PDS 204 - Needs Assessment and Learning Objectives
What PDS 204 tests
PDS 204 is the foundation domain in the NAPT professional development series. It tests whether you can turn a performance gap into a defensible learning solution before designing content. The emphasis is on needs assessment, task analysis, and measurable objectives, not on slide design.
Core rules and concepts
- Use three levels of needs analysis: organizational, task, and person (McGehee & Thayer). Start from the performance problem, not from a requested course.
- A usable objective states performance, condition, and criterion (Mager). The verb must be observable: “locate,” “calculate,” “demonstrate,” not “understand.”
- Align the objective’s verb to Bloom’s revised taxonomy. A “create” objective cannot be validly assessed by a recall quiz.
- Task analysis is either hierarchical (procedural steps) or cluster (a set of related tasks). Choose based on whether the job is sequential or variable.
Worked example
A help desk reports 22% first-call resolution. Interviews show technicians cannot navigate the knowledge base. Person analysis finds 8 of 12 lack search skills. Write: “Given a customer case and the knowledge base, the technician will locate the correct article and resolve the ticket within 10 minutes on 9 of 10 trials.” Condition, performance, and criterion are all present; the assessment is a live ticket simulation.
Traps that cost marks
Jumping to “training” when the cause is incentives, tools, or unclear expectations; writing “understand” objectives; confusing needs assessment with evaluation; ignoring the transfer climate after class.
Key points
- Diagnose before designing.
- Objectives need condition, performance, and criterion.
- Match assessment method to verb level.
- Use task analysis to decide content scope.