education programs (high school grades). These integrated curriculum modules will address the growing needs of the food industry and facilitate the development of employment skills required to function and prosper in the new global economy.     

Developing a System of Program Assessment Within Teacher Education: Lessons Learned

Our intention in this article is to present one institution's efforts to take on program assessment and respond to calls for accountability. To do so, the teacher education program simultaneously sought to address the narrowly defined measures called for by policy makers and politicians, while at the same time broadening and expanding outcomes (such as student learning) and the missions, themes, and values of the teacher education program. The following describes the accountability movement in teacher education and then offers the lessons learned within one program developing a system of assessment within teacher education.     

中国从业者职业成功评定标准相关问题探讨——一项个案研究

职业成功评定标准的确立对于促进从业者身心和谐具有现实意义。大多数学者的关注点都在于主客观评定标准的进一步分割和厘定,并未关注两种衡量标准之间的作用与影响。该文针对这一研究短板,突破现有研究范式,采用个案研究的方式,分析了主观职业成功与客观职业成功之间的相互作用,并发现职业发展阶段和社会性因素在二者作用关系中起到调节作用。在分析基础上提出主客观标准相互作用理论模型。     

Integrating Evaluation and Needs Assessment: A Case Study of an Ergonomics Program

This case study focuses on the relationship between evaluation and needs assessment and how both processes were integrated in one project. The project involved evaluating a 10‐year‐old ergonomics course. The course was one component of a broader organizational change initiative, aimed to reduce or eliminate on‐the‐job injuries. The success of the change initiative depended on applying knowledge from the course as well as other workplace variables, such as management commitment, plant communications, and the relationship between management and union labor. Robert Stake's (1967) countenance framework was modified to consider both instructional and performance issues in the research design. Data collection included observing the course, conducting focus groups with past course attendees who were ergonomic committee members, interviewing ergonomic teams in manufacturing plants, and reviewing course materials and other related documents. The findings illustrate the overlap between the needs assessment and evaluation processes. The discussion addresses how these labels can limit perception of the system of interest, the importance of adapting the research design to take advantage of naturally occurring organizational events, the value of integrating both needs assessment and evaluation perspectives, and the importance of differentiating evaluation and needs assessment recommendations.     

Elderly African Immigrants in Minnesota: A Case Study of Needs Assessment in Eight Cities

Needs assessment is the process of identifying the gap between a target population's needs and its services. If a gap exists, a program can be designed to effectively respond to those needs. This aticle explores the needs of elderly African immigrants in Minnesota through the use of qualitative interviews. A convenience sampling was used to collect data from 200 available elderly people in eight cities in Minnesota. Data analyses revealed that 90% of them want appropriate nutrition and better delivery of services. Recommendations include support for informal caregivers like family members becuase these efforts can keep older people at home.     

A Case Study in the Integration of Assessment and General Education: Lessons learned from a complex process

This paper tracks an ongoing, 15-year initiative to reform and assess a general education programme at a regional comprehensive university in the US. The paper identifies four key phases in the process, chronicling emergent challenges, describing key setbacks and highlighting noteworthy successes. The authors identify five key lessons that may prove useful to other institutions planning or currently attempting to integrate assessment into their general education programme, and conclude that designing and implementing general education assessment is more challenging than assessing other programmes in post-secondary settings because it is influenced by more internal and external constituencies than any other assessment process.     

中小学信息技术教师专业发展现状及需求分析——基于山东省日照市的个案调查

通过对山东省日照市两区两县信息技术教师的抽样调查发现,教师对网页制作与网站开发、Flash动画制作和Access等数据库知识希望进行深入学习.教师在网络参与行为上呈现"较高的共享意愿,较低的共享行为"的特点,特别是信息技术教师的工作业绩评价问题比较突出.在此基础上提出进行针对性培训、通过合理的制度与文化建设促进网络共享行为和意愿、构建技术支持的网络专业发展环境等建议,以促进中小学信息技术教师专业发展.     

Building Full-Service Schools: Lessons Learned in the Development of Interagency Collaboratives

Although the history of clinical–school–community collaboration can be traced back to the end of the 19th century, the full-service school movement represents a new era in the quest for more effective ways to deliver human services to children. Building on the personal experience of the authors and the literature concerning the development of integrated service delivery systems, this article outlines conceptual, administrative, fiscal, legal–ethical, and practical issues that can hinder local efforts to develop full-service schools. The systematic analysis of potentially negative influences is presented as something that must be pursued by educational and psychological consultants so that, as the next millennium begins, they will be in a position to help local working groups develop interagency collaboratives that more effectively integrate school and human service systems, increase service use, and promote positive developmental outcomes for children living in high-risk situations.     

