6329 Garcia_Lorrie – Learner_Analysis
Learner Analysis
Lorrie Garcia
The University of Texas at Brownsville
6329 Garcia_Lorrie – Learner_Analysis
The Smith and Ragan procedure for designing distinguished instruction is actually a
specifically ordered process: analyze the learning context, analyze the learner, analyze the
learning task, develop assessment items, determine organizational delivery, and management
strategies, write and produce instruction, conduct formative evaluation, and revise instruction.
Given the numerous steps to quality instructional design, it is clear that one of the steps would
emerge as quite significant; in my opinion, that step is analyzing learner attributes.
Understanding the learning traits of your target students is essential. Examining these
learner characteristics will allow the instructor to meet their needs more fully by constructing a
curriculum which will build capacity among the learning participants based on the four
categories of learner characteristics - Cognitive, Physiological, and Social. Therefore, examining
what your learner figuratively brings with them to the training is vital.
Assessing Learner Characteristics
Determining attributes of your intended audience can be as straightforward as having
them provide information about their background, their personal investment in enriching their
teaching with this tool, and their level of comfort with technology via survey emailed out in
advance. This can allow the participants to convey their ideologies about the subject matter and
as noted in the text, “The most important factor for a designer to consider about the audience is
specific prior learning,” (Ragan & Smith, 1999). Examining job descriptions and requirements of
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employees partaking in staff development can also divulge information about their prior
background knowledge. For example, in my district all teachers are expected to pass exams for
minimum technology standards, however the paraprofessionals are not held up to the same
expectation. The design implication of this allows me to make certain assumptions about basic
computer knowledge when developing my professional development for teachers, so I feel
confident they will be able to engage in a webinar and online modules. If I were designing this
training for the paraprofessionals, I would not feel confident in designing a webinar because they
may not have the basic technical knowledge required for navigating to the webinar and fully
participating.
Overall, there are many ways to assess the distinctiveness of each participant in your
instruction, but appreciating what they bring to the table and utilizing this knowledge to identify
areas of opportunity is the hallmark of great instructional design. The design implications for
understanding the characteristics of your learners will increase the clarity of direction in
designing your instruction.
Cognitive Characteristics
The general characteristics which the ideal member of my training would possess include
kinesthetic cognitive processing so they will have the innate ability to learn by going through the
software program which I am developing this staff development around. Given the minimum
6329 Garcia_Lorrie – Learner_Analysis
level of education required to be a teachers is a Bachelors degree I feel confident in the overall
cognitive strength of my participants. The design implications for creating my staff development
for kinesthetic learners are that the pieces of the software must be divided into digestible chucks
to allow my learners to focus on the process, rather than the product.
Physiological Characteristics
I am adept at identifying solutions for individuals with physical access challenges;
therefore I believe there are no physiological requirements or preferences for faculty enrolled in
my trainings and believe there are no design implications for this.
Affective Characteristics
Affective characteristics are the number one most important secret to any successful
training. I have participated in professional developments designed to help me be a better coach
where the theme was getting the teachers to “Buy In.” I take issue with this line of thought,
because I am not selling snake oil in Passamaquoddy…. I believe the text-to-speech software I
am supporting is best practices for many of our students, and I believe it supports universal
design for learning and even differentiated instruction for the rest of our students. I don’t need
them to “Buy In.” But, I do need them to have an emotional attachment to kids. That is essential.
The ideal neophyte in my hands will bring with them passion, empathy, and a desire to make a
6329 Garcia_Lorrie – Learner_Analysis
difference in these kids lives because they care about them. With those affective characteristics,
they will intrinsically have the motivation to implement this in their classrooms and experience a
higher level of success. With those affective characteristics, they will also intrinsically own a
positive attitude about the subject matter and be more willing to understand that the front-load of
work will result in positive student outcomes when coupled with their good teaching strategies.
The design implication of a class littered with positive attitudes is the opportunity to incorporate
concrete examples of integrating the use of the software into lesson plans or modified
assignments, rather than building in opportunities to defend why the accommodating for “those”
kids is our ethical and legal responsibility.
Social Characteristics
Ideally, a teacher will consistently focus on the best practices for eliciting the most
positive outcomes for students. In reality, many teachers are doing good to just survive the day.
Although my current job title is not Teacher, I will always be a teacher and I will continue to
understand the stressors placed upon us. This rolls back into the affective characteristics noted
earlier, but when we are emotionally connected to our students, we tend to bond with others who
share that same investment in the craft of teaching. For the purposes of my training endeavors, a
group of teachers willing to work collectively, possibly across content areas, would exude the
best student outcomes. The design implications of tapping into the social characteristics, and
6329 Garcia_Lorrie – Learner_Analysis
indeed school climate, of individual campuses involve identifying the ways in which use of the
software will actually save time for the teachers. For example, one of the most widely-used
accommodations in our district is oral administration of an exam and oral response but with the
use of the SOLO Suite teachers will not have to read tests aloud to students or pull them from the
classroom; a computer and headphones will meet that requirement. If I were presenting this
material to campus administrators then the design implication would shift to a focus on how this
software can save them money, because they would be able to use teachers and paraprofessionals
in other roles on campus, rather than hiring them to read to students.
Summary
Clearly, knowing your learners is essential in creating well-designed instruction.
Knowing the characteristics of my audience will guide me in creating something that is
meaningful to the faculty who participate so they will be able to find more success in transferring
that knowledge into their own classrooms. The learner analysis should impact everything from
the material covered to the presentation and beyond.
6329 Garcia_Lorrie – Learner_Analysis
Works Cited
Ragan, T. & Smith, P.(1999). Instructional design. (2nd ed.). Danvers, MA: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.