Discussion: View Thread

Dear members of the list,

I would like to get your suggestions on workshops/resources on
conducting formal training and development needs assessments.
I will appreciate your responses.
Ivonne Chirino-Klevans

I do hope you will share with the rest of us what you find out. I have
always been skeptical about most approaches to needs assessment, especially
those that are prefaced with labels such as "training" and
"development." So far as I know there are -- and always have been two
basic approaches to needs assessment.

The first approach aims at finding out who needs what, whether what they
need is training or development or whatever. It is a matching approach;
that is, it attempts to match solutions (e.g., training or development)
with the people who could benefit from those solutions. In some ways, it
attempts to match solutions with problems (but that is a bit generous on my
part).

The second approach starts by defining discrepancies in results. These
"gaps" can be defined at various levels beginning with society and working
all the way down to a specific function or process within an
organization. You can also start at a much lower level and expand your
scope instead of narrowing it. Regardless of starting point or direction
taken, you must do what I call "go up a click" and "go down a click" --
that is, provide a minimum of three levels of analysis. The middle level
is the level of the targeted system. One click up is the context or
suprasystem and one click down is the level of detail or the
subsystem. Regardless of level, you're looking for discrepancies in
results. These "gaps" constitute needs. Gaps that are selected for
closing represent problems to be solved.

The two approaches have nothing in common except the continued use of a
similar sounding name.

In the first approach, one group of people often goes about trying to
determine what other people need with no attention whatsoever paid to results.

The literature is full of stuff about how to conduct the first kind of
needs assessment. So far as I know, the only person who has written about
and still advocates the second approach (aside from myself) is the fellow
who coined the term almost 30 years ago, Roger Kaufman. He's at the Center
for Needs Assessment & Planning at Florida State University and I encourage
you to contact him to see what he and his group might have to offer. His
e-mail address is in the copy field of this message.


At 04:30 PM 03/14/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear members of the list,
>
>I would like to get your suggestions on workshops/resources on
>conducting formal training and development needs assessments.
>I will appreciate your responses.
>Ivonne Chirino-Klevans

Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
nickols@worldnet.att.net
(609) 490-0095

A wide variety of tools for conducting formal training and development needs
assessments are available at no cost from the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) Carlsbad Area Office. These tools cover training needs of:

+ managers
+ organizational leaders
+ instructors
+ general employees
+ educational administrators
+ training managers

Each instrument contains instructions for administration and interpretation.
To obtain the tools at no cost, complete an on-line application at the
website that we operate for the DOE:

http://www.t2ed.com

Upon receipt of the application, we will send you a password and an ID,
allowing you to download this and any other requested tools from our website
to your computer.

Bill Keeley
Manager of Organizational Development & Research
Westinghouse WGSG/WID
PO Box 2078, GSA-213
Carlsbad, NM 88221

keeleyb@wipp.carlsbad.nm.us



Dear members of the list,

I would like to get your suggestions on workshops/resources on
conducting formal training and development needs assessments.
I will appreciate your responses.
Ivonne Chirino-Klevans

Dear Mr. Keeley

I have sunitted a request for access to the technologies listed below. I
had already previously asked whether it was possible for me gain access
since I am not a US citizen and you had told me that I should submit a form
just the same.

If it would be possible to give me access it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Joshua Zammit

----- Original Message -----
From: Keeley, Bill <KeeleyB@WIPP.CARLSBAD.NM.US>
To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 11:22 PM
Subject: Re: needs assesment


> A wide variety of tools for conducting formal training and development
needs
> assessments are available at no cost from the U.S. Department of Energy
> (DOE) Carlsbad Area Office. These tools cover training needs of:
>
> + managers
> + organizational leaders
> + instructors
> + general employees
> + educational administrators
> + training managers
>
> Each instrument contains instructions for administration and
interpretation.
> To obtain the tools at no cost, complete an on-line application at the
> website that we operate for the DOE:
>
> http://www.t2ed.com
>
> Upon receipt of the application, we will send you a password and an ID,
> allowing you to download this and any other requested tools from our
website
> to your computer.
>
> Bill Keeley
> Manager of Organizational Development & Research
> Westinghouse WGSG/WID
> PO Box 2078, GSA-213
> Carlsbad, NM 88221
>
> keeleyb@wipp.carlsbad.nm.us
>
>
>
> Dear members of the list,
>
> I would like to get your suggestions on workshops/resources on
> conducting formal training and development needs assessments.
> I will appreciate your responses.
> Ivonne Chirino-Klevans
>

