Midpoint Journal

Karen Sichler
Department of Learning Sciences, Georgia State University
LT 7150 Analysis of Performance and Instructional Systems
Dr. Beverly Taylor
October 11, 2023
Getting Started – Preface & Chapter 1
This course and the material presented in it provides a completely different perspective

that I have ever really entertained due to fact I have spent my adult professional life in a higher

educational setting. The baseline assumption is to provide education, quite often, in the same

way due to the social and cultural traditions of education in the United States. Although there

have been slight paradigm shifts, reflecting upon how to best approach a situation is immediately

met with reflection upon content and little else.

Due to these perspective shifts, I feel as if I need to hold onto (or maybe clutch onto) this

definitional work as I feel as if I am on shifting sands. Although some of the corporate

vocabulary has entered the higher education arena, the vast majority of these have not. I feel as if

I am wading into a new language environment and attempting to translate the concepts into a

space that may not currently fit. It leads to feelings of confusion and discomfort. Therefore, I feel

more secure by including the terms and ideas that, at this point, seem foundational moving

forward.

Information that I found relevant:

• Defining performance consulting (page 20)
o Performance consulting is a systemic process requiring that we (1) work on the
right problem, (2) implement the right solutions, and (3) focus on achieving and
measuring the right results. (20)
• Goals of the process: (page 26)
o translate business strategy into talent requirements;
o identify on-the-job performance gaps, both current and future, that impact
business results;
o determine root causes for gaps in business and performance results—and form
strategic plans and the solutions required to address those causes;
o form a measurement strategy on the front end of solution implementation;
o implement solutions that yield measurable and sustainable results; and
o measure the results, determining with management any future actions that are
required.
• The strategic process of performance consulting (page 28, 37 - 42)
o First phase – identify strategic opportunities
 Reactive – client requests a specific solution
  Proactive – future goals
 Strategic situation criteria
• One or more business needs are directly supported by the initiative.
• You have direct access to the client(s) accountable for achieving
the business needs.
• The client is seeking performance change from people in one or
more employee groups.
• The client is willing to share accountability with you for producing
the required change.
• The client will provide you with time and access to the appropriate
people so you can obtain necessary information before deciding on
and implementing solutions.
• The situation focuses on a group of people, not on a few
individuals.
o Second phase – Assess business and performance needs
 Solution-neutral assessment
 3 types of assessments
• Should
o What results are required of the business
o What people need to do day-to-day to achieve results
• Is
o Identifying the current state
• Cause
o What are the root causes of the gap?
o Third phase – Implement and measure solutions
 Levels of measurement
• Reaction – are people viewing the change/solutions positively
• Capability –
o had capability of people increased
o is organization supporting change
• Performance – on the job performance enhanced
• Business – did needed operational results occur
• Return on Investment – do benefits outweigh costs
o Fourth phase – report and sustain results
• Types of work:
o Transactional work (p. 32)
 Administrative
 Address the needs of a specific individual
o Tactical work (p. 32)
 Design and implementation of solutions that support successful workgroup
performance
o Strategic work (p. 33)
 Benefits long-term and overall aims and interests of the organization
 Characteristics of strategic work:
 • It focuses on business units, functions, or the entire enterprise. It is
macro, not micro, in focus.
• It is long-term in scope, frequently taking actions that will benefit
the organization over the long term (over one or more years) and
not short term (the next quarter).
• It is directly linked to one or more business goals or needs of the
organization.
• It is solution-neutral in its early stages. The role of a performance
consultant is to work with clients to identify the problem or
opportunity before beginning to work on tactics.
• It requires multiple actions to be implemented; single solutions do
not yield strategic results.
• Defining a client (p. 34 – 35)
o owns (has accountability for) achieving business results within the organization
and in this way has something to gain (or lose) from the success (or failure) of the
initiative;
o has authority and power to make things happen, including the garnering of
resources required to support a specific initiative;
o is within the chain of command of the employees whose performance is to be
changed in some manner; and
o frequently, although not always, acts as a sponsor of the initiative and is the
primary funder of it.
o Types of clients:
 Sustained
 Project
Module 1 – The A In ADDIE
I am still feeling very much afloat in the material being presented. There are many

concepts and/or models that are used without definition provided. Therefore, the level of

frustration I am feeling is quite high. This is a very new kind of feeling for me as I am generally

driven to discover new information or skills to push myself to improve. This is the main reason I

decided to go back to school to study instructional design to not only be able to improve what I

am currently doing but also potentially open up other opportunities outside of higher education.

