Analysis in design and learning

 

    When it comes to instructional design, the idea of having a front-end analysis is often overlooked. Many people don't want to invest the time and thought early in the design process, but conducting a front-end analysis can save time, cost, and frustration in the end (Smith and Regan, 1999). 

    When conducting a front-end analysis, instructional designers need to "do their homework" in analyzing the learning system with sufficient detail (Smith and Regan, 1999). A front-end analysis is the blueprint for the process. You wouldn't build a house or a building without a blueprint. The same can be said in instructional design. A blueprint, or front-end analysis, is a necessary part of the process of instructional design. 

    So, why do developers skip this phase? They might be in a hurry to get their products out as soon as possible, or fearful that other developers will "scoop" their ideas and put a competing product on the market before their product is out (Smith and Regan, 1999). However, without a front-end analysis, all the time and effort put into creating the educational product may fail because the resulting product was unacceptable to the teachers or trainers, not suitable for the available equipment, or not capable of meeting a real instructional need (Smith and Regan, 1999). 

 

    

    During a front-end analysis, designers analyze three basic components: the instructional context, the prospective learners, and the learning task (Smith and Regan, 1999). 

    Also, the analysis of the learning context involves two steps: 1. the substantiation of a need for instruction to help learners reach learning goals and 2. a description of the learning environment in which the instruction will be used (Smith and Regan, 1999). 

    Designers often conduct a needs assessment to find out whether instruction should be designed (Smith and Regan, 1999). 

    In any needs assessment, the general procedure involves:

• Exploring and identification of the needs (gaps) that are already known

• Gathering and analyzing information about gaps in skills, knowledge, and performance

• Creating a plan of action to correct the gaps

• Evaluating the results    (Learning Guild, 2022)

        Although, there are numerous factors that may instigate a needs assessment, Smith and Regan divide them into three major types:

    

    1. No big problem is apparent, but the organization wishes to or is required to engage in evaluation of its learning/ training program.

    2. There's a problem: Clients are not satisfied; students are dropping out in unexpected numbers; parents are complaining; products are defective; test scores are down; and so on.

    3. There is or may be something new that our learners need to learn: New guidelines from the state Department of Education suggest that all learners be proficient in computer mediated communication; new equipment is being added that employees need to operate; we have new employees who

require remediation in order to do their jobs; and so on  (Smith and Regan, 1999).

    One of the main obstacles is that a needs assessment takes time to conduct. For these reasons, a needs assessment plan should address key issues, taking into account the amount of emphasis to be placed on the key issues, project constraints, and stakeholder expectations. The key issues are:

• The objectives: the results expected from the needs assessment

• The target audience: the persons whose needs will be assessed

• Selection of the participants in the needs assessment

• How the information about needs will be collected

• The use of digital information to identify needs

• Data analysis

• How needs will be identified from the data  (Learning Guild, 2022)

        There is a reason that the word need is included in needs assessment. No matter what the situation, there has to be a need for instructional designers to begin their work. 

Ray Pastore, Ph.D., YouTube

Learning Environment

    The second phase in analysis of the learning context is a description of the current learning environment (Smith and Regan, 1999). The primary task is to think about the "system" in which the instruction will be implemented. 

    As Smith and Regan state, an in-depth investigation into what the environment is like where instruction will be implemented helps to ensure that the instruction will, indeed. be used in that environment. 

    Smith and Regan give questions that the instructional designer may want to ask about the learning environment when contemplating developing instructional materials:

    1. What are the characteristics of the teachers/trainers who will be using these materials? 

    2. Are there existing curricula into which this piece of instruction must fit? If so, what is the philosophy, strategy, or theory used in these materials? 

    3. What hardware is commonly available in the potential learning environments? Computers, wifi, video playback machine? If so, what kind, how many, and in what configurations and networks? What software and other materials are available? 

    4. What are the characteristics of the classes and facilities that will use the new instruction? 

    5. What are the characteristics of the school system or organization in which the new instruction will take place? 

    6. What is the philosophy and what are the taboos of the larger community in which the organization or school system exists? 

    The learning environment is important because the developers need to understand the environment they are designing their instruction for, and who will be using the instruction. It's just like working with an advertising client. When you design and advertisement, you visit with the client to understand their needs. The learning environment is the same. The instructional designer has to understand the teacher's, the student's, and the school district's needs. 

References

Brandon, B. (2022, July 22). Instructional Design Begins With Needs Assessment. Learning Guild. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from https://www.learningguild.com/articles/instructional-design-begins-with-needs-assessment/

Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (1999). Instructional design (-1st ed., pp. 30-44). Simon & Schuster/A Viacom Company.