1
Interview/Brief Analysis: Addressing a Needed Change
Peter M. Manwell
CUR/516
8/10/2015
Dr. Shirley Burnett
2
Interview/Brief Analysis: Addressing a Needed Change Assignment
This week’s CUR/516 individual assignment has the learner exercise the knowledge
acquired through readings and exercises to perform a needs assessment. I have selected option
#2. Option #2 requires the student to interview a curriculum developer or supervisor to identify
a desired change for the organization. To meet the requirements of the assignment, I will report
on the outcome of an interview with my Learning-Site Lead and examine the strategy of how to
proceed in making the desired change.
Introduction
The US Navy has an enormous training organization. The group is comprised of 13
different learning centers with responsibility for a particular training community. I work for the
Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) located in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The mission of CPPD is to provide general training in areas focused on human resources and
personal development subjects throughout the Navy. Courses such as Sexual Assault Prevention,
Drug and Alcohol Prevention, instructor training and Career Counselor training to highlight a
few. Training products are implemented through 10 subordinate learning sites in Fleet
concentration areas around the world.
I work for the lead learning site; Center for Personal and Professional Development,
Learning Site Dam Neck, Virginia. At our learning site, we deliver instructor training, Drug and
Alcohol Prevention, Command Career Counselor School, Bystander Intervention Training, and
PREVENT: life-skills training for at risk sailors. We have a staff of 30 enlisted, officers and
civil service instructors.
Lieutenant Commander Michele Ewing is our Learning-Site Lead; the senior officer in
charge. She approached me to discuss a training need to close a performance gap in our Master
3
Training Specialist Program (MTS). I met in her office, 1 October 2014 to interview her to
identify the perceived performance problem and possible solution.
The MTS program is a US Navy qualification program to “develop and qualify those
individuals who possess advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities, that will enhance the delivery
of quality education and training in the Navy.” (Naval Education and Training Command, 2014)
It is a mandatory program, to prepare Navy instructors for supervisory roles in the instructional,
site management, and curriculum development functions of the learning organization. The
program utilizes a Personal Qualification Standard (PQS) checkout sheet to manage a one-onone mentoring of MTS candidates. The capstone activity for the MTS candidate is to appear
before a formal verbal board of qualified and designated Master Training Specialists. The
format of an MTS board is for the board members to deliver a robust set of questions and
scenario-based cases for the candidate to respond to with detailed responses and solutions. If the
board reaches concurrence on the quality of knowledge and skill of the candidate the candidate is
awarded the specialist designation at a formal ceremony.
The Master Training Specialist designation is a mandatory career milestone. If a US
Navy service member has served in an instructional capacity he/she must qualify MTS to
advance to the Chief Petty Officer rank or be competitive for officer promotion.
Observed Performance Shortfalls
LCDR Ewing voiced concerns about the quality of the MTS mentoring and boarding
process. In her capacity as Learning-Site Lead, she observed deficiencies in the quality of course
and site management function over time. She also believes the program had become less robust
over the prior 12-24 months due to a decline in knowledge and experience of the mentor network
and MTS board membership.
4
The Learning Site Lead had been briefed by her predecessor 12 months previously that
the MTS Program was then robust and meeting the training needs of the site.
The Learning-Site Lead asked me into her office to discuss the situation.
Needs Analysis Interview
I interviewed LCDR Ewing using sample questions from our textbook as a guide
originally developed by Robert Mager (Brown & Green, 2011). What follows are the questions
asked and a report of her responses.
Question #1. What problems exist or what changes are being requested?
Response: knowledge and performance of MTS designators do not meet standards
established by the program. MTS designated staff does not contribute to the quality of
learning site in the following areas: generating curriculum changes, instructing In-Service
Training, maintaining performance standards when conducting instructor evaluations and
service as subject matter experts (SMEs) in the curriculum development and maintenance
process.
Question #2. Who is being asked to change?
Response: instructors/supervisors of CPPD Learning Site Dam Neck. Demographics of
the personnel include:
Ages: 25-45 years old.
Positions: 15 junior enlisted; five senior enlisted; seven officers; and three civil
service employees.
Question #3. What is currently taking place with the individual or individuals being asked to
change?
5
Response: staff is assigned to instructor duty for three years. They come from sea-going
units, usually very arduous, looking forward to time with family, time for hobbies, and
time for personal development opportunities such as college classes. Junior enlisted must
also devote substantial time to community service projects to be more competitive for
promotion.
Question #4. Where will the solution or change need to take place?
Response: change is desired to increase the robust characteristics of the MTS Board
events. Additionally, change in staff performance is desired to increase skills in
generating curriculum changes, instructing In-Service Training, maintaining performance
standards when conducting instructor evaluations, and service as subject matter experts
(SMEs) in the curriculum development and maintenance process.
Question #5. Is instruction the most appropriate means to solve the problem or bring about the
desired change?
Discussion: We discussed available options such as instructor-led training, online
content for supplemental self-study, PowerPoint and study guides, one-on-one mentoring, and
blended solutions of all the options.
We also discussed the need for additional data to analyze causes of the performance
deficiencies
Recommendation
At the end of the interview, we reached an agreement that additional data was required to
develop a solution. We agreed to proceed with three data gathering activities using the Navy
curriculum development model. (Naval Education and Training Command, 2009) These
activities include:
6
Conducting a thorough Learner Analysis. The focus of the Learner Analyses will
provide data on time staff has available for MTS training activities.
Conducting a thorough Task Analysis. The focus of the Task Analyses will provide
data on the prescribed depth of knowledge the MTS Board needs to utilize. The analysis will
also determine the specific tasks the learning site needs for efficient management of operations.
Conducting a thorough Business Case Analysis. The focus of the Business Case
Analysis will focus on possible funding alternatives for available materials such as workbooks,
training aids or Internet hosting services.
Conclusion
This week’s CUR/516 individual assignment had the learner exercise the knowledge
acquired through readings and exercises to perform a needs assessment. I chose to conduct a
needs assessment interview with my Learning-Site Lead. She identified a need she observed
among the staff at CPPD Learning-Site Dam Neck, Virginia.
The need involved a perceived problem in knowledge and skill in the performance of the
Master Training Specialist program. Specifically the weaknesses included a lack of knowledge
and skill observed in MTS designates. She also observed a weakness in management functions
among the learning site staff.
I interviewed the Learning-Site Lead and discussed her observations of the problem. The
result was agreement on a course of action including gathering more data to analyze the training
problem before proceeding to the design step of development.
7
References
Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2011). The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting
fundamental principles with process and practice (2nd ed.).
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Naval Education and Training Command. (2014, May 14). NAVEDTRA 43100-7D. Personal
Qualification Standard for Master Training Specialist
.
Commander, Naval Education and Training Command.
Naval Education and Training Command. (2009, August). Task-Based Curriculum Development
Manual. NAVEDTRA 130B . Naval Education and Training Command.