Before we begin our analysis, it's essential to comprehend the unique challenges and requirements of the users. To achieve this, we employed Allison Rossett's 5-step model. This approach is effective for designing new training programs, as it aids in pinpointing the knowledge or skills that learners currently lack or are unable to perform (Brown & Green, 2015). Our goal is to identify the challenges gen-ed teachers encounter when teaching ELL students as well as the gap between the type of instruction gen-ed teachers provide to students, and the type of support the students actually need in order to succeed academically.  by conducting the analysis. Furthermore, we aim to understand the types of training gen-ed teachers seek to better support their students.

Needs analysis, is a critical process used for identifying and evaluating the gaps between current conditions and desired outcomes within an organization, community, or specific group. (Brown & Green, 2015).

The importance of a needs analysis lies in its ability to facilitate informed decision-making, optimize the use of limited resources, and improve the outcomes of projects and initiatives.  

Teachers

To identify the challenges faced by gen-ed teachers, we conducted a survey with 8 gen-ed teachers, asking them about the problems they encountered. According to the survey results, 62.5% of the teachers identified "making connections with my ELL students" and "lack of knowledge of strategies to support my ELL students" as their most challenging issues. And 87.5% teachers identified that "they have been too busy and haven't had time to learn more about how to help ELL students."These were the highest reported problems among all those mentioned, and are illustrated in the survey results below.  

Students

We conducted a survey with 8 ELL students. From our survey, we discovered that students primarily need more care, opportunities for connection with their teachers, and one-on-one support from teachers. This is the area that we identified as being most important to students, however, from our survey, it is also a space where gen-ed teachers don't focus a lot. 

Summary

1. Gen-ed teachers face difficulties in connecting with students.

2. Gen-ed teachers don't have time to access resources to support their ELL students.

3. There is a gap between the strategies gen-ed teachers employ with ELL students and what the students need. 

After identifying the problems, we aim to analyze the needs behind them. As mentioned in the problem section of the survey, ELL students desire more care and connection from their teachers, as well as one-on-one support. Given that gen-ed teachers have limited time, understanding the type of training they wish to receive is also crucial.

From the survey we received, gen-ed teachers want a virtual training opportunity that supports their learning in a manner that is easy to access and jam-packed with helpful resources in order to better support their ELL students academically. This training can be implemented during weekly or monthly professional development meetings that teachers already have to attend in order to refine and develop their instructional skillset. Teachers want to feel like we can point them in the "right direction" in order to find, access, and utilize ENL resources that can be used during instruction. 

We were mindful to survey the current landscape of what already exists to support gen-ed teachers in their ability to teach ELL students. Currently, there are not many solutions that exist that work to meet this specific need. However, in reflecting upon on what we learned from our stakeholders, teachers have very little time to dedicate to more traditional training for supporting ELL students in the general education classroom. Protocols such as SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol), are currently ineffective for most gen-ed teachers in that they follow the "traditional training" model and take a year or longer to learn and implement. In addition, the gen-ed teachers we surveyed have reported feeling overworked due to having a variety of responsibilities aside from teaching content, so lengthy trainings such as SIOP are ineffective.  

• Brown, Abbie H., and Green, Timothy D. The Essentials of Instructional Design : Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice, Third Edition, Routledge, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3569720.