Program Planning Review

Hello,
This is the 12th module for this course and the end of the course.  I have learned a lot of things, some of them are totally new and some are reminders. However, I am so grateful to our instructor, Margerit Roger and the recommended book Caffarella R.S.(2002), which I found very useful and informative. In a nutshell, some of the things I learnt are:

• Every single aspect of the program planning process, is as important as the program itself. If anything is left out, it may or will affect the program.
• Using the interactive model(in Cafarella book), will make my work easier because it listed things that need to be done, it will serve as my checklist.  Also, support from every member, especially those that are in the planning process with me, is very important.
• Stakeholders are those that have a "stake" in the program and are very important for the success of the program.They may be primary or secondary stakeholders. They may have different opinions but as a program planner, I have to be a good communicator, in order to negotiate among all members. They all have different power, that can have effects on the program, this power must be recognized and put into consideration.
• Needs assessment help show who need the program and what there needs are. Information  from personal background, employment and educational background will help create potential learners group and identify new stakeholders.
• Objectives are what the program hope to achieve. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. Learning objectives is what the instructional plan will be based on.
• Instructional plan is about the activities that will take place in the workshop.
• Seven factors for choosing a format for learning are cost, equipment, program content, staff, facilities, program outcomes and where the learning take place.
• Budgeting is very important because it is about the money to be spent on the workshop, from the planning process to evaluation.
• Marketing is what sells the program. It include awareness, interest, desire and action. The marketing strategies tell the story about the program, the target audience and the cost.
• Evaluation is the feedback given from the program, there is a sayings that " If you don't measure the result, you can't tell if you succeeded", therefore, it is very necessary. It start from the needs assessment to evaluation. It connect needs assessment to the objectives.Information from the needs assessment helps me as program planner to think about different evaluation strategies. Objectives are the foundation for evaluation. Also, there are various techniques for collecting data, they are focus group, interview, observation etc

I will transfer this learning to other aspects like my work, by recognizing the stakeholders and their importance, giving each stakeholder chance to contribute, providing feedback according to their request and finally, balancing various power in the process.
Thank you, to my fellow coursemates for those inspiring discussions online and  for reading.