This is Walden University course (EDUC 8103-6) Section 1 Needs Assessment Plan. It is formatted in APA, has been graded (A), and includes references. Most universities submit higher-education assignments to turnitin; so, remember to paraphrase. Enjoy your discovery!

1. Running head: A3 PROGRAM PROPOSAL 1
A3: Program Proposal, Section 1 Needs Assessment Plan
Orlanda Haynes
Walden University
Author Note
This paper was prepared for Richard W. Riley School of Education and Leadership
EDUC 8103-6 Design and Assessing Lrng Exp
Ed. D Student
Fall 2015

2. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 2
The purpose of this assignment is to provide a learning platform for Ed.D students to
build or enhance their skills in areas of program proposal and needs assessment planning.
A3: Program Proposal, Section 1 Needs Assessment Plan
Social & Organizational Context of your Learning Environment
Describe the learning/work environment.
The Solano County, California, Public Library Foundation has operated an adult literacy
tutoring programs for decades. Face-to-face sessions are held weekly; schedules and locations
are unique to each student. The program serves a diverse, nontraditional student body of
approximately 5600 students as of June 2015.
Identify the major stakeholders
The primary goal of the Solano County Library Foundation is to support adult literacy
programs and lifelong learning needs of communities it serves. These objectives are met, in part,
through partnerships with financial institutions, government and education organizations,
including the County of Yolo, the University of California, Davis and the Solano Economic
Development Corporation.
Identify the immediate issue(s), concerns, gaps, or trends that need to be addressed.
Although non-traditional students account for over 80% of Solano County public library
adult literacy programs, the organization does not offer its students the convenience of online
learning, nor curriculum that represents best practice for the teaching and learning of adults
(entirely pedagogical).
Identify the contextual factors influencing the situation.
As a vehicle for learning, distance education is not a new concept; Sir Issac Pitman, who
invented shorthand in the mid-1800s, is credited with its origin. He used the discovery to offer

3. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 3
correspondence courses to distance learners. Today, facilitated by emerging technology,
between 2007 and 2008, more than 4.3 million students participated in online learning
(https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=80; http://thejournal.com/ Articles/1999/09/01/The-
Origins-of-Distance-Education-and-its-use-in-the-United-States.aspx?Page=7).
Regarding curriculum for adult learners, Malcolm Knowles summarized the first major
adult learning theory in 1959 (Andragogy). He presented six assumptions about how adults
learn: (1) need to know, (2) learners’ self-concept, (3) role of the learners’ experiences, (4)
students readiness to learn, (5) students’ orientation to learning ( a self-directed approach), and
(6) students’ motivation to learn (Knowles, 1980,1989; Smith, 2002). Similarly, in 1997, the
American Psychological Association reported that . . . . “Learning . . . involves the generation of
knowledge, or cognitive skills and learning strategies. . . . [Most nontraditional] learners are
active, goal-directed, [and] self-regulating (Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors, para. 1).
Research suggests that adult learning and development needs are vastly different from those of
children; therefore, adult education curriculum should be reflective of best practice (Marshak,
1983; Sivan, 1986; Smith, 1999; Popper, et al., 2006; Zimmerman et al., 2009).
Explain the major strengths and opportunities within the environment.
In 2013, the Solano County Library Foundation revised primary aspect of their overall
goals. In that, the organization made a commitment to offer students: a curriculum structure that
is more representative of how adults learn than their current model, more course flexibility
(choice of subject matters), more site-based decision-making emphasis, and a distant education
program option. The significance of this decision is that online access will give non-traditional
students more capacity to improve their social and financial status, irrespective of geographical
or time boundaries.

4. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 4
Describe how your program proposal aligns with your organization's mission.
This proposal aligns with primary aspects of the organization’s mission: to provide
effective adult literacy programs that serve as vehicles for the growth and development of the
communities it serves. This proposal highlights the relevancy of a strengths and needs
assessment, which is designed to understand problems and their extent, gather relevant
information about the target population, and to identify what gaps exist or do not exist (programs
and services). The outcome; therefore, will provide insights as to what needs the target
population identifies as primary; if those needs lacks support by current programs and services;
and if such needs align with the Solano County Public Library Foundation’s mission (Cafferella,
& Daffron, 2013).
Develop a Needs Assessment Plan
Designthree processes for gathering data or evidence of needs (two informal, one formal).
Pearson’s correlation coefficient, partial correlation coefficient, multiple regression
coefficient, ANOVA, and statistical equivalencies could be used to analyze data from pre-and-
post-tests, priority rating charts, surveys, questionnaires, standardized tests, and alternative
assessments (Cafferella, & Daffron, 2013; Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2010). Moreover,
qualitative methods that could be used include interviews and focus groups. To allow for in-
depth analysis of students’ current perception of tutoring programs and services, course delivery
method, and curriculum, the focus groups should be composed of current and prior students as
opposed to educators or administrators, parents, or other program affiliates. On the other hand,
interviews (semi-structured questions) with educators and administrators about their perception
of education programs and services are another highly effective mean of data collection
(Cafferella, & Daffron, 2013; Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2010).

5. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 5
Describe the key purpose for the assessment instrument or activities.
Because the strengths and needs assessment is designed to explore and understand human
perceptions, to determine if relationships exist between two or more variables, to identify
students’ needs, and to determine if gaps exist in current programs and services, and because the
framework will include random sampling, surveys, questionnaires, standardized tests, and
alternative assessments, a mixed-method framework will be used. It’s a common framework for
gathering information about complex topics and broad subject matters (Lodico, Spaulding, &
Voegtle, 2010, pp. 284-305).
Describe the processes to be used for assessment of reliability and validity.
Relevant statistical tests and tools to consider include pilot tests, best practice for survey
questionnaires, Spearman rho, Phi-coefficients, point-bi-serial correlation, criterion-related
validity measures, ANOVA, multiple variable analysis, simple graphical regression, Venn
Diagrams, scatterplot and matrix (Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2010).
List guiding questions of the instrument or activity.
The following questions are relevant: (1) What is the problem or issue? (2) What are the
demographics of the target population? (3) What services are currently provided and by whom?
(4) What programs and services are state and federally funded? (5) What are primary needs of
the target population? (6) Which ones are not being addressed by current programs and services?
(7) What teaching and learning methods are most effective? (8) What course delivery option is
most preferred? (Cafferella, & Daffron, 2013; Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2010).
Describe the process of how the instrument or activity will be disseminated and collected.
To improve response rate, Best Practice suggests sending follow-up requests to the
participants. Program planners or their staffs usually collect other instrument responses and,

6. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 6
then, prepare them for data analysis using computerized databases and statistical programs.
Either way, information should be kept confidential (e.g., use file cabinets that are password
protected, restrict access to, and discussions about, information collected, and by use data
aggregate to disclose findings (Cafferella, & Daffron, 2013; Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle,
2010).
Articulate how the findings will be reported.
Program planners write executive summaries or reports and then shared their findings
with stakeholders, educators, and administrators, community leaders, students and parents; and,
in some instances, through newspapers, articles, and relevant websites (Cafferella, & Daffron,
2013; Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2010).
In brief, the purpose of this paper is to assist Ed.D. Students with enhancing or building
skills related to program proposal and needs assessment planning. As such, relevant aspects of
the proposal and the strengths and needs assessment processes are discussed.

7. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 7
References
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8. A3: PROGRAM PROPOSAL 8
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