EME5601 Introduction to Instructional Systems A. Darabi

Needs Assessment Plan

Alison L. Moore 17 October 2010

Contents 1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................1 Roles ............................................................................................................2 Structure .....................................................................................................3 2 RATIONALE ..........................................................................................................4 Current Condition .....................................................................................4 Ideal Condition ...........................................................................................6 3 FEASIBILITY .........................................................................................................8 Resources ....................................................................................................8 Organizational Culture .............................................................................8 Benefits and Costs ......................................................................................9 Project Timeline .......................................................................................11 4 PLAN ......................................................................................................................12 Objectives ..................................................................................................12 Target Audience .......................................................................................12 Sampling Procedure .................................................................................13 Data Collection Strategies and Tactics ..................................................13 Instruments and Protocols ......................................................................16 Procedure (Implementation Plan) ..........................................................17

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1 OVERVIEW

Located in Jacksonville, Florida, the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is one of three

art museums in the city. The institution was founded when Ninah Cummer bequeathed both her

home and private art collection of 61 objects she and her late husband Arthur had privately

maintained. The current building of the museum, which opened in 1961, stands on the original

site of the Cummers’ house and overlooks the Saint Johns River. The museum houses a

collection of over 5,000 works of art spanning from antiquity to the present day in thirteen

galleries. Also, Ninah’s two full-sized Italian- and English-style gardens are still maintained on

the museum grounds.

Approximately 60 employees from 12 departments and sub-departments work together to

achieve the institution’s mission statement: “To engage and inspire through the Arts, Gardens

and Education.” The departments comprising the Cummer Museum include:

• Council and Board of Directors,

• Administration,

• Human Resources,

• Finance (Membership and Corporate and Foundation Relations),

• Curatorial,

• Education,

• Marketing (Special Events), and

• Facilities (Museum Store).

One of these internal departments is the education department, which has the purpose of

(a) developing educational materials pertaining to the permanent collection and visiting

exhibitions, (b) providing educational tours and classes for patrons of all ages, and (c) increasing

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interest in visiting and attaining memberships with the museum. The Cummer Museum’s

education department consists of a Director of Education, an Associate Director of Education,

five museum educators, two education interns, and approximately 20 volunteer docents.

Roles

• Director of Education: The Director oversees the education department as a whole.

Usually this responsibility includes tasks such as coordinating museum events with other

department directors, maintaining the museum’s educational resources (children’s wing,

updated technology, etc.), and approving tour schedules and content.

• Associate Director of Education: The Associate Director answers directly to the Director

and normally prepares all materials and schedules for final approval. The Associate

Director manages and trains the museum educators, interns, and docents, as well as

organizing daily tours schedules.

• Museum Educator: As the main force of the education department, museum educators

(along with docents) are the individuals most often seen by and interacting with the

public. Museum educators guide daily tours through the museum, lead classes both on-

and off-site, and assist in training interns, docents, and newly hired museum educators.

When working off-site events, such as art festivals or out-reach programs, museum

educators must represent the museum to create interest in visiting the Cummer Museum.

• Education Interns: The interns are responsible for preparing tour materials, leading tours,

researching art historical content for the Associate Director, assisting the docents, and

performing odd jobs necessitated by the education department. Also, the interns can be

tasked with completing inventories of art supplies, assisting in docent training sessions,

and attending off-site events to support the museum.

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• Docent: Docents are volunteers, usually retirees residing locally, who receive basic

training to lead educational tours and classes at the Cummer Museum. The Associate

Director makes sure to maintain a current group of about 20 docents trained at all times.

Docents are assigned to one of four groups, and each group of five docents rotates

workweeks. Along with museum educators, docents are often the primary conduit

between the public and the museum.

Structure

The Cummer Museum is a system consisting of 12 interacting departments. The members

of the education department perform as a subsystem within this organization (Fig. 1). The

Director of Education must collaborate with the Museum Director and other department heads to

achieve the overall goals of the institution, and the lower-level education staff will interact with

other museum employees on a daily basis when leading tours and attending events.

