Taylor Holtzheimer

CCE 571
Needs Assessment Final

Literacy Needs Analysis - Outline

Technology/Digital, Academic, Information Literacy
Analysis of possible student literacy discrepancies

Major Analysis Problems

Nature of Analysis!
- Change in learner population?!
- Change in tools?!
- Change in training?!
- Change to organization?!

(What are the questions addressed by

this analysis, particularly via student/
faculty survey as described below?)

Learning Goals or Standards!

- Expectations!
- Understanding!
- Can it be taught!

(What new standards and outcomes

should be developed to address found
discrepancies?)
Organizational Priorities!
- Resources available!
- Conflicts!
- Group interpretation!
- Interested Groups (ATUS,etc.)!
- Group objections!

(What is the real environment in which

changes are to be made and what are
the implications for that environment?)

Specific Questions and Actions

Survey of Actionable Needs!

- Do students meet literacy standards in
the above area?!
- Are the tools students using as part of
their program simple for them to use?!
- Do students need special training in
those tools or techniques specific to
the literacies stated above?!
- Is the organization able to improve/
increase the training resources for the
literacies stated above?!
- What should be addressed,
generalities or specific tools?
Determine Standards!
- Each student should have specific
amount of understanding!
- Students should have access to
training specific to that understanding!

(To be developed by a departmental

authority as advised by findings.)
Research element!
- List of training resources on campus!
- Determine training conflicts/crossover!
- Determine if training would be attended!
- Determine overall student commitment!

(Specific research includes a listing of

current Campus Services and their
potential for new training programs
within CCE.)

Surveys addressing the total of literacy needs. However, separate surveys or even separate
full analyses can be developed for each literacy type.

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Student Survey (via Survey Monkey)
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Hello CCE students!
!

You might be getting a little tired of surveys already, but this one should be the last of the
quarter. There are going to be some big changes coming this year for our wonderful program.
The most important thing you can do is provide feedback on those changes. A big first step for us
will be to address students' level of literacy, what level are we at when we come into the program
and what level should we be at when we leave. The specific literacies in question are:
Technological/Digital Literacy, Academic Literacy, and Information Literacy.

Technological/Digital Literacy - The ability to use digital communication tools and networks to
use and create information, the ability understand and use a variety of digital formats, read and
interpret digital media, and apply new digital knowledge and skills. The ability to use, or learn to
use, a variety of technologies and platforms to create, present, and alter content and to improve
the process of learning.

Academic Literacy - The ability to communicate at an academic level, and to effectively apply
creative and critical thinking to academic work. The ability to write academically using popular
citation formats (APA, MLA) and to present work at a level ready for academic publishing.

Information Literacy - The ability to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information via various
information resources such as libraries, journals, and databases.

If you could take five minutes and complete this brief survey, you would greatly help us
understand where the CCE students are regarding each of these literacies and what might need to
be further addressed. Your contribution is completely anonymous. However, if you would like
to be part of a special focus group to more closely study this issue, please contact Taylor
Holtzheimer at Taylor.Holtzheimer@wwu.edu.

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!

1. How comfortable do you feel with online aspects of your coursework on a level of 1 to 5 (1
being Not at all and 5 being Very)?
2. How comfortable are you at finding resources or doing research using library services on a
level of 1 to 5?
3. How comfortable are you with academic research, reading, and writing on a level of 1 to 5?
4. What technological or digital aspect of your coursework do you feel you were most
unprepared for?

5. Have you used resources on campus to improve your technological, digital, academic, or
information literacy? If so, which resources?
6. Do you feel that training in Technological/Digital Literacy would be helpful to you? Yes or
No?
7. Do you feel that training in Academic Literacy would be helpful to you? Yes or No?
8. Do you feel that training in Information Literacy would be helpful to you? Yes or No?
9. What type of resource(s) would you like to see that address possible deficits in technological,
digital, academic, or information literacy in the CCE program?

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https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WKPJR5J
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Faculty Survey (via Survey Monkey)
!
Hello CCE faculty!
!

