Assignment Unit 2

Part I

What do you think are the differences between analyzing the instructional needs of a learner in a traditional K-12 school versus analyzing the instructional needs of a working adult in a corporate or higher education setting? What areas of needs analysis might be similar?

Analysis of the needs of the learners is an important part of being an effective educator. These would primarily include knowing about the patterns of learning that the learners have, their previous knowledge, their experiences if any etc. These analyses of the needs of the learners serve the purpose of enabling the educators to provide an environment to the learners which is suitable to their needs, strengths, interests and stage of readiness (www.edu.gov.on.ca). With this being done, the learning of the students tend to be enhanced.

It can be argued that there is a lot of difference in the needs of the K-12 learners and those of adult learners simply because of the differences in the quality and amount of knowledge among these students. However, when teaching is viewed to be attempting to empower students to learn independently by means of providing support, adequate feedback and resources for learning to take place, then one can see not much of different in the needs of adult and K-12 learners except for the most obvious ones i.e. the materials chosen for them and activities that are appropriate to their age (Smith, 2013).

Identifying the needs of the adult learners can be seen to be different in the manner that adult learners possess different characteristics than that of K-12 learners. Merriam et.al (2012) identified some important characteristics of adult learners. According to her, there is a high motivation level in adult learners, they perceive themselves as achievers, and they are self-directed and have a wide range of experiences to share. Furthermore, adults tend to reject new information which is against their own beliefs and are required more planning so that they can be more connected to the process. On the other hand, children have limited life experiences and are more open to new information.

Apart from these differences, it can be seen that learning, in general, whether it is of adult or young learners, takes place when students find the learning material to be interesting and engaging. When students become engaged they tend to get encouraged for additional exploration and thus are required to be provided with safe ...