Topic A2: Your Student Audience - Additional Resources

Dr. Mary Abouzeid has been Director of the TEMPO Outreach Program and faculty member of the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, for over 10 years. 

As Director of the TEMPO Outreach Reading Program, a program that serves over 500 students per semester, I need to gather information across the state of Virginia to meet many needs.  I evaluate the needs of school districts and teachers to meet state certification requirements for reading teachers. We design distance education courses for teachers seeking graduate degrees and professional development courses. 

To determine and update these needs, my staff and I have developed questionnaires for school districts and communicate frequently with State Department of Education personnel. We survey incoming students at the beginning of courses and throughout the courses to evaluate the match between the content and delivery of our courses and their needs.  This interaction between all stakeholders enables us to design and deliver, and when necessary, customize the educational programs our audiences require to continue to insure that children in our state learn to read.

Below are online resources which may help you in preparation. Take a moment to visit each. If you find a resource particularly helpful, remember to 'bookmark' that page to make it easier to return to it at a later time.

Dick, Walter & Carey, Lou. (1996), The Systematic Design of Instruction

(4th ed.). New York: Harper Collins.

Gilliard-Cook, T. "Technological Prerequisites for Distance Education Implementation."

(Theresa Gilliard-Cook of Syracuse University gives additional information on the characteristics of successful distance learners in the section "Who are the students?") http://web.syr.edu/~tgillard/656/prerequisites.html

Kearsley, G. (2000). Online Education: Learning and Teaching in Cyberspace.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Moore, Michael G. & Kearsley, G. (1996). Distance Education: A Systems View.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Distance Education in Higher Education Institutions.

A statistical overview of the different populations served by distance education. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/distance/chap2.html

Rossett, Allison. (1987). Training Needs Assessment.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. This Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation on needs assessment is based on the work of Allison Rossett, whose method of defining the "actuals" and comparing them with "optimals" is widely used by educators and trainers. http://efss.educ.kent.edu/course/57403/Presentations/needsassess/index.htm

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