Corporate and Foundation Relations

Council and Board of Directors

Administration (Museum Director)

Finance Curatorial

Special Events

Education Marketing

Museum Store Membership

Human Resources

Facilities

Director of Education

Associate Director of Education

Museum Educators

Docents Education Intern

Fig. 1 Organizational map of the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens

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2 RATIONALE

Current Condition

Over the years, education staff members have developed a strong curriculum of programs

and activities, such as children’s summer camps, school and general tours, art classes, and family

events, that produce income for the Cummer Museum. On average for the past 10 years, these

education programs have generated 45% of the organization’s total annual revenue, the largest

portion contributed by one department. In recent years, the museum’s Council, Board of

Directors, and Director have noticed a decline in funds across the board. Most notable of the

growing deficits is the sharp decrease in profits normally expected from the education events—

income from education programs was only 25% of the museum’s annual revenue (Performance

Gap 1). Enrollment and participation in educational tours and classes by both the school districts

and visiting patrons has steadily decreased.

Last year, the Museum Director tasked the Director of Education to identify reasons for

the waning popularity of the education programs. The Education Director focused on the

scheduled tours for school groups and visitors. After receiving feedback surveys from tour

participants, the education department learned that visitors lacked confidence in their tour guides,

were frustrated by tours starting late, desired a larger variety of tour content, and would have

preferred smaller tour groups (Performance Gap 2). However, in addition to ignoring the other

education programs and activities, the Education Director did not request those surveyed to

identify the specific tours, classes, and guides contributing to their poor experience.

Because the education staff can only afford to send a couple staff members to large

community events, many times those individuals can only manage to complete the most

immediate task, which is usually assisting children in creating quick art projects. When the

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waiting line for such activities grows, the Cummer education team cannot devote the necessary

time to chatting with parents to promote the museum—this task is relegated to a stack of

brochures that is often ignored as excited families hurry to the next kiosk. Normally, community

events should be a great opportunity for exposure to Jacksonville residents who have never or

rarely visited the museum. Also, while these staff members are working off-site, the remainder

of the education personnel must manage tours and classes with a regular flow of traffic with only

a portion of the staff. This results in numerous tours being combined into one large group

facilitated by only one tour guide. Ensuring the sizeable group follows all museum safety rules

while simultaneously lecturing and answering questions in a friendly manner is a difficult task.

In both off- and on-site settings, minimal staff are unable to interact effectively with the public

(Performance Gap 3).

The current training procedures involve new hires and volunteers attend a brown bag

lunch in an art classroom in the museum. The Associate Director of Education describes the roles

and responsibilities of tour guides and teachers, and explains the different tour and class

offerings. The trainees are given a handout listing the tour and class schedule and descriptions,

and also often receive packets written by education interns pertaining to significant works of art

in the Cummer’s permanent collection. Depending on the tour or class staff are assigned to, they

are instructed to read through the corresponding file located in the docent lounge. The dusty,

overflowing files consist of outdated magazine article clippings and photocopies of relatable

works of art in other collections. Periodically, visiting exhibitions contain an artwork the

Associate Director determines would be a complementary piece to incorporate into an existing

tour. When this occurs, all tour guides (museum educators, interns, and docents) attend a brief

lecture by the Associate Director to view and learn about the work of art. Also discussed at both

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types of training meetings is how to address the piece when leading a tour, and what common

themes the piece adds to the tour. Although the Associate Director attempts to instruct new

guides and teachers in the proper actions, education staff often complain about challenging or

confusing situations experienced while leading tours and classes (Performance Gap 4).

This needs assessment should be conducted to address the performance gaps created by

the difference between the four current conditions (see below) and the corresponding ideal

conditions (see below; Ideal Condition):

1. Revenue produced by education programs has decreased by 20%.

2. Patrons are not pleased with experiences.

3. Limited education staff are unable to manage large groups and promote the museum.

4. Current training offered does not support education staff for the demands of their jobs.

Ideal Condition

1. Education programs attract enough attendees to match or exceed a 20% increase in

revenue. The Director of Education revises the curricula routinely to ensure content and

activities are accurate and popular to attract members of the public.

