Context Analysis Questions
You can customize these questions and others like them to identify and define the contexts of your project,
including the performance context, learning context, cultural context, and theoretical context. You should
selectively choose a reasonable number of questions from this list to avoid overwhelming those you
survey or interview.
Performance Context:
Physical Characteristics:
 In what type of physical facility or program will the learner use the new knowledge and skills
following the instruction?
 Is the performance context high risk, extremely variable, or an unknown environment?
 What type of distinguishing features may impact the learning context or their use of new knowledge
and skills following the instruction?
 What type of equipment and resources will the learner use in that environment? Should those items be
included in the learning context to promote transfer? Can they realistically be incorporated into the
learning context or, if not, can they be adequately simulated?
 Will the learner be held accountable for knowing and using the new information? To whom will they
be accountable? Will the learner’s performance be observed and judged?
 If there are several performance contexts, are those contexts physically different or are there differences
in what the learner must know for each context?
Support:
 What support will the learners receive in the performance context to enable them to use the new
knowledge and skills learned in the instruction? Will the learner’s supervisor, school, instructor and/or
the market encourage and support the use of the new knowledge and skills with the necessary resources
and equipment?
 What rewards will be provided to encourage the learner’s use of the new knowledge and skills in the
performance environment?
 What consequences will result or be imposed if the learner does not use the new knowledge and skills?
Social Aspects:
 What are the social aspects of the performance site? Do the former learners work alone or in groups?
 Who do the former learners work with (type of customers, peers, instructors, employers, subordinates,
etc.), and how might those relationships impact their ability or willingness to use the new knowledge
and skills in the performance environment?
 Are the learners likely to be praised in front of peers for their performance, and will their peers view
that praise favorably? Or will the learners’ peers resent and resist their use of new knowledge and
skills?
 What is the ethical climate of the performance context and how might that impact the transfer of
learning?
Relevance of Skills & Knowledge:
 How relevant are the new skills and knowledge to the actual performance context?
 Are there physical, social, or motivational obstacles that make the use of the new skills impractical or
irrelevant?
 Is the instruction being developed as part of a change initiative and, if so, have the proposed changes
been thoroughly researched and communicated to the learners?
 How long is the instruction likely to be relevant?
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 How critical is the instruction to the learner’s job satisfaction, effectiveness, and advancement?
Learning Context:
Factors that Impact the Learning Context:
 Scope – What is the scope of the instruction? What content is to be addressed and how extensively? For
what purpose?
 Time/Place Access & Dispersion – Will the instruction be asynchronous and/or synchronous? Are the
learners geographically dispersed or centrally located? Can the instruction be accessed anytime or only
during specified times? How often will learners access the instruction? Will the nature of the materials
prompt them to use it frequently as a reference?
 Pedagogical Approach – What type of pedagogical approach seems appropriate? (Instructivist,
Constructivist, Connectivist, or a combination?) Will the instruction be formal or informal? Will the
content be static and unchanging or will it be dynamic and evolve? What mix of learner-control and
instruction/instructor-control is desirable and why? Will the instruction be didactic or experiential (or a
combination of the two)?
 Type of Instruction – Will the instruction be instructor-led, self-paced, scheduled, or open-ended? Will
it feature individualized or collaborative activities? Will it be organized as a Personal Learning
Environment (PLE)? Will it be tutored, mentored or feature access to experts? Will it consist of a
Performance Support and/or Knowledge Management system? Will it be organized as a Community of
Learning or Community of Practice?
 Audience Type – Is the instruction designed for individual learners, small groups or large groups of
learners? What type of distractions will the learners have to contend with in virtual and non-virtual
settings? What impact will the audience size have on the required facilities? (Size of physical location,
size of infrastructure for virtual systems, amount of required learner resources and equipment, etc.) If
demand for the instruction increases, is the instruction and the learning context scalable?
 Learning Activities & Outcomes – Will learners read, consume. and apply content? Observe, think,
exchange information, learn and practice skills, receive feedback? Solve novel, real-world problems?
Construct knowledge and negotiate meaning? Develop interpersonal skills? Learn to use physical or
virtual tools? Work collaboratively? Participate in role-play, debates, simulations, and games?
Participate in discussions (synchronous or asynchronous)?
 Learning Processes – What learning processes will yield the desired outcomes? What static and/or
dynamic resources will be provided to support those processes? How will the learners interact with the
physical context of the instruction? How will learners interact with and use the content? Will learners
interact with others (peers, experts, an instructor or grader, etc.) and, if so, how? How will learners be
prompted to self-reflect on the content, their interactions with others, and on their learning and
application of the content?
