The analysis process breaks down into 7 key questions that need to be addressed and answered BEFORE moving on to the Design and Development stages. Analysis allows us to gather all the data needed to continue through the ADDIE system.
1. What is the need? Problems that can be solved through training.
2. What is the root cause? Be sure not to treat the symptoms, but to actually get down to the root cause. For example, students don't know how to subtract multiple digit numbers. Is is that they don't know how to subtract, or is the root cause that they don't have a solid foundation in the base 10 system? Training/teaching them the steps of subtraction will be fruitless if the root cause is a lack of understanding on how the base 10 system works.
3. What are the goals of training?
* "The rationale is a mission statement that clearly states the project's [unit's] reason for existing." Once I have established my goals for my unit, the students' results should match my goals and the goals of the district and state.
4. What information is needed, and how is it gathered?
So what information will a third grade teacher need for teaching a unit to her students.
Based on what I read, these are the ones I deemed most appropriate and necessary:
* Subject matter--the heart of the project and what the common core requires.
* Non-subject matter--the soul of the project.
* rationale for the unit (why am I designing this unit and how does it fit in with the common core.
* Population data--who are my students, what level of content mastery do they have, the relationship between that mastery and the proposed content, and what is the best way to implement the content with these students, what
motivates my students, what are the learning styles, language issues
5. How will the training be structured and organized?
* "Task Analysis is the grandparent of analysis methods." Need to break
down the task into chunks of skills or content to be performed. Analysis
jobs, skills, procedures, processes, and tasks.
6. How will the training be delivered?
* Possible ways to for learners to interact with the content being taught.
Lecture, role-playing, case study, simulations, gaming, drill, discussion,
brainstorming.
* Types of Distribution Methods: captive audience, technology-enhanced, technology-
facilitated, distance learning, etc.
7. When should training be revised? "Half-live means the time it takes for a noticeable or significant change in data to take place."
2. What is the difference between training and non-training problems?
Training problems are performance needs that training can actually resolve. For example, a designer can analyze if the learner lacks knowledge, skills, and/or abilities. Materials and training can solve these. However, non-training problems are ones in which there is not a training solution. Designers cannot development training material to solve low wages, procedures within the work place, the conditions within the workspace, or problems revolving around different personality conflicts.
What this means to me within my classroom is that I CAN determine what skills and knowledge that my students know, or don't know. I CAN develop materials to address those needs. However, what I CANNOT control or solve is the number of students in my classroom, the size of my room, or the demographic makeup of my classroom.
3. Why do you think analysis is so often ignored in the instructional design process?
I think analysis is often ignored because it can be time consuming. Within the walls of a classroom, there are so many other responsibilities and duties, that we don't sit down and really think, reflect, and analyze. There are papers to grade, grades to enter, email/phone calls to make, meetings to attend, copies to make,.... I know a lot of times we have a lot of data via the CFAs, CBMs, weekly tests and quizzes, but actually looking at the data and using it in the development and design, well, there just doesn't seem to be enough time!