2. Seven school tours (ranging between pre-Kindergarten and fifth grade) should begin at

10:00 a.m. and four public tours (varying in themes and subject matter) should begin at

1:00 p.m. All museum staff leading tours receive training (and are approved) to (a) tour

routes, (b) works of art studied, (c) art class procedures, (d) temporary artworks from

visiting exhibitions, (e) appropriate behavior for interacting with patrons, and (f)

suggestions for managing difficult situations, such as rowdy school groups or answering

challenging questions.

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3. Appropriate numbers of qualified and trained professionals fill all education positions.

Also, the Associate Director considers the amount of traffic for events (both on- and off-

site), and assigns adequate personnel. This decision must be made in collaboration with

the Director of Education, because conflicting events will demand education staff be

stretched too thin.

4. Training adequately prepares education staff to lead tours and classes. All museum staff

leading tours receive training (and are approved) to (a) tour routes, (b) works of art

studied, (c) art class procedures, (d) temporary artworks from visiting exhibitions, (e)

appropriate behavior for interacting with patrons, and (f) suggestions for managing

difficult situations, such as rowdy school groups or answering challenging questions.

Due to the ineffective results produced by the education department’s initial survey, the

museum’s Council, Board of Directors, and Director decided to investigate these troubling issues

further. To do so, they determined a professional needs assessment would yield the most accurate

and useful information to help the education department staff perform more successfully and

make more effective decisions. Much attention is being devoted to assisting the education

department because past experiences suggest education programs have the potential to be

extremely lucrative and attain the museum’s mission statement, “To engage and inspire through

the Arts, Gardens and Education.” One objective of this needs assessment plan is to present the

current condition and the ideal condition of the Cummer Museum’s education department.

Should this plan be approved, additional exploration will be required to identify the causes of the

gap between the four performance problems and the four corresponding ideal characteristics.

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3 FEASIBILITY

This needs assessment will be manageable and feasible in terms of required cost and

resulting benefit due to the resources, organizational culture, and project timeframe.

Resources

All resources required to complete this needs assessment are currently available or easily

attainable through the Cummer Museum. Education staff members (museum educators, interns,

and docents) will provide input from the staff perspectives via interviews and being observed.

Patrons will be asked to complete paper-based surveys upon concluding activities or submit a

brief survey through a computer kiosk located in the museum lobby as they leave. Also, concise

questionnaires will be distributed to and collected from members of the public who participate in

museum art projects at community events. With over 50 years of operation, the Cummer

Museum is capable of proving the necessary resources.

Organizational Culture

The current structure of the museum has been in place for a number of years. Members of

the Council and Board of Directors work together when making major decisions regarding the

Cummer, and the Museum Director answers to these two groups. The Museum Director also

oversees the numerous department heads, who serve on a parallel level, such as the Director of

Education. The education departmental breakdown is described earlier in the Roles section in the

Overview.

All relevant personnel of the museum (currently this includes only education staff)

understand the need for and are supportive of the proposed needs assessment. Should the

assessment determine a requirement for input from additional departments (such as issues arising

from gallery experience, thus directing communication with facilities employees), other

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members of the Cummer’s staff will also be willing to participate. Although the main focus of

this needs assessment plan pertains to the education programs, all museum employees are

stakeholders in the Cummer’s ongoing success.

Benefits and Costs

The potential benefits of the proposed needs assessment include:

• increased revenue from education programs and activities,

• improved patron satisfaction with museum experience,

• more confident and productive education staff, and

• increased new and renewed memberships.

