Mini-analysis for home remodeling course

Needs Assessment for a Course Entitled “Interior Design for the Frugal Home Remodeler”

Remodeling a home or a room in a home can be a daunting task. It occurred to me that someone who is planning or would like to plan a remodel would be interested in taking an online course to find out more about the process. My target audience is anyone with access to the Internet who is interested in remodeling their home. A prerequisite for the course is to complete a tech literacy course or to pass a tech literacy assessment. No knowledge of interior design is needed. This non-credit course would be offered through the community schools.

In my survey, I asked questions to determine if and when the person is planning a remodeling project. I asked questions about the persons goals, style and budget. I also asked whether the person would be interested in taking a five week course to become familiar with remodeling terminology, tools, space planning, aesthetics, green design, scheduling and budgeting. I also asked what the student would like to learn from the course.

I surveyed three people by phone on this subject. I am also attaching the survey to this post in the hopes that others in the class are also interested in this subject. If I get responses, I would enjoy discussing this subject.

I found out that everyone was very interested in controlling costs, hence the use of the term “frugal” in the course title. Answers to the question on green remodeling varied. Some were more interested in this than others. They wanted to know how this interacted with the cost issue. One of those surveyed had a large budget but also needed to do a great number of things. He was more interested in the structural changes needed. One person wanted to remodel her kitchen in the future, but didn't have the budget. She was interested in learning more for future reference. At this point, she was more interested in the aesthetic changes. One person wanted to remodel a small bath but on a small budget. He had been watch HGTV and wanted to copy what he saw there. He didn't know if a course would be useful for him.

What I learned is that this course should be set up to foster independent learning. Goals for taking the course varied. The first session should be set up to do a course overview to point learners to the various ideas and resources available to them. Everyone in the course should become familiar with the planning process.