Needs Analysis

Although I was unable to conduct a formal needs assessment for this course in the short amount of time I had, I prepared as best I could by considering the overall goals of this course, the characteristics of the learners, and the quality of the learning environment. 

Goal Analysis

Because a formal needs analysis is “neither practical nor feasible” (Morrison, Ross, Kalman, & Kemp, 2011, p. 41) in the context of some instructional design problems, a goal analysis was used in its place as recommended by Morrison et al. (2011). Most broadly, I aimed to introduce learning and instructional theory so that the students could sufficiently grasp the material to apply at Merck. That meant that I needed to ensure that I gave plentiful examples and kept the instruction lighter on the theoretical side, as this could be overwhelming to beginning learners. I wanted to give practical examples to increase their motivation to learn and help with the transfer of this learning to new situations.