These benefits are very interrelated with each factor affecting the other three. When

education personnel are supported, trained, and confident when interacting with the public, they

instill enthusiasm and loyalty within museum visitors. Efficient and effective employees will

lead quality tours, activities, and classes, and thus the public will be satisfied and excited to (a)

return to the museum for routine visits and special events, (b) purchase a membership with the

museum, and (c) tell their friends and families about the museum and its offerings. By providing

a service the community appreciates and desires, more class tuitions will be purchased, as well as

more admission tickets and memberships. Similarly, when education personnel are able to

develop a positive rapport with parents while facilitating art activities at off-site functions, adults

and children will be more inclined to visit the museum to experience the newly renovated

children’s wing and educational tours lauded by Cummer staff. An advantage of holding a family

membership is slight discounts are possible on educational summer camps and art classes, which

encourages families to participate in projects such as “Camp Cummer” during the summer

months. And again, if the educational staff and offerings impress parents and museum-goers,

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museum revenues will increase on all fronts (admission, membership, and tuition). Considering

this situation with a systems perspective, improving one aspect of the Cummer’s educational

department will simultaneously influence numerous areas of potential revenue positively.

The outcomes listed in the bullet list above can be achieved by learning the perspectives

held by both education employees and patrons regarding the museum’s current offerings. To

obtain this information, education staff (museum educators, interns, and docents) will be

interviewed and observed. Museum visitors will be asked to complete paper-based surveys after

tours and classes, and a computer kiosk will be available for patrons to submit brief surveys as

they leave the museum.

The anticipated cost of conducting the proposed needs assessment is $7,200. A local

Instructional Systems doctoral student, understanding the current financial crises faced by

museums, is offering to work 20 hours per week for a semester (three months of data collection

and one month for analysis) to perform the needs assessment should the proposed plan be

approved. In return, the instructional designer requests to use the findings for publication. The

following table is a breakdown of the project’s budget created by the instructional designer:

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4

Supplies (paper, toner, pencils) for printed surveys and questionnaires $100 $100 $100 NA

Computer maintenance and online survey fees $50 $50 $50 NA

Part-time salary ($20/hr for 20 hours/week) $1,600 $1,600 $1,600 $1,600

Miscellaneous/unknown needs $100 $100 $100 $150

Total $1,850 $1,850 $1,850 $1,650

Grand Total: $7,200

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A general admission ticket is $10 and an average class enrollment costs $15. Currently,

the museum hosts approximately 50 visitors each day between Tuesday and Sunday. On an

average weekly basis, the museum’s profit from only adult admission tickets is $3,000 (again,

this does not include purchased student, senior, or child tickets). The number of weekly classes

has been reduced due to low enrollment, but the average weekly profit from classes is $360. In a

month, the museum can currently expect to receive $13,440 in only adult admission sales and

class enrollment. Of course much of this normal income is already allotted for other areas within

the museum, but investing $7,200 to improve a once-promising component should be easy to

approve. In order to cover the costs of this venture, the museum must sell an additional 360

admission tickets and 240 spots in classes (or any combination of adult, student, senior, or child

admission ticket or class tuition). It is optimistic that, after improving the museum’s educational

components per staff and client input, the 20% decrease in profits will quickly be equaled and

surpassed.

Project Timeline

As described above, the project will require four months of part-time work. The first

three months will be devoted to instrument development and data collection. The fourth month

will strictly be designated to data entry and analysis. At the conclusion of four months, the

instructional designer will present the findings to the Council, Board of Directors, Museum

Director, and the Director of Education. Depending on the decision made following the

presentation of the assessment’s results, the Director of Education will implement the

recommended changes.

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4 PLAN

Objectives

The purpose of the proposed needs assessment is to determine the gaps between the

current and ideal conditions of the Cummer Museum’s education department. To facilitate this

process, the following factors must be addressed and identified:

• determine if current training procedures are appropriate for the skills required to perform

the numerous tasks assigned to education staff,

• determine the goal of training lectures,

• determine if prerequisite skills are required for education staff,

• determine how many patrons one staff member is able to manage comfortably in different

environments (group tours, children’s classes, community functions),

• evaluate the demands of the education staff by school group, community events, and

special function,

• ensure all efforts of the education department are directed to attain the museum’s overall

mission,

• determine what current features of the educational programs the public likes and dislikes,

and

• identify modifications to the present condition of the education department’s procedures

and products.