You might be getting a little tired of surveys already, but this one should be the last of the
quarter. There are going to be some big changes coming this year for our wonderful program. A
big first step for us will be to address students' level of literacy, what level are we at when we
come into the program and what level should we be at when we leave. The specific literacies in
question are: Technological/Digital Literacy, Academic Literacy, and Information Literacy.

Technological/Digital Literacy - The ability to use digital communication tools and networks to
use and create information, the ability understand and use a variety of digital formats, read and
interpret digital media, and apply new digital knowledge and skills. The ability to use, or learn to
use, a variety of technologies and platforms to create, present, and alter content and to improve
the process of learning.

Academic Literacy - The ability to communicate at an academic level, and to effectively apply
creative and critical thinking to academic work. The ability to write academically using popular
citation formats (APA, MLA) and to present work at a level ready for academic publishing.

Information Literacy - The ability to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information via various
information resources such as libraries, journals, and databases.

If you could take five minutes and complete this brief survey, you would greatly help us
understand where the CCE students are regarding each of these literacies and what might need to
be further addressed.

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Thank You.
!

1. Rate the majority of your students' competence with the online component of their
coursework? (1 being Poor and 5 being Excellent)
2. Rate the majority of your students' competence with library services?

3. Rate the majority of your students' competence with academic research, communication and
discourse?
4. Rate your ability to satisfactorily address student issues with Technological/Digital Literacy as
they arise?
5. Rate your ability to satisfactorily address student issues with Academic Literacy as they
arise?
6. Rate your ability to satisfactorily address student issues with Information Literacy as they
arise?
7. What type of resource(s) would you like to see that address possible deficits in technological,
digital, academic, or information literacy in the CCE program?

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https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WL8YPK2
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Current Campus Services found in a preliminary search
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http://west.wwu.edu/atus/
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http://www.wwu.edu/services/campustech
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http://www.library.wwu.edu/
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Needs Assessment Rationale
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Purpose of Assessment
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The purpose of this assessment was to analyze current levels of technological/digital, academic,
and information literacy of CCE students. I was tasked by Dr. Sondra Cuban to develop a Needs
Analysis that could be accomplished through a survey of students. Ideally, the survey would
provide an accurate and helpful picture of current student literacies as well as asking for ideas for
addressing the literacies in the future. In Smith & Ragan, chapter 4, analyzing learners is
described in reference to stable and changing differences and similarities of learners. In this case,
I chose to focus on the stable difference in learner literacies as well the changing difference in
learner growth potential. It was important to accept variance in the target population as I asked
sought to establish a particular average standard among the current students, but also
acknowledging them as the instrument's target audience, I wanted them to understand that the
survey is not negatively focused on literacy deficiencies but particularly on potential solutions.

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Strategies Applied

Though I feel that an analysis of literacy standards would be instinctively tied to the problembased model, I chose to go a slightly different way when outlining the assessment. I chose to use
the Innovation Model (Smith & Ragan, 2005, p.45) of assessment because, as presented in the
book, it used a very clear and structured methodology for analysis. I developed a table in my
assessment outline, where in the left column I listed assessment aspects and in the right column, I
listed the real potential strategies that could or should be applied.

When developing the instruments themselves, I chose to create two surveys, one for students and
the other for faculty. I felt that the faculty perspective on student literacy is crucial to creating
productive actions that would be involving the faculty. In the end, faculty has to address in-class
literacy deficits on the spot, so their input was just as valued as the students'.

I created the surveys within Survey Monkey and they were distributed by Dr. Cuban. I didn't
have a clear deadline for results, so I expect that results will be collected and dealt with either at
the very end of the current quarter or towards the beginning of next quarter.

One thing to acknowledge is that not every element within the outline was addressed in the
surveys. When developing the assessment, the role of the analysis results were in flux. At first I
believed that the results would be used to develop new training offerings for CCE students, but
learned later that the results were only going to be used to assess the current standards and
whether or not certain program requirements should be altered. Also, the survey results would be
used to inform decisions regarding literacy coverage in the New Student Orientation in January
of 2014

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References
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Smith, P.L. & Ragan, T.J. (2004). Instructional design. (3rd ed). San Francisco: John Wiley &
Sons