The way this material is being presented and/or how I am attempting to incorporate it is not

feeling relevant to what I do on a daily basis. I think these concepts can possibly have a place in

higher education, however, nothing is oriented in this class to that potential.

I want new ways of looking at the work I do but it is not feeling supported in this

material. Higher education needs to change because the current model is not working. We can

pretend the system is fine the way it is, but I don’t believe it is. I believe we need to take a more

critical eye to the ways in which we try to reach out to and educate students and I think there are

many tools in this area that might work; however, there is not the orientation in this material to

do so. I think this could be big innovation but it feels so hidden behind a wall of corporate

jargon.

Information that I found relevant:

• ISPA HPT Model
o HPT defined – a systematic approach to improving productivity and competence,
uses a set of methods and procedures – and a strategy for solving problems – for
realizing opportunities related to the performance of people
o Phases of Human Performance Technology
 Phase 1 – Performance analysis of need/opportunities
• Organizational – considers organizational vision, mission, value,
goals, & Strategies
• Environmental – identifies and prioritizes the realities that support
actual performance
 • Gap – determines current actual performance, the desired
performance, and the difference between
 Phase 2 – cause analysis
• The why
• Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model – what is this?
 Phase 3 – intervention selection, design and development
• instructional performance support (education & training,
interactive learning tools)
• non-instructional performance support (knowledge management,
job aids, documentation & standards, user performance & support
system);
• job analysis / work design
• personal development (coaching, mentoring, career development)
• organizational communication (communication networks,
information systems)
• organizational design / development (team strategies,
reengineering / restructuring)
• quality improvement (Six Sigma, continuous quality improvement,
et al).
 Phase 4 – Intervention implementation and change management
• First is to emphasize positive: establish relative advantages and
demonstrate quick “return” for each disadvantage cost;
• Second is to make it simple: establish “doable” via success stories
and peer testimonials, and minimize “hurdles” through user
support system, such as job aids or training;
• Third is to establish compatibility: identify similarities in aspects,
procedures & results to current state;
• Fourth is to promote adaptability: highlight no loss of
functionality;
• Fifth is to focus on social impact: identify key people and groups,
be transparent and honest, and communicate well.
 Phase 5 – continuous improvement
• Formative evaluation
o Often iterative
o Evaluating a product or service during development
o Goal is to detect and eliminate usability problems – How
are we defining usability problems?
• Summative evaluation
o Measures the effectiveness of HPT process & interventions
• Confirmative evaluation
o Measures the long-term effects of the interventions
• Meta evaluation
 o Ensures accuracy and appropriateness of the evaluation
process
• Addie Model Instructional Design
o Analysis
 What is the typical background of the students/participants who will
undergo the program? Personal and educational information such as age,
nationality, previous experiences and interests should be determined. What
is the target group? What are the educational goals, past knowledge levels,
experiences, ages, interests, cultural background etc. of the learners?
 What do the students need to accomplish at the end of the program? What
are the learner’s needs?
 What will be required in terms of skills, intelligence, outlook and
physical/psychological action-reaction? What are the desired learning
outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, behavior etc.?
 Determining popular methods being used around the subject and taking a
look at what needs to be developed and improved. Review of existing
instructional strategies employed. Are they adequate? What aspects need
to be added, clarified and improved upon?
 Determining target objectives of the project. What instructional goals does
the project focus on?
 Determining the various options available with respect to learning
environment. What is the most conducive learning environment? A
combination of live or online discussions? What are the Pros and Cons
between online- and classroom-based study? What delivery option is to be
chosen? What type of learning environment is preferred? Does one opt for
online or face-to-face or a blend of both? If online is preferred what will
be the difference in learning outcomes between classroom-based learning
and web-based learning?
 Determining limiting factors to the overall goal of the project. What
limiting factors exist with respect to resources, including technical,
support, time, human resources, technical skills, financial factors, support
factors?
o Design
 Different types of media to be used. Audio, Video and Graphics are prime
examples. Are third party resources going to be utilized or will the IDs
create their own? Will you prepare the teaching learning material?
 Various resources at hand required to complete the project. What are the
available resources at your disposal for completing the project?
 Level and types of activity to be generated during the study. Is it going to
be collaborative, interactive or on a per participant basis?
 Using a teacher’s style approach, how will you implement the parts of the
project (i.e. behaviorist, constructivist, etc.)?
  Time frame for each activity. How much time is to be assigned to each
task, and how will learning be implemented (per lesson, chapter, module,
etc.)? Do the topics require a linear progression in presentation (i.e. easy
to difficult)?
 The different mental processes needed by the participants in order to meet
the targets of the project. What are the prescribed cognitive skills for
students to achieve the project’s learning goals?
 Knowledge and skill developed after each task. Do you have a way of
determining that such values have indeed been achieved by the students?
What is the method adopted by you to determine the acquisition of desired
competencies by the students?
 The roadmap of how the study or project will appear on paper. Will it be
advantageous to the ID to create a map of the different activities to see if
they are in line with the goal of the project?
 If the project is web-based, what kind of user interface will you employ?
Do you already have an idea on how the site will look like?
 The feedback mechanism you will use to determine if the participants are
able to digest the lessons. What is the mechanism designed by you to
obtain the learners’ feedback on material learnt?
 Given the wide variety of student preferences and learning styles, what
method will you implement to make sure that the program fits their wants?
How will you design your project activities so as to appeal to diverse
learning styles and interests of students? Will you opt for variety in
delivery options and media type?
 Pinpoint the main idea of the project (training activity).
o Development
 Is the time frame being adhered to in relation to what has been
accomplished in terms of material? Are you creating materials as per
schedule?
 Do you see team work across various participants? Are the members
working effectively as a team?
 Are participants contributing as per their optimal capacity?
 Are the materials produced up to task on what they were intended for?
o Implementation
o Evaluation
 Determine the categories that will be established to evaluate the
effectiveness of the project (i.e. improved learning, increased motivation
etc.) On what factors or criteria will the effectiveness of project be
determined?
 Determine the way you will implement data collection, as well as the
timing at which it will be effectively made. When will the data related to
the project’s overall effectiveness be collected and how?
 Determine a system for analyzing participant feedback.
  Determine the method to be used if some parts of the project need to be
changed prior to full release. On what basis will you arrive at a decision to
revise certain aspects of the project before its full implementation?
 Determine the method by which reliability and content validity can be
observed.
 Determine the method by which you will know if instructions are clear.
How is the clarity of instructions assessed?
 Determine the method by which you can analyze and grade the response
of the participants on the project.
 Determine who gets to receive your final output regarding the project.
Who will prepare this report on the results of the evaluation?
• What is the Addie Analysis Phase?
Module 2 – People, Models, & tools
The more I review and engage with this material, I still do not connection with any of it

