FRIT 7430- Instructional Design
Learner Analysis Assignment
Introduction
The learning environment in which I teach is a public high school for grades 9-12. The students in my
class are enrolled in the early childhood education pathway. Students are required to fill out an application to
be considered for the pathway and must also have three teacher recommendations. They may take three
different classes in the pathway that must be taken in the following order: Introduction to Early Childhood
Education, Human Growth and Development, and Health, Safety, Nutrition for the Young Child. The
majority of the students enrolled in these classes are female. I chose a standard from the Introduction to Early
Childhood Education class. The standard is: IECE – 3: Students will identify major contributors to the field
of early childhood care and education and analyze their implications for educational and childcare practices.
a. Describe how major theories of human development provide a basis for planning an environment and
activities that are developmentally appropriate b. Identify and investigate a variety of early childhood care
and education settings. c. Research and explain human development theories: cognitive, psychosocial,
psychoanalytic, and behaviorist. d. Investigate the impact of heredity and environment on the developing
child. e. Understand major child development theorist and theory contributions to the field of early childhood
education.
I chose this standard in order for high school students to be able to understand the value of children
and their contribution to the future. There are critical events from the past that have shaped current issues.
This standard will allow students to be able to answer why and how we teach children today. This standard
will also give students an opportunity to see how heredity and the environment play a role in children as they
develop.
Demographics
I obtained demographic data for my students from Infinite Campus, a county wide online program
that stores student information such as grades, transcripts, addresses, phone numbers, race, siblings,
parents, etc. The following table summarizes the demographic information I obtained to aid me in the
learning analysis of four males students and 16 female students between the ages of 14- 18.
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Caucasian
African
American
Hispanic
Other
IEP
Gifted
Females
10
2
0
2
0
4
Males
3
1
0
0
0
1
Listed Religious/
ECE
Believes
as
in God
Career
Choice
8
14
1
4
Entry Skills & Prior Knowledge
Students come into Introduction to Early Childhood Education with little or no experience in this
field. This is the first and only class of its kind at our high school. This is an elective class, but students
have to declare a career choice at the end of their eighth grade year. Counselors then put them on a
pathway (such as the Early Childhood Education Pathway) to complete one to two classes in that
pathway each year. Students earn a seal on their diploma if they complete the pathway chosen. Many
students are able to earn multiple pathway completion seals.
Often times, with an introduction class I have found that it is almost always safe to assume the
students are unfamiliar with the content we are covering as we move from one standard to another.
However, I like giving a pre-test in order for the students to see how much they learn.
I gave the students the pre-test found in the appendix section of this paper. The pre-test was
matching with 28 questions. The table below shows the number of students that earned A’s, B’s, C’s,
and F’s. The most common feedback given from students was, “I guessed on the pre-test.”
A
B
C
F
2
1
4
11
Academic Motivation
The students become motivated when they receive graded pre-tests that have a poor score at
the top of the page. Because my students are normally at the top of their class, they are motivated by
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grades and want to do well. At large percentage of my students want to be teachers and most of the
time, I have found that teachers and future teachers want to have high grades (if not perfect grades).
This particular class used for the analysis is also competitive in nature and will hang their work on the
bulletin board for others to see from time to time. I will also allow them to do so for this unit.
Motivational Strategies
To keep students motivated I plan to use John Keller’s ARCS model. I will keep their attention
by positively surprising them spontaneously during lessons. I will grab their attention by asking them
questions throughout the lesson instead of waiting for them to ask questions at the end of the lesson.
Instruction will be differentiated through lecture, technology, group work, and individual work.
In order to keep the lesson relevant we will draw connections to real life situations and
examples. I will also make sure the information covered is relevant and on topic by posting standards
on the board along with essential questions. The students will answer the essential question at the
beginning and end of the lesson in order to compare their before and after answers. I will keep in mind
that the students are often motivated by making good grades. Students will make individual learning
goals for themselves that will include grades and their learning experience.
To maintain the confidence of the students I will encourage them throughout the lesson, use a
positive voice, allow time for questions and time for