On Tue, 14 Mar 2000, Ivonne Chirino-Klevans wrote:

> Dear members of the list,
>
> I would like to get your suggestions on workshops/resources on
> conducting formal training and development needs assessments.
> I will appreciate your responses.
> Ivonne Chirino-Klevans
>

Ivonne,

I use the DACUM process with end users to identify General Areas of
Competency that are needed and then to develop the enabling skills
necessary to meet those needs. This leads to task analysis for
teaching/learning situations.

(DACUM stands for Devlop A CUrriculuM and is a specific process designed
to produce clear, measurable and achievable outcomes for a particular job
description. More info can be found at the following URLs
http://www.cva.ca/dacum/
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/stammen/uswest/about_grant/html/dacum.htm
http://www.uis.edu/~iscc/dacum.html
http://www.wa-wbl.com/resources_educators/skill_standards/sectioniv.htm

This will theoretically meet the industry side of the needs. ;-)

It is important to factor in the desires and interests of the trainees to
actually ensure than the training/education is effective. This is the
part that is done during and through instructional design and makes the
experience _learning centred_.

best regards

alice

*****************************************************************
* Alice Macpherson, TQ, ID phone: (604) 599-2426 vm 9954 *
* Kwantlen University College email: alicemac@kwantlen.bc.ca *
* 12666-72nd Ave, Surrey, BC, Canada, V3W 2M8 *
* "Life Long Learning includes Everyone, All the Time" *
*****************************************************************

Hi Fred,

You'll be happy to know I am in the middle of discovery sessions to develop
the gap analysis for our project. :)

So, we are out there using the second method. Actually, your description of
it is probably the best I have ever seen.

Conna Condon
Nova Southeastern DBA candidate

----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Nickols" <nickols@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: needs assesment


> I do hope you will share with the rest of us what you find out. I have
> always been skeptical about most approaches to needs assessment,
especially
> those that are prefaced with labels such as "training" and
> "development." So far as I know there are -- and always have been two
> basic approaches to needs assessment.
>
> The first approach aims at finding out who needs what, whether what they
> need is training or development or whatever. It is a matching approach;
> that is, it attempts to match solutions (e.g., training or development)
> with the people who could benefit from those solutions. In some ways, it
> attempts to match solutions with problems (but that is a bit generous on
my
> part).
>
> The second approach starts by defining discrepancies in results. These
> "gaps" can be defined at various levels beginning with society and working
> all the way down to a specific function or process within an
> organization. You can also start at a much lower level and expand your
> scope instead of narrowing it. Regardless of starting point or direction
> taken, you must do what I call "go up a click" and "go down a click" --
> that is, provide a minimum of three levels of analysis. The middle level
> is the level of the targeted system. One click up is the context or
> suprasystem and one click down is the level of detail or the
> subsystem. Regardless of level, you're looking for discrepancies in
> results. These "gaps" constitute needs. Gaps that are selected for
> closing represent problems to be solved.
>
> The two approaches have nothing in common except the continued use of a
> similar sounding name.
>
> In the first approach, one group of people often goes about trying to
> determine what other people need with no attention whatsoever paid to
results.
>
> The literature is full of stuff about how to conduct the first kind of
> needs assessment. So far as I know, the only person who has written about
> and still advocates the second approach (aside from myself) is the fellow
> who coined the term almost 30 years ago, Roger Kaufman. He's at the
Center
> for Needs Assessment & Planning at Florida State University and I
encourage
> you to contact him to see what he and his group might have to offer. His
> e-mail address is in the copy field of this message.
>
>
> At 04:30 PM 03/14/2000 -0500, you wrote:
> >Dear members of the list,
> >
> >I would like to get your suggestions on workshops/resources on
> >conducting formal training and development needs assessments.
> >I will appreciate your responses.
> >Ivonne Chirino-Klevans
>
> Fred Nickols
> The Distance Consulting Company
> "Assistance at A Distance"
> http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
> nickols@worldnet.att.net
> (609) 490-0095
>