Adult Learning: Assessing Learning Needs

What do the learners need to know, and how will you find out? Assessing learning needs is all about identifying the goals and purposes for learning and ensuring they support both the organization and the individuals. Focus on assessing learning needs at three levels—the organization, the job or task, and the individual. Ask the right questions to get the right information.

Where We Are Headed From Big Picture Needs to Individual Connections When organizational needs, job or task needs, and individual needs are clearly expressed, it is possible to design adult learning programs that target these three perspectives and fully support the learners in understanding what they need to know and do to be successful in applying their learning. We will start with goals and need perspectives and why they are important and then move to more specific assessment methods, tools, and techniques. We will look at how to ask meaningful questions of business leaders, managers, and individuals. We will also explore ways to help learners see how their learning needs matter before, during, and after the learning event.

Learning Objectives By the end of this course, you will be able to do the following: Identify the goals and purpose for a particular learning solution. Select approaches to assess learning needs for the organization, the task or job, and the individual. Recognize assessment items that uncover learning needs.

What are the goals and purposes for learning? How can you get answers to better understand the need for learning? Asking good questions is key within a system for assessing needs. When stakeholders request learning programs, they often have specific interests.  Which could mean that they see the learning needs from only one perspective.   For Example, a manager may ask for a learning solution to teach entry level staff about good customer service without having a clear sense of why customer service has to improve or what business metric they are trying to change.  

When stakeholders request learning programs, they often have specific interests.  Which could mean that they see the learning needs from only one perspective.   For Example, a manager may ask for a learning solution to teach entry level staff about good customer service without having a clear sense of why customer service has to improve or what business metric they are trying to change. How do we help the stakeholders find out all the underlying needs and their relationship between organization needs, task needs, and individual needs? Asking good questions is a key step in identifying the three learning need perspectives.  Let's look at some types of questions that could be asked to uncover each level of need.

Below are some questions to consider when exploring organizational needs: What do we want to achieve as an organization? Is there a business goal that needs to be addressed? Is there a business opportunity we should be pursuing? Are there financial goals we need to consider? Are there new technology initiatives for the organization?

Below are some questions to consider when exploring task needs: What needs to change or improve in how people do their work? What are the performance measures that need to be achieved? Are there work processes or procedures that need to change? Are there new tasks people need to start performing on the job?  

Below are some questions to consider when exploring individual needs: What knowledge or skills does the individual need to acquire? What other factors are affecting an individual’s performance on the job? What is the motivation of the individual to learn new skills? Do all individuals possess the same level of skill? How do the best performers do their jobs?    

It is important that all three types of needs are viewed as part of a system.  Accomplishing this requires a broad assessment of the situation. Identify required performance Identify performance gaps Assess the cause of the gaps Create a plan to address all three levels of needs

Let's do a quick knowledge check.  Using what you've learned in this topic area, determine which type of need each question is addressing.

Use this job aid to help formulate the right questions to ask when assessing each level of need.

How Do We Assess Learning Needs? Once you understand that there are three types of learning needs and that these types are interrelated, you will need to ask further questions.   There are four main types of data collection tools Individual Interviews Observation Focus Groups (or Group Interviews) Surveys These tools can be used in combination with each other and with other data available.  There is no right or wrong tool.  There is only the tool that works best for the given situation and the specific needs analysis. Regardless of what tool is used, it is important that three key factors are carefully considered: Clarify what specific data are needed Target respondents who are able to provide meaningful data Assess the validity of the resulting data  

Learning assessment tools have different advantages and risks to consider when selecting a tool.  This downloadable JOB AID can help determine which tool is best based on the situation.

Let's do a quick knowledge check.  Using what you've learned in this topic area, complete the four question quiz.

The Importance of Questions Asking clear specific questions is critical regardless of the tool you use. Asking good questions ensures you gather clear data to inform learning decisions, preventing analysis paralysis and leading to valuable solutions. In a data collection and assessment process, there's often a risk of over-analyzing, or over-thinking the data.  This can create a situation in which decisions become stalled. It is also possible that the needs assessment will point to a challenge or opportunity that does not require learning at all.  Good questions help to discover if learning is in fact the right solution.

When using different tools, you will also craft your questions differently. Review this job aid for appropriate questions to use with various tools.

Let's do a quick knowledge check.  Using what you've learned in this topic area, select the best answer for each question.

Understanding Needs Before-During-After Why are learning needs so important? It is important not to get lost in the details of needs assessment, but to stay focused on why learning needs are so important.  The needs of the business can only be met by supporting each individual learner and meeting their needs.  When thinking about the individual needs of the adult learner, it is key that you remember the six key principles of adult learning. Learning linked to individual needs should be: Relevant Learner Controlled Based on Prior Experience Timely Scenario-or Case-Based Based on learner motivation To provide context and relevance, all learning needs should be discussed with the learner before, during and after the learning event to promote success in the workplace.

Involving supervisors and learners leads to successful adult learning experiences. Consider ideas for encouraging supervisors to help new employees connect to learning needs before, during, and after the learning event.   What ideas could be used to help new employees connect to their learning needs before the orientation program begins?  How does this connect to adult learning principles? Supervisors could have a one-on-one discussion with each new employee before he or she begins the program.  The supervisor could talk about the employee's current knowledge on some of the topics and explain what specifically is expected on the job as a result of learning in the orientation program. This conversation will make the orientation event both relevant and timely for the learner.  Activating the learner's current knowledge allows them to use prior experience during the event. What ideas could be used to help new employees connect to their learning needs during the orientation program?  How does this connect to adult learning principles? The orientation program could offer time for new employees to reflect on the learning priorities discussed with their supervisors. It could allow reflection time to help the employees identify connections between the orientation and the needs of the business, the job, and the employees themselves. Allowing time for reflection gives learners a sense of control over their learning as they make the connections that are most personally relevant. What ideas could be used to help new employees connect to their learning needs after the orientation program?  How does this connect to adult learning principles? The supervisors or senior staff within the employees' teams could check in with them about 30 days after the orientation to see how they are implementing what they learned during the orientation. A company discussion forum or other social tool for sharing ideas and experiences could be implemented and made available. A 30-day check-in reinforces the timely nature of the event, which a social tool allows learners to connect with other learners over real-time problems.

Let's do a quick knowledge check.  Using what you've learned in this topic area, determine if the following statements are true or false.

Putting it all together Let's finish up by hearing from a couple experts on the topic of assessing learning needs and how they incorporate these principles into their own practices. I've included an article at the end of this course as an additional resource. Thanks for attending!

Mimi Banta is a skilled facilitator and organizational development consultant with over 25 years of experience in implementing training and development initiatives that produce results. Julie Dirksen is a well-respected independent consultant and instructional designer with over 15 years of experience creating highly interactive e-learning experiences.

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