with what I may ultimately wish to do. As I am going through the material, I am trying to find a

way to apply what we have learned so far to complete the front-end analysis. However, my

translation problem still exists.

I have been considering different issues that we have in my home department that need to

be addressed in terms of content-student-professor triad for my front-end analysis. There are

several options. The first that comes to mind is a constant issue with our human communication

which has to do with our current textbook and the supplemental platform that goes along with it.

Every semester, we have issues with the integration and support of the additional resources for

the class. This goes along with the need to refresh the material. Unfortunately, we are in an in-

between stage with the class as the board of regents is getting ready to “refresh” the general

education requirements and this class is part of that refresh. Therefore, considering how to move

forward may be difficult.

The other issue that I am considering relates to a lower-division writing class that all of

our students must take. Due to the fact that our discipline is very tied to technological and

industry changes, it is due for a content refresh to be more aligned with the current technologies

(such as AI) and working realities of mass communication (such as the changes in journalism)

professions. That being said, it also has our highest D/F/W rates in our department. At least 25%

of students per semester earn either a “D,” “F,” or withdraw from the class. I have had many

anecdotal discussions with other faculty about the class as to why it isn’t working. There seems

to be a dividing line between those who teach the class, which also has a high degree of

instructor burn out as well, and those who do not generally teach the class. Ultimately, I think

there is more potential for this situation as there is a definite gap in how students should be
performing and how they are actually performing. However, I don’t feel I know enough about

the different models to discern which one will work best.

