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.     

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.     

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.     

浅谈移民的文化适应——以新疆南疆汉族移民为例

本文选取新疆南疆园艺村和阔纳协海尔村作为田野调查个案,通过对村落中汉族移民在生计方式、语言、风俗习惯、房屋建筑风格等文化要素变迁及其特点的考察,探讨了移民区域在移民文化适应过程中所形成的一种类型——多元文化格局,及移民在文化适应过程中的内外层次差别。最终认为,移民的外在文化特质的适应相对较快,但内在的深层次的文化特质的适应肯定要滞后于外在适应,甚至停滞不前。但是,深层次的文化调适是移民与迁入社会和谐发展所不可或缺的。     

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.     

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.     

Responding to the Increased Needs of College Students: A Case Study of Case Management

The psychological needs of college students lead to overwhelming demand on college counseling centers’ resources. In this article, we review models of case management in Higher Education including the administrative, behavioral intervention, and counseling center models. We also present a case study of the 3-year development of a counseling center case management service. Initial data suggest that expanding the role of a counseling center case manager to allow for frequent appointments/follow-up and standardizing counseling center case management procedures led to improved appointment attendance and increased communication with students following referral. A vignette and suggestions for other centers are also presented.     

The Consequences of Portfolio Assessment: A Case Study

This article contains findings from a yearlong case study of a quasi-experiment of a language arts portfolio assessment system in a northern California middle school. Students in the alternative assessment classrooms were issued report card grades determined by an external examination committee made up of local English teachers who applied a locally developed rubric to student portfolios. In contrast. students in the customary assessment classrooms were issued report card grades determined by individual classroom teachers. Measures of reading achievement, writing achievement, and motivational goal orientation examined the effects of placement in 1 or the other assessment condition. A significant effect on reading achievement favored the alternative assessment students. No significant effect on writing achievement was found. Students in the alternative assessment classrooms registered significantly higher levels of learning-goal orientation than did students in the customary classrooms, but there were no differences on scales measuring advancement and approval-goal orientations. Qualitative data are presented that illuminate the quantitative findings. In this article, I discuss why the school chose not to adopt the portfolio assessment system schoolwide, despite substantial evidence that students learned more in the portfolio classrooms than other students learned in the nonportfolio classrooms. I conclude that portfolio assessment systems are unlikely to be used to their full potential, even if they are shown to be effective instructional tools, if adequate resources are not allocated for their implementation.     

农村失地老人家庭养老现状研究——以南京市农村失地老人为个案

城镇化进程的加快导致农村失地老人群体的扩大。而当前,家庭养老仍是主要的养老模式。对农村失地老人经济状况、日常生活、精神慰藉、医疗健康、安全隐患等方面的现状进行分析,归纳农村失地老人家庭养老存在的问题。     

城市居民社区文化需求研究——以石家庄市社区为例

城市社区文化,是构建和谐社区的重要内容。社区居民的文化需求是进行社区文化建设的根本出发点。居民社区文化需求可以归为四类:环境文化需求、行为文化需求、制度文化需求、精神文化需求。进行社区文化建设,要从以上四个方面出发,同时也要考虑到年龄、性别等因素。此外,社区文化建设也要同居民文化需求层次的发展相适应。     

数据挖掘技术在教师培训需求分析中的应用——以宁波市教师培训项目数据为例

以教师培训需求分析为研究背景,将数据挖掘技术应用到教师培训管理数据中,以SQL Server 2008作为数据库和数据挖掘工具,建立教师培训需求挖掘模型。将挖掘出来的知识与传统经验加以比较,结果表明具有一定的指导价值。     

福建省城市老年人心理需求调查研究

老龄问题是当今世界的重要社会问题之一。养老不仅仅是经济养老,而且是精神养老。通过对城市老年人的调查,发现城市老年人心理需求主要有社会生活心理需求、家庭生活心理需求和性心理需求。这些心理需求具有年龄效应、性别效应、文化程度效应、婚姻状况效应和养老方式效应。因此,对于不同需求的老年人应该有不同的社会政策和社会服务。     

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.     

