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Educational technology training needs assessment for dyslexia educators
Author
Soofrina Mubarak
Supervisor
Cheung, Wing Sum
Abstract
The aim of this Educational Technology Training Needs Assessment (TNA) is to firstly pinpoint the real performance problems and assess their importance in relation to organizational goals; identify the skills, knowledge and attitude that educational therapists in Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) should know and do (optimal) versus what they already know and can do (actual) regarding the use and integration of educational technologies in the DAS Main Literacy Programme; evaluate if the identified gaps are instructional or non-instructional in nature; and finally, to provide suggestions to close the identified gaps. In this assessment, 7 performance problems, also known as performance gaps between the optimal and actual performances, have been identified. The 7 performance gaps have been grouped according to three domains – skills related, knowledge related and attitude related. The techniques used to collect research data include survey, focus group discussion, observation and interviews. While most of these means were originally planned to be conducted in a face-to-face manner, due to Covid-19 safety measures, these were conducted using an online conference platform known as Zoom. While majority (21) of the participants were from DAS, 2 non-DAS subject matter experts also participated in this research, totalling 23 research participants. A total of 4 underlying causes were identified that led to the 7 performance gaps discovered in this study. These are: 1) lack of training, 2) lack of time, 3) lack of direct access to hardware and software and 4) lack of incentive and recognition. Upon identifying the causes of 7 performance gaps, targeted training and non-training suggestions are provided to bridge the specific gap.
Date Issued
2021
Call Number
LC4019.8 Soo
Date Submitted
2021