Target Audience

The first investigation will involve the Director of Education and the Associate Director

of Education, who will identify their perception of the current condition and explain the

museum’s ideal condition of the education staff. Next, the needs of the education personnel

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responsible for leading tours and classes (museum educators, interns, and docents) will be

assessed. Additionally, the needs of museum patrons will also be gathered to develop the ideal

role of museum education staff.

Sampling Procedure

Stratified sampling will be used to conduct the needs assessment. This decision is based

on the need to compile input from various subgroups of education staff. The three sets of

education staff members responsible for leading tours and classes are museum educators, interns,

and docents. They will be divided into three groups based on the three job titles. By performing

stratified sampling, each group of the institution will be represented appropriately in the analysis.

To collect information regarding the museum visitors, systematic sampling will be used.

Upon completing a tour or class, visitors will have the opportunity to fill out printed surveys

asking about their museum experience. Once all completed forms are gathered, the instructional

designer will choose pre-selected surveys (depending on the number gathered, probably every

10) to form the sample.

Data Collection Strategies and Tactics

• Education staff (who do not lead tours and classes): The desired roles and responsibilities

of education staff leading tours and classes must be identified before any other

investigation occurs. To obtain this information, the instructional designer will interview

both the Director of Education and the Associate Director of Education. Issues to be

discussed will include:

o What are characteristics of an exemplary tour guide and teacher?

o What are typical demands of staff during tours and classes?

o What inherent skills should an individual possess that will serve the role?

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o Of what does the current tour guide/teacher training consist?

o What are the purposes of each part of the training? How do these exercises

support the actual tasks?

o What is the appropriate group size one staff member should manage?

• Education staff (who lead tours and classes): To gather information from education staff

(museum educators, interns, and docents), two methods of collection will be used. First,

the instructional designer will meet one time with each group of staff members (a total of

at least three meetings) to gather personal perspectives. Due to the large number of

docents and their varying assigned schedules, multiple meetings with docents may be

required. Issues to be discussed with the groups will include:

o What is your job title (museum educator, intern, or docent)?

o Do you possess previous experience in education, art, or history?

o What are typical demands you experience during tours and classes?

o Do you believe the training you received prepared you adequately for the

demands of guiding tours and teaching classes?

o Have you experienced a situation for which you felt you were not adequately

trained? How did you handle this situation?

o What is a comfortable group size for you to manage when leading tours and

classes?

o What modifications would you make to the education department’s procedures?

Second, the instructional designer will observe scheduled tours (both for school groups

and general patrons) and classes to examine the interaction of education staff and the

reaction of patrons.

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• Museum patrons: In order to collect information from museum patrons, two surveys will

be available. One will consist of printed questionnaires presented at the conclusion of

tours and classes. These surveys are intended to gather patrons’ perspectives of the

Cummer Museum’s educational programs and staff. Because most patrons will decline to

spend extra time providing feedback, the instructional designer will offer incentives, such

as free guest passes, to patrons submitting surveys. The second survey will be accessible

through a computer kiosk located in the lobby of the museum. One computer will remain

active throughout hours of operation, and this similar survey is intended to collect

information from all museum patrons (those individuals initially declining to complete a

survey after a tour or class, as well as those not participating in formal educational

programs) regarding their perceptions of supplemental educational materials presented

throughout the galleries. Issues to be addressed in the similar surveys will include:

o Did you participate in a tour or class?

§ If so, which?

§ Did your tour guide/instructor appear confident, knowledgeable, and

approachable?

§ What features of the activity did you like?

§ What features of the activity did you dislike?

§ How would you rate your educational experience today?

o Did you appreciate the supplementary materials located throughout the galleries

(wall plaques, computer kiosks)?

o How would you rate your total museum experience today?

o What features of your museum experience did you like?