中小学生课业负担内涵的多视角分析——基于九省市学生、家长与教师的调查

为了科学界定课业负担的内涵,本研究在文献综述的基础上,通过对九省市7524名学生(小学、初中)、3836名家长和3766名教师的问卷调查,多视角分析学生、家长以及教师对课业负担成因、内容、结果等问题的若干认知,还原了课业负担概念的认知要素,最终在此基础上建构了课业负担的操作性定义。课业负担是指学生在适应现有学习环境的过程中,能够意识到的由考试评价与课业任务引发的压力体验,以及为此消耗的时间与精力。该定义可以引导课业负担研究从"概念化"过渡到"操作化",可将课业负担的内涵特征具体化为若干可观察、可评价的要点,从而为进一步开展课业负担定量研究奠定必要的概念基础。     

Affective Assessment and Mathematics Classroom Engagement: A Case Study

This paper reports a case study of one student’s pattern of engagement in an eighth-grade algebra class. The student, Bryan, was a participant in a yearlong study of mathematical communication in middle school classrooms. His case is interesting both because of the striking differences between his being engaged and disengaged in classroom work, and because of the reasons he gives for his pattern of engagement. Several current theories of engagement and motivation are discussed as we attempt to gain insight into his actions and explanations. All are successful in describing parts of Bryan’s behavior. However, we argue both empirically and theoretically that none serve to characterize what we feel is the core of Bryan’s decision about engagement: his affective assessment of mathematics. We provide an analysis based on Rychlak’s (1988, 1994)Logical Learning Theory to give insights into Bryan’s assessment of mathematics, and discuss what this approach adds to our understanding of this particular case. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Conducting Web-Based Learning Support Services for Digital Immigrants A Case Study at YNOU

With the development of modern open and distance education, which is characterized by Web-based instruction, Web-based assessment, and Web-based research. Web-based learning support services are considered as the most essential inputs for digital immigrants, which offer ground for them to produce considerable outputs so as to achieve better learning outcomes. This paper examines the current situation of digital immigrants in Yunnan Open University （YNOU）, with significance of finding out specific problems so as to provide effective learning support services to solve the problems in the process of open and distance learning. Open and distance education is the instruction under digital technology by using computer as a key means of media. A digital immigrant is an individual who was born before the existence of digital technology and adopted it to some extent later in life. For considering the outreach location of Yunnan, digital immigrants are at their suitable ages of studying. Some of them cannot understand the value of digital technology completely, and some fail to implement modern technology into their daily lives. Drawing on such findings, Web-based learning support services in YNOU for digital immigrants are significantly worth studying, because they are definitely related with successful learning outcomes in order to achieve the new vision of YNOU, a newly-built open and distance university in the year of 2012. ＂Learning is ‘open＇ to everyone, study occurs by anyone, anytime, and anywhere＂ by making education accessible to all. Additionally, it is appealed for enhancing sustainable development of modern open and distance learning on the new research agenda.     

The Minnesota Case Study Collection: New Historical Inquiry Case Studies for Nature of Science Education

The new Minnesota Case Study Collection is profiled, along with other examples. They complement the work of the HIPST Project in illustrating the aims of: (1) historically informed inquiry learning that fosters explicit NOS reflection, and (2) engagement with faithfully rendered samples of Whole Science.     

研究性学习档案袋评价:大同中学的案例研究

为了解我国研究性学习档案袋评价的实践状况,我们选取了上海市大同中学做为研究对象,对该校课题研究的档案袋评价做了较深入的研究。大同中学于1997年已经开始了研究性学习的前期准备,1998年始,构建了以问题研究为中心的高中研究性学习课程体系,对于档案袋评价已经积累了一定的经验。