Information that I found relevant:

• Mental model – provides the logic and framework used to interpret information
• Needs Hierarchy (p. 46 – 50)
o Business Needs
 Quantitative measurement
o Performance Needs
 On the job accomplishments and behaviors required of individuals who
• Performing specific job
• Contribute to the achievement of goals
 Use behavioral terms
 Gaps – looking for
o Organizational Capability Needs
 Infrastructure of organization
• Work processes
• Information systems
• Incentives
 Support necessary work practices
 Factors can be a barrier or an enabler
o Individual Capability Needs
 What an employee must have if they are to perform as needed
 Skills & knowledge can be developed
 Attributes – need to be part of the selection process
• Gaps Map (p. 51 – 61)
NOTE: Needs assessment models – link is no longer good
Thomas Gilbert’s Behavioral Engineering Model
• 3 Leisurely theorems
o Distinguish between accomplishment and behavior to define worthy performance
o Identify methods for determine the potential for improvement
 PIP – typical performance /exemplary performance
o 6 components of behavior that can be manipulated to change performance
• Chart:
Information Instrumentation Motivation
Environment Data Resources Incentives
-relevant and
frequent feedback -tools, resources, -Adequate financial
about the adequacy time, and materials of incentives made
 of performance work designed to contingent upon
Descriptions of what match performance performance
is expected of needs
performance Non-monetary
incentives made
Clear and relevant available
guides to adequate
performance Career-development
opportunities

Clear consequences
for poor performance
Individual Knowledge Capacity Motives

Systematically -flexible scheduling Assessment of

designed training that of performance to people’s motives to
matches the match peak capacity work
requirements of
exemplary Prosthesis or visual Recruitment of
performance aids people to match the
realities of the
Placement Physical shaping situation

Adaptation

Selection
Module 3 – Organization Analysis & Alignment
This week connected with me more than previous weeks the material deals with creating

and fostering development in individuals. This is very much how I see my work with students.

Due to the fact I have been labeled a generalist in my department, I can end up in a wide variety

of classes. In fact, while I have a standard round of approximately 8 – 10 different courses I am

scheduled to teach, I almost never teach the same class/schedule from semester to semester as I

can fill holes as needed. Because my content is flexible, the emphasis is on student development.

One of the examples that comes to mind, is COMM 2020 in which I have to teach

students how to write a literature review and become familiar with APA style. One of the most

difficult aspects of that course is getting students to a topic that works within the parameters of

the class as well as having the articulate what they actually want to research. It is often so buried

in all of their personal assumptions and connections which are often unexpressed and

unexplored. It is essential for me to demonstrate my credibility to the students and build trust

with the students.

Another element that is essential is asking the right questions as part of the paring-down

process. The section on reframing discussions (p. 92 – 93) aligns very closely to what I do in

those conversations. A student will present a general topic such as social media’s influence on

information which has so many different points from which they can take off, it is not feasible

for the scope of the work and timeframe. However, after doing some “deep drilling” and asking

the right questions as well as giving the appropriate feedback, the student is eventually able to

more succinctly name their point of interest which is really the changing nature of journalism

and how technology has made it accessible for all people to become citizen journalists. This is

always one of the most fulfilling types of interaction I get to have with students.
Module 4 – Needs Analysis & Cause Analysis
I wish I had access/an introduction to the performance gap analysis before I had

completed/turned in my front-end analysis. While I realize it may not have been appropriate for

the conducting the front-end analysis, I think it would have allowed me to reconceive of the

issues presented in the situation in new/better ways.

Due to the fact that one of the central aspects of what I do for a living is create and share

content/knowledge with students, it is hard to shift the emphasis when considering a “problem”

class. The emphasis is always on content so my own blinders defer to changing, and hopefully

improving, content in hopes of getting a better outcome for students. While I do believe that is

still very important due to the fact my job is to impart specific information and skills to students,

that may or may not be the reason why some classes succeed and some classes fail. Even as I

write this, I feel very uncomfortable talking about a class “failing”.

As there is a definite performance gap in how students are performing in COMM 2135,

this may be a way to ultimately start having the kinds of conversations we need to have about

improving the outcomes for students in this course. I also think that the ideas presented in the

root cause categories for gaps is also very relevant. If you look at the students who are

underperforming in COMM 2135, they are often underperforming in other classes. Students have

difficulties in achieving success in higher education for many reasons but many of the

conversations I have with students who experience this are often dealing with very large, difficult

challenges that have nothing to do with their attendance at the university. Trying to reach

students and helping them achieve the levels they want requires negotiating many things we do

not have information about or any control over.