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o What features of your museum experience did you dislike?

o Do you currently possess a museum membership?

o Do you have any suggestions for improvement?

Instruments and Protocols

The following instruments will be used to perform the needs assessment:

• Surveys

o for education staff who lead tours and classes

o for museum patrons

§ one paper-based (for the conclusion of tours and classes)

§ one electronic (for those initially declining and for other museum patrons)

• Checklist and questions for interviews

o with the Director of Education and the Associate Director of Education

o with museum educators, interns, and docents

• Checklist for observations

o of tours and classes (interactions between museum education staff and patrons)

o will record title of staff member, type of tour/class, and number of group

participants

• Monthly and weekly timeline for the needs assessment

o will include scheduled tours to be observed

o will include interview times and locations

• Contact list

o Museum Director

o all education staff members

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• Documentation for museum leaders’ agreement to allow outside use of study findings by

the instructional designer

The instructional designer will answer directly to the Director of Education. Because

holding interviews with all groups of education staff will take them away from museum duties,

interview schedules will be organized with the Director of Education’s approval. Also, all

surveys intended for the public will be submitted to the Director of Education prior to

distribution. Should the instructional designer need to deviate from this plan in order to continue

the needs assessment, approval cannot be granted solely by the Director of Education, but must

be obtained in agreement from the Museum Director (assuming the Council and Board of

Directors consent to this arrangement).

Procedure (Implementation Plan)

The instructional designer will work on a part-time schedule for four months in

collaboration with numerous Cummer Museum personnel to complete this needs assessment.

The following order of events will be carried out to achieve this objective:

1. Submit needs assessment plan.

2. Meet with Cummer Museum Council, Board of Directors, Museum Director, and

Director of Education to present plan.

3. Update project plan and timeline presented in needs assessment plan per meeting with

museum leaders (including agreement to allow outside use of study findings).

4. Develop checklist and interview questions for meeting with Director of Education and

Associate Director of Education.

5. Interview the Director of Education and Associate Director of Education for initial

research regarding the education staff.

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6. Create an updated contact list of all education staff.

7. Work with the Director of Education to schedule interviews with the education staff who

lead tours and classes.

8. Develop three sets of checklists and interview questions for each group of education staff.

9. Hold three separate interviews with each group of education staff who lead tours and

classes (museum educators, interns, and docents). Due to the large number of docents and

the varying assigned schedules, multiple meetings with docents may be required.

10. Develop two surveys for patrons: one to distribute after tours and classes (focusing on

educational program experience) and one to be accessible via a computer kiosk in the

museum lobby (focusing on general educational experience in galleries).

11. Develop a checklist for educational program observations.

12. Over a three-month period, attend group tours and classes to observe education personnel

and patrons. Patron surveys will be distributed and collected at the conclusion of each

tour and class.

13. Over a three-month period, all data collected from interviews and surveys will be entered

and maintained in an Excel document for reference.

14. After three months, decide the most appropriate method for data analysis (data collected

from staff interviews, observations, and patron surveys).

15. Identify gaps and causes for gaps:

a. between current revenue and potential revenue,

b. between unpleased patrons and pleased patrons,

c. between too few staff to manage to adequate staff to manage, and

d. between training and actual tasks of education staff.

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16. Develop solutions:

a. Training

i. Initiate a selection process for new applicants and volunteers inclined to

succeed as educational staff members

ii. Implement more appropriate training activities and sessions

iii. Devote special attention to preparing docents

iv. Only schedule docents for regular tours, not visiting exhibitions

v. Require new tour guides and teachers to shadow experienced staff

vi. Experienced staff will observe new staff during initial tours and classes

b. Patron demand

i. Cap tour groups at size identified by staff

ii. Adhere to punctual tour and class schedule (start time and end time)

iii. Ensure an adequate number of staff attend community functions

iv. Develop tours and classes directed at patron interests

17. Compose final report (deliverable) and present findings to the Council, Board of

Directors, Museum Director, and Director of Education.