2. ASSESSMENT & ANALYSIS

LEARNERS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS

2.1. Identification of the Target Audience & Institution

The target institution and organization of this instructional design is Lipay Elementary School and their Official Student Publication, The Bridge. The school has developed a reputation in the arena of campus journalism over the years which has relapsed continuously over the past five years due to the lack of student training as acknowledged by Mrs. Irene G. Anonas, MT1, school paper adviser. The target audience involves the existing and newly-selected staffers of the school publication. They were selected based on the merits of their demonstrated proficiency in both written and oral English and Filipino.

2.2. Learners Assessment

Our target audience for this workshop is a group of students from the school, specifically those in Grades 5 to 6, aged between 10 to 12 years old.

Of the 18 participants, 18 students are confident in using the Filipino language both in written and oral communication. Fifteen (15) students can fluently use both Filipino and the native Sambal language. In contrast, only eight (8) student claimed to have confidence in using both English and Filipino languages. However, this does not mean that the participants cannot communicate in English, which is the primary medium of 'The Bridge'. These statistics will serve as a guide to workshop implementers in using the language/languages that can assist students in better understanding the concepts of the topic at hand, as well as in providing feedback on students' output.

The participants’ background and experience in campus journalism vary. Some are newcomers, while others have actively participated in last year’s school press conference. This mix of experiences will enrich the learning environment, allowing for a wide range of perspectives and insights. In terms of skills and abilities, the participants have been chosen for their commendable language proficiency and writing capabilities. Note that data below regarding their reading speed and comprehension score were determined by their post-PHIL IRI Test as prescribed by the Department of Education. And note that the bar graph that exhibits the students’ English verbal skills ranging from basic (1) to intermediate (5) proficiency was assessed by Mrs. Anonas, as the English 5 and 6 subject teacher.

Determining the language proficiency of the students would allow the instructional designer to adopt strategies that would ensure the participants’ mastery of the subject matter (e.g., use of various media or technology). This would also prompt the ID implementer to devise real-time interventions to address any shortfalls during the session (e.g., repetition for recall and comprehension).
The workshop is designed to catering to diverse learning preferences. The proponent adopts a multimodal approach that includes both lectures and activities, accommodating visual and auditory learners. The design emphasizes activity-based learning, aligning tasks with participants’ foundational skills, knowledge, and interests.

Additional Note: This instructional design will be guided by cognitivist theoretical perspectives; hence, it is imperative to make sure that the transfer of information to the workshop participants, influenced by attention, memory, and information processing (encoding, storage, retrieval), is promoted with active learning using meaningful learning contexts, learning aids, and practical application tests.

Recognizing the varying levels of prior knowledge in journalism among the participants, the workshop aims to provide knowledge about the fundamentals of news and news writing. This approach ensures that the workshop is adaptable, catering to the needs of both advanced learners and those with basic to zero understanding of news and news writing.

The workshop will be designed to be conducted face-to-face, requiring the physical presence of the instructor, learning participants, and the instructional designer. This mode of interaction allows for real-time engagement, immediate feedback, and dynamic communication, which are crucial for effective implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the instructional design.

2.3 Data Collection Method for Needs Analysis

The instructional gap, the lack of understanding and mastery of the fundamentals of news and news writing, is determined by providing a diagnostic examination among the participants using a 14-item quiz that focused on the definition, characteristics, and structure of news and lead paragraph. The fundamentals include: definition and characteristics of news and news writing, and the general structure of a news, including the lead. The quiz is an overview or summary of what the seminar-workshop will be about and it will test students’ prior knowledge of the topic.

An actual observation was also observed during the student journos' training for the S.Y. 2023-2024 municipal schools press conference. The designer attended and conducted the 3-day training of the students. This is a week prior to the scheduled MSPC.

2.4 Summary fo Findings: The Instructional Gap

Good news writing starts with good, accurate reporting (George Mason University, n.d.). As a form of strategic communication, there is a responsibility that comes with “influencing opinions and attitudes of large numbers of people” (Ohio State University, n.d.); hence, the need to fully grasp the very fundamentals of news and news writing. This uphold the integrity of both the profession and the journalist – their skills, hard work, and love for the job.

The result from this assessment will guide the instructional designer in crafting the instructional objectives, as well as in developing the materials, assessment tasks, and learning activities. Furthermore, upon review of the continuum of instructional problems, this instructional gap falls under preparation problems as it involve “acquiring prerequisite skills or knowledge” (Christensen, 2021) to perform application-oriented ends (e.g., a news article). Also, this design being guided by the cognitive theory of learning, information processing will be helpful for preparation problems that require encoding, storage, and retrieval of information (cognitive processes).

The Process of Choosing the Instructional Gap

Current Condition: Participants exhibit limited knowledge and skills regarding news and news writing, including the definition, characteristics, importance, and structure.
Ideal State: Participants should be well-versed in the foundational principles and concepts of news and news writing. Understanding the characteristics and structure of news equips students with the ability to craft basic news articles, establishing a strong foundation for more advanced training in various categories of campus journalism.
Symptoms: Poor performance observed in previous press conferences; Students demonstrate inadequate understanding of the characteristics and structure of news.
Possible Causes: Lack of existing awareness among newcomers to news and news writing; Absence of structured instructional programs for campus journalism, leading to gaps in foundational knowledge and skills.

To demonstrate (diagnostic test):

Q1. There are 7 students who were able to identify the definition of news. Followed by an evident decline of correct answers in Q2 and Q3 which talks about the characteristics of a news story. In the long run, if participants cannot fully understand these basics, they can experience confusion in identifying which events are news-worthy and what constitutes a news (e.g., facts vs. opinions).
Q4. Only 8 students got the correct answer about the general structure of the news. Full grasp of this principle will guide students on how they’re going to write an article moving forward.
Q8. There are only 13 students who were able to identify what a lead in a news article means. This suggests that other students may not be aware of what constitutes a lead, how to write it, and its importance in a news write-up. The lack of understanding what a lead is also explains low scores in Q9 (type of lead), Q10 (number of words in a lead), and Q11 (the omission of some information in a lead). You can also see here the contradicting results in Q8 being high, while questions relating to the same topic are at 11%- to 22% only.

To demonstrate (actual observation):

It was evident during the training that students did not have prior knowledge about journalism as a discipline.
The students also have poor writing skills, especially in making a cohesive output.
Some students can produce a good output, provided that they are given a template or an outline of what to write. But to write a news independent of any supervision, rendered the students to write an ouput in more than hour. Some of them are not able to (a) write at least 3 paragraphs and (b) cannot even follow the guideline set to make a news report out of the provided fact sheet.
It was also evident during the training that some students were given the "wrong" category. For example, a student has better potential to join the copyreading contest due to an ample skills in grammar and fact-checking. Or, a student who is more imaginative and creative should have been in the feature category. This only highlights the importance of assessing the students abilities and skillset, and a series of workshop can best define what they can do best by determining what is/are lacking.