Lessons Learned from PISA: A Systematic Review of Peer-Reviewed Articles on the Programme for International Student Assessment

International large-scale assessments are on the rise, with the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) seen by many as having strategic prominence in education policy debates. The present article reviews PISA-related English-language peer-reviewed articles from the programme’s first cycle in 2000 to its most current in 2015. Five literature bases were searched, and results were analysed with SPSS. Results map the frequency of publications according to journal, country, and scientific discipline. They also summarise major themes within three identified categories: secondary analysis, policy impact, and critiques. Findings indicated that studies based on the PISA dataset has led to progress in educational research while simultaneously pointing to the need for caution when using this research to inform educational policy.     

A Quasi-Randomized Trial of a School-Wide Universal Prevention Program: Results and Lessons Learned

Prevention in School (PS) is a comprehensive program which aims to improve the learning climate and reduce problem behavior in elementary schools. Core components are teaching of school rules, praise and rewards to support prosocial behavior, and a forum involving parents. This trial investigated the effects of PS on its intended outcomes, and includes 23 schools, 3,207 students, and 188 teachers. Multilevel regression analyses indicated no program effects two years after the start of the program. Problems with program components, implementation and study limitations may have contributed to the null findings. The lessons learned may be used to guide program revisions, and are important to consider in future attempts to implement and evaluate similar school interventions in a Swedish context.     

阿波罗集团--美国盈利性高等教育机构的一个范例

创建于1976年的阿波罗集团在短短的20年间，发展成为美国最大的盈利性高等教育系统。介绍了阿波罗集团的发展轨迹，分析了它不同于传统高等教育机构的特点，并对阿波罗集团的产生和发展提出了一些思考。     

一例职业生涯咨询的案例报告

全面介绍了一例生涯咨询来访者的临床特征、症状表现、个人成长史。对其原因从生物、社会、心理三个方面进行分析。使用职业生涯咨询技术帮助其形成较为清晰的生涯目标,采用"空椅"技术处理不同选择之间的冲突,使用合理情绪疗法改变其不合理的信念,并采用放松疗法缓解其焦虑情绪。经过每周一次,一共八次的咨询,来访者的症状得以改善,问题得以初步解决。     

User Needs of Digital Service Web Portals: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

The authors examined the needs of digital information service web portal users. More specifically, the needs of Korean cultural portal users were examined as a case study. The conceptual framework of a web-based portal is that it is a complex, web-based service application with characteristics of information systems and service agents. In addition, the users’ reactions to the technology can impact the service quality. As such, a model that specifically measured cultural portal user needs was created by implementing data quality, service quality and technology adoption models. Through confirmatory factor analyses and model respecifications, the authors suggest a measurement model consisting of 5 first-level latent variables, with 19 observed variables. The measurement model confirmed the research hypothesis that data quality, service quality, and technology adoption models complement each other in assessing the needs of cultural portal users.     

Needs Analysis and Syllabus of English Teaching:A Case Study

The foundation of any teaching program should be the needs of the students.A syllabus can be successful only if it meets the needs of the particular group of students for whom it is intended.However,close needs analysis has been absent in some English classes.The present study aimed to solve the problem of the possible mismatch between English learners and teachers especially in the intensive English training class.To identify the English students’ needs in an intensive English training class,the questionnaires designed by the researcher were administered to the students.It was found that the English teaching would be based on real communication.Finally,the tentative syllabus was designed for English teaching based on the result of the need analysis.     

Preparing Instructional Designers for Different Career Environments: A Case Study

The competency requirements, content, culture, and value systems of business and industry career environments can differ significantly from that of the higher education context where instructional design and technology (IDT) students receive their formal training. Therefore, faculty should consider how they might provide flexibility in their programs to allow IDT students to experience the contexts in which they choose to work following graduation. The article reports on the results of a case study of an exemplary IDT program identified through a national survey. The emphases and preparation practices of faculty in the case study program were noted to provide an example of how one program successfully prepares its graduates for a variety of career environments, and specifically for a business and industry environment. By studying the successes and challenges of specific programs, new or existing programs may gain ideas for building or re-working existing programs to better meet the needs of students desiring contextualized preparation for different career environments.     

Art and Science in Challenging Needs Assessments: A Case Study

This paper describes a needs assessment project that implemented two distinctive features to address challenges often faced in the needs assessment process. First, a pre‐assessment planning process was developed that successfully educated clients about the analysis process, generated management commitment, identified and prioritized key performance issues, and established an outcomes‐oriented strategic focus for the assessment. Second, to analyze team performance issues, a theory‐to‐practice process was developed that involved the use of discovery‐oriented inquiry within the project context (an inductive approach) with a deductive approach grounded in existing academic research and theory. The complementary and integrated use of these approaches yielded a more comprehensive understanding of the team performance problems, thorough analysis of those problems, and more focused and refined performance improvement recommendations.