 Assessment – Will learners be assessed and, if so, will the assessments be traditional (tests) or nontraditional (complete a paper, project, or process)? Will the assessments be graded and if so, by whom
(instructor, grader, graduate assistant, administrative assistant)? Will the instruction use peer- and/or
self-assessment? What type of feedback will be provided for the assessments (correct/incorrect only,
rubrics, explanation, remediation)? If ungraded, will learners be sufficiently motivated to take the
assessment? Will feedback be provided?
 Delivery – What delivery mode best supports the desired learning outcomes? A face-to-face course, a
workshop or presentation, an online webinar or webpage, or some other option? Will it feature print- or
other media-based correspondence instruction (mailed, emailed, or downloaded)? Will it be delivered
online or via mobile devices? Will it be a blend or hybrid of two or more of these delivery modes (e.g.,
face-to-face sessions at the beginning and end of the instruction, with online activities between; or
regular face-to-face sessions coupled with online discussions and group work)?
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 Instructional Technology – What media are needed to convey the instructional content, and what tools
will learners use? What provisions do the media and tools make for fostering socialization among
learners and reducing social and psychological distance between people? What are the learning
affordances inherent in the proposed media mix (characteristics that support learning tasks)? Will
learners use the technologies to create media objects?
 Delivery Method/ Technology – (Platform, Functionality, Usability, Reliability, Cost, Number of
learners, Supportability, Availability and Access) How will the instruction be delivered? (Through a
course management system? Virtually through the web or via a company intranet? Through the mail,
email, or a download?) If designed for a virtual environment, which platforms are required (web,
mobile phone, mobile tablet, etc.)? What type of functionality should the technology support
(synchronous or asynchronous communication, blogs or wikis, multi-media delivery, grading and
record keeping, document posting, file sharing and submission, feedback, assessment tools, learning
analytics, etc.)? What type of interface would work best for the level of technology-savvy of learners,
facilitators, instructors, etc.? How reliable is the delivery technology? What does it cost? How many
learners can it handle? Is it scalable? Can it adequately support the organization’s current level of
staffing? Is it available and accessible by the targeted learners?
 Length & Lifespan of Instruction – How long is the instruction (size and amount of time to complete)?
What is its expected lifespan? Is it ongoing or a one-shot implementation? How many months/years
will it be used? How stable is the content? Will it require maintenance and updating? If so, how
frequently and for how long?
 Institutional Support – What type of support is provided by the institution for designers, learners, and
facilitators? Does the institution provide sufficient resources and manpower (designers, production
assistants, instructors, graders, graduate assistants, program administrators) for development and
implementation? Has the institution mandated the instruction? Does it provide marketing support to
advertise and recruit learners? Has it established supportive policies (e.g., for compensation, intellectual
property, copyright, release time, promotion and tenure, overtime payment, etc.)? Has the institution
committed to short- and long-term support?
 Instructional & Technical Support – What instructional scaffolds (support) and content help will be
available to learners? What will help learners feel more socially supported and connected? Is the
infrastructure sufficient to support the current instruction, and to support future program expansion? Is
there technical support for both development and implementation? Is there technical support for learners
and instructor/facilitators?
 Instructor/Facilitator/Grader – Is there a live instructor (content transmitter) or facilitator (learning
activity enabler)? Is s/he a subject matter expert (SME)? Is s/he experienced in face-to-face and/or
online instruction? What is his/her pedagogical bent and theoretical assumptions about learning? What
is his/her motivation for instructing or facilitating the proposed instruction? Is s/he also course manager
or providing technology support? Is there merely a grader who has little to no contact with learners?
Physical Characteristics:
 How many physical instruction sites are involved? If there are several, will the instruction be delivered
to all sites simultaneously and require synchronous connections between sites?
 What are the characteristics of the available facilities, equipment and resources?
 If an online environment will be used, will it be synchronous (learners experience the instruction
simultaneously, in "real-time") or asynchronous (learners access the instruction at their convenience, at
different times and from different locations)?
 Are all the tools available that are necessary for meeting the instructional goal?
Personnel or Time Constraints:
 Are there any limits in personnel resources or time of availability that characterize the learning
context?
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 Will learners be allowed to begin and complete the instruction at any time or must they adhere to a preestablished schedule?
 Will learners have to complete the instruction autonomously or is interaction with others possible or
desirable?
Compatibility with Learner Needs:
 Is the site convenient to learners?
 If learners have special needs, will the physical or virtual site accommodate those needs?
 Is there adequate space and equipment for all learners?
