A Needs Assessment: Secondary Teacher Grant Writing
Challenge
Though publicly funded, teachers and administrators often seek additional funding to support innovative classroom projects by applying for grants. In the fall of 2019, our team of four graduate students analyzed a rural high school in the US and its significant decrease in grant applications submitted by teachers. The team completed this project as part of a needs assessment course in the Department of Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) at Boise State University (Gallant et al., 2019, p. 3).
Organization
Ballard High School (a pseudonym), is a public high school located in the United States, serving grades 9-12. Census data for the 2017-18 school year showed a student population of 2,080 and 120 faculty members (Gallant et al., 2019, p. 3).
Prior to 2017, BHS teachers applied for and received grant funding to support their individual classroom initiatives. Administrators at BHS noticed a steady decline in the quantity and quality of grant proposals submitted by teachers over the past seven years.
One of the major grant funding sources is the Nissan BEP (Business Education Partnership) which has a long philanthropic history with Ballard County (pseudonym). For over 30 years, the program has awarded funding for instructional projects in the county’s schools. Teachers can receive mini grants up to $500 per proposal with the possibility of receiving a maximum of two mini grants per teacher annually.
Performance Gap
The project team identified the lack of grant applications as a performance problem within all departments at BHS. During the 2018-2019 school year, teachers won only three mini grants from the Nissan Business Education Partnership (BEP). And no applications were submitted during the Fall 2019 award period. See Figure 1 for the decline in winning grants over a seven-year period from 2013-2019.
BHS’s administration identified the performance gap and wanted to know what factors were driving the school’s decline in teacher grant applications. Additionally, the school sought assistance to determine how to fix the problem. After reviewing extant data and speaking with the client, our team determined that BHS's best performance occurred in both 2014 and 2015 when it was awarded 6 grants. From the data, the client and our team defined exemplary performance as an increase in its current 2019 grant application rate of 0 to 12 well-qualified applications during the 2020-2021 school year. The goal was to have at least 50% (i.e., 6) of those submissions win grant awards. This would return BHS to its 2014-2015 performance level in terms of numbers of grants applied for and award
Methods
Evaluation Purpose
BHS would like the team’s help in making the following three determinations:
What are the constraints or conditions reducing mini grant submission rates between 2015 and now?
To which forces/combination of forces are these constraints due (personal, job, organizational, external)?
How can the school increase the number of grant awards to equal 2015 levels?
The team will use a mixed-methods approach, analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data to determine the root causes for the decline in applications. Once these causes are identified, the team will prioritize these factors based on impact and potential for improvement. Finally, the team will match these causes with the set of interventions that most closely align with the school’s mission and values.
Marker’s Synchronized Analysis Model (SAM)
The root cause of the problem was initially unclear. The team selected Marker's SAM as the framework for organizing and analyzing information pertaining to BHS' performance problem. This directed the data collection around the external, organizational, job, and worker levels associated with the grant writing process.
Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model (BEM)
Gilbert's BEM was used to help analyze the collected data. Using Gilbert's BEM allowed the team to identify the individual and environmental factors contributing to the performance decline.
The team based the data collection efforts around performance factors (Individual, Environmental) and behavior components (Data, Resources, Incentives, Knowledge, Capacity, and Motives). This data organization method aligned the data to use Mager and Pipe's Performance Analysis Flow Diagram, which the team used to identify appropriate intervention category recommendations.
Mager and Pipe's Performance Analysis Flow (PAF)
Once the team understood the root causes of the performance problem, Mager and Pipe’s Performance Analysis Flow Diagram (PAF) allowed for a systematic identification and selection of intervention types to occur. The team implemented the PAF following data collection and completion of the BEM and SAM. This facilitated intervention recommendations that were more likely to result in performance improvement for the organization.
Stolovitch and Keeps' Performance Intervention Ratings
Once the team understood the root causes of the performance problem, Mager and Pipe’s Performance Analysis Flow Diagram (PAF) allowed for a systematic identification and selection of intervention types to occur. The team implemented the PAF following data collection and completion of the BEM and SAM. This facilitated intervention recommendations more likely to result in performance improvement for the organization.
Data Collection Tools
In terms of data collection, the team used a combination of both qualitative and quantitative sources:
Extant Data
An extensive list of extant data sources assisted in determining the root cause(s) of the performance problem.
Data sources included:
2013-2019 performance data
articles, media, scholarly articles, and public websites
grant writing workshop instructional material
Surveys
An anonymous online survey was developed based on Gilbert's Behavior Engineering Model and delivered to all BHS teachers (N=120).
The survey was based on the following:
Teacher demographics
Problem defining questions based on our BEM evaluation
teacher's knowledge and/or previous experience with grant writing
Interviews
The team conducted in person and phone interviews using a variation of a sample interview protocol provided by Watkins, Meiers, and Visser (2012).
Interview questions were designed to:
Clarify the performance problem
Identify the specific knowledge required to perform the task
Identify additional resources available for defining exemplary performance
Provide insight to data supplied by the survey
Causes
Through the triangulation of these different data sources, a picture emerged delineating common trends and patterns. By comparing both quantitative and qualitative data, the team identified a pattern of causes:
Lack of time- Many teachers took work home with them and did not feel they had the time to apply for grants with their current workload.
Lack of knowledge/skill- Many teachers currently felt they needed additional training and guidance prior to applying for a grant. Very few had attended training or workshops on grant writing.
Lack of motivation- Few teachers associated writing or winning grant awards with career advancement, improved job performance evaluations, or salary increases.
Recommendations
Based on the team’s analysis using the PAF, the following intervention types were recommended to improve grant application and acceptance rates:
Improved communication from the administration regarding grant availability, application processes, deadlines, etc.
Provide just-in-time training, worked samples, and additional performance support to teachers interested in pursuing grant opportunities.
Utilize a streamlined location, or central online repository where teachers can find support resources, contacts for subject matter experts, and grant ideas
Promote additional recognition for teachers who apply for and receive grant awards.
Remove perceived obstacles to performance.
Results
Since this project took place in Fall 2019, BHS implemented some of the recommendations listed above. Most significantly, BHS administrators increased the communication regarding grant opportunities for their teachers and their value on the quality of education delivered to the students. While this project largely focused on a $3,000 a year financial improvement for BHS, these discussions have had a ripple effect. Teachers within the Special Education Department began to investigate grants for job training opportunities and service animals in the classroom to better assist their students.
References
Gallant, J., Hanley, S., Imler, I., & Skoro, L. (2019, Fall). A needs assessment of secondary teacher grant writing [MSWord
document]. OPWL 529 course site. https://blackboard.boisestate.edu
Gilbert, T. F. (2007). Human competence: Engineering worthy performance (Tribute Edition). Pfeiffer. (Original work published
1978)
Mager, R. F., & Pipe, P. (1997). Analyzing performance problems: or, you really oughta wanna: How to figure out why people
aren’t doing what they should be, and what to do about it (3rd ed.). Center for Effective Performance
Marker, A. (2007). Synchronized analysis model (SAM): Linking Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model with environmental analysis models. Performance Improvement, 46(1), 26-32. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.036
Stolovitch, H. D., & Keeps, E. J. (2005). Performance improvement interventions: Selection-design/delivery-implementation
phase. [Blog]. HR.com
Watkins, R., West-Meiers, M., & Visser, Y. (2012). A guide to assessing needs: Essential tools for collecting information, making
decisions and achieving development results. The World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-8868-6