Information that I found relevant:
• Performance Shoulds (p. 122 – 123)
o Process models
 Workflow or procedures required to accomplish business goals
 Flow of steps as people should perform them
 Reference to 6 sigma model – what is it? There is no description
o Competency models
 Skills, knowledge, and attributes required if people to be successful
o Performance models
 Accomplishments required of people in a specific job if goals are to be
achieved
• Performance Gap Analysis (149 – 151)
o Data Types
 Frequency
 Skill
o 4 potential outcomes:
 High frequency, high skill
• The goal is for employees to apply the desired practices frequently
and in a skillful manner
• this is illustrated in the top right quadrant.
• We celebrate the practices that are in this quadrant.
• We also need to make sure that management continues to reinforce
the use of these practices.
 High frequency, low skill
• employees lack skill, so a developmental solution is needed to
enhance their capability.
• Although it may seem illogical that people with low skills would
demonstrate the practices frequently, we encounter that situation
quite often, particularly with interpersonal and communication
practices
 Low frequency, low skill
• The employees are not using the practices frequently and also are
deficient in the required skills.
• Lack of skill is one of the causal factors for this situation, but it is
not the only reason.
• Most likely, one or more organizational capability factors are
suppressing frequency.
• Therefore, a solution to only develop capability of individuals
would be insufficient.
• We will need to look to the organizational capability factors to
determine what else could be contributing to this result.
 Low frequency, high skill
 • employees possess the skill but are not using the practice at the
required frequency
• Most likely the reasons for this suppression of performance are
within the organization.
• Root Cause Categories for Gaps (p. 171 – 176)
o Factors external to organization
 Outside the control of anyone in organization
o Factors internal to organization
 Clarity of roles and expectations
 Coaching and reinforcement
 Incentives
 Work systems and processes
 Access to information, people, tools, and jobs aids
 Supportive culture
o Factors internal to individuals
 Skills and knowledge
 Inherent capability
Module 5 – Root Cause Connections
Once again, I am starting to move back to a point where I feel adrift. I wish we had a text

that gave more of an outline to the theories/models and less of the hands-on applications as I

have entered this class with a zero-starting point with the background information that is

assumed in the text.

This past week, I had a in-depth conversation with my colleague who is chairing the ad

hoc committee for the review of COMM 2135. Reflecting upon the issues we have reviewed up

to this point, I have a different perspective on this conversation that I might have had otherwise.

First, a good deal of the conversation dealt with many of the organizational issues that are

present whenever changes may have to be made. In this situation, there are instructors who were

trained at a different time under the umbrella of a more traditional perspective of writing for

public communication. This has changed tremendously not only in the past 10 years but in the

past year. We are a discipline that needs to be very responsive to changes to society and

technology in ways more “traditional” humanities and social science disciplines do not. This

connects to a larger organizational issue because we are the only professionally oriented school

in a college of humanities. Although we do not have licensure, there are professional standards

and organizations that students need to meet. Additionally, we have concerns with the

departmental response as the directive for the committee has shifted and changed depending

upon the audience. Therefore, there is no clear mandate on how to proceed.

There are also issues internal to the organization and individuals at play as well. While

students have been underperforming in this class for a period of several years, I am unsure how

the post pandemic period has changed student performance (if at all). This has been a topic since

we returned as students, and professors, have limited bandwidth and I do not think there has been
a discussion about this being the new normal. Most discussions are about how to get students

engaged rather than acknowledging where students currently are.

I think our next discussion needs to include what we really have control over and what

we do not.

Information I found relevant:

• Measurement process should be (p. 199 – 200)
o Be simple
o Be economical
o Be credible and theoretically sound
o Account for all factors
o Be flexible
o Include all types of data
o Identify total costs
• Need to find out more about:
o Phillips Model
o Kirkpatrick model
o Learning Transfer evaluation Model
• Content not available
o https://www.managementstudyguide.com/understanding-job-analysis.htm
o https://careerminds.com/blog/job-analysis-methods
Module 6 – Measurement & Evaluation
NOTE: The materials on iCollege were never made available for Module 6