 How well can the performance context be simulated by the learning context to facilitate learner transfer
of new skills?
 What sort of distractions may challenge different learners’ abilities to concentrate and engage with the
instruction?
Cultural Context:
(With slight adjustments, these questions can be applied to either a societal or organizational culture.)
 Introspection – What have you noticed about your own cultural identify and frames of reference that
could potentially impact your instructional designs? What statements can you write down concerning
your own values, assumptions, experiences, and worldview? Can you determine whether your
assumptions about life, the world, and people are universal or in line with the target audience’s
assumptions? How can you avoid an ethnocentric design – that is, one based primarily on the values
and standards of your own culture? Do you identify with the culture of the organization sponsoring the
ID project, or do you need to find out more about it to ensure that you do not inadvertently design
instruction that is irrelevant or even offensive to the learners?
 Sociological shift – Have you been able to determine how the target culture views your own culture?
 Pedagogy – What are the typical goals for instruction and education in the target culture? What is the
tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty that might impact the pedagogical approach you take (e.g.,
Instructivist vs. Constructivist)?
 Instructors vs. Facilitators – How does the target culture view authority? Would they be most
comfortable with didactic instruction provided by an authoritative instructor, or would they prefer a
facilitator that seeks to foster topic exploration, discussion, and knowledge construction?
 Group/Individualized Instruction – Is the target culture more individualistic or collectivist? How much
emphasis is placed on collective achievements and relationships vs. individual creativity, effort, rights
and responsibilities? How might that orientation impact the use of group work and team-based learning
experiences?
 Accommodation – How does the target culture view the needs of physically, mentally, or other
challenged individuals? Would customizable instruction designed to accommodate individual needs be
expected or viewed as unnecessary?
 Learner Control – How might the culture’s philosophy on the purpose of education impact whether
learners are comfortable with discovery activities that allow them to control the direction of their
learning? Might they be more comfortable with and learn more from instruction that features a
predetermined, predictable path?
 The Design Process – How is time viewed in the target culture? How is that viewpoint likely to impact
how you set and prioritize schedules, deadlines, meetings, and reviews?
 Organizational Culture – How can you align the project with the organization’s purpose, mission,
vision, and goals? How might those elements impact the design of the instruction? What impressions of
the predominant culture and climate do you glean from the organization’s efficiency indices, quality
control reports, productivity reports, sales and customer satisfaction reports, safety records,
absenteeism and turnover records, employee demographic data, formal structures, and policies? What
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are the primary work functions of the organization and what type of people perform those functions?
What type of reward systems and forms of recognition are typical of the organization? What are the
leaders’ expectations for training? Are they supportive of training? Are they willing to mentor new
hires? What are current employee attitudes toward previous training efforts? What type of on-the-job
reinforcement is provided for training? Are there on-the-job factors that create barriers to the successful
use of new knowledge and skills? What are the attitudes of management and employees concerning
compliance with external regulating agencies and legal requirements? What stated and unstated
information can you find concerning the organization’s values?
Theoretical Context:
(Ask yourself and your stakeholders, target learners, and instructors or facilitators these questions.)
 How do you think learning occurs? What type of instruction or experiences do you think does the best
job of facilitating the learning process? Hands-on experiences? Problem-solving? Individual study or
group work? etc. (Include the types of instruction you are considering as well as other types to help you
gauge the stakeholder’s theoretical orientation.)
 What are the goals of the proposed instruction?
 Is the content for this instruction set and unchangeable? What is your tolerance for content ambiguity?
Must learners respond correctly to assessment questions and demonstrate mastery of the content, or
would you describe some of the content as “open to interpretation”?
 What are the repercussions of errors (i.e., are errors life-threatening or damaging to the integrity of a
final product)?
 What sort of accountability exists for learning results (e.g., certification, accreditation, regulatory
compliance, adequate yearly progress for the institution, etc.)?
 What is the range of prior knowledge and experience of learners with respect to the proposed content?
 How would you prioritize the following characteristics for the instruction we intend to produce?
Effective, efficient instruction
Scalable
Instruction that engages learners in dialogue with each other to create new knowledge, or innovative
methods/products
Instruction that motivates learners to learn and use new knowledge and skills
Instruction that replaces undesirable attitudes and habits with desirable ones
Instruction that fosters a community of practice that continues beyond the time of instruction
(Add any additional characteristics that will enable you to identify the stakeholder’s priorities.)
Note: you can also use the list of assumptions provided in the Bloom Stretch entitled, “Identify
Stakeholder Assumptions,” to determine the theoretical viewpoint of your stakeholders.
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