Needs Assessment in ELT
Materials Design
By Prof. Jonathan Acuña Solano
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Twitter: @jonacuso
Post 135
Post 135
“Instructional
development is a complex process that, when appropriately applied, promotes
creativity during development and results in instruction that is both effective
and appealing to learners” (Gustafson & Branch, 2002).
As the quotation by Gustafson &
Branch states (2002), “when instructional development or design is
appropriately applied, instruction will be effective and engaging for students”
(Laureate Education, 2013). At the beginning of any instructional design
process where one aims at working on some sort of hybrid, blended and/or online
instruction, it is crucial to analyze the intrinsic traits and needs of one’s
learners, the ultimate users of one’s instructional development. Failing to
analyze student characteristics can yield the wrong outcome and no learning at
all; it is like beginning with the wrong premise
and arriving at the wrong conclusions thought the reasoning seems fairly
rational. This is why, “while identifying and meeting student needs is vital,
it is also important to consider instructional and industry needs to determine
how (one’s) course can support broader institutional goals and help (one’s) students
enter the workplace prepared to excel in their field” (Laureate Education,
2013).
To
demonstrate the importance of knowing one’s students and their eventual working
needs, and as part of my experiential instructional design training to prepare
students for the workplace and keeping in mind effective and engaging
instruction at a course at Universidad Latina (Costa Rica), I have labeled here
three important instructional goals ELT Materials Design and Development
students (majoring in English Language Teaching or ELT) are meant to have
acquired by the time the course is over. What seems to be important here is the
metal exercise that requires the instructor in deciding what the entry-level
abilities that learners have when they step into one’s physical or virtual
classroom are. Additionally, the exit profile needed by students –once the
course is over- is also outlined, so all effort is geared towards the
achievement of the instructional goals.
Let’s
see the metal exercise materialized in the following chart below that specifies
what needs to be carefully planned and then designed.
Course
|
Instructional Goals
|
Entry Level Abilities
|
Exit Profile
|
ELT Materials Design and Multimedia
|
·
To
have a solid knowledge in the creation/design of EFL activities for language
skills
|
·
Understanding
of the four skills in language learning
·
Lesson
planning training
|
ü To have student teachers ready to design
and use language activities in class
ü To incorporate their activities as part
of their lesson planning
ü To understand the theoretical background
for accurate language activities
|
·
To
use Google Sites to create an interactive ePortfolio that can be used with
their current or future students
|
·
Knowledge
in blog design and posting
·
Former
training on how to use blogs for education
|
ü To prepare student teachers to create
their own site in Google as an ePortfolio
ü To promote autonomous learning among
students by creating interactive tasks
|
|
·
To
use multi-media and freeware to create/design EFL material
|
·
Possible
basic background on html, movie maker, Office, etc.
·
Use
of freeware such as iTunes
·
PDF
creation
|
ü To instruct students how to embed
documents, videos, etc. onto their ePortfolios
ü To help them develop their understanding
of hosting platforms such as youtube, Scribd or Slideshare
ü To train students on how to create their
own interactive material in various free online platforms
|
As
noted along this simple needs assessment exercise, several actions need to be
taken by the teacher to facilitate the learning outcomes for this particular course.
It is important to note that in the case of students who lack entry abilities,
teachers must supply additional readings or multimedia resources to try to
mitigate the lack of training or previous knowledge. Even, perhaps, instructors
must model some of actions that need to be taken to guarantee success.
Gustafson, K.L., & Branch, R.M. (2002).
Survey of instructional development models: Fourth
edition. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearing house of Information & Technology
Fauser, K., Henry, K. & Norman, D. (2006,
February 4). Comparison of Alternative Instructional
Design Models. Retrieved on 2014, August 17 from https://deekayen.net/comparison-alternative-instructional-design-models
Laureate Education. (2013). Hybrid &
Blended Learning: Module 5, Content Design. Retrieved
on 2014, April 5 from http://global.laureate.net/portal.aspx#!home/faculty
Pronunciation
Development
|
|
Reading Skills
Development
|
|
Curated
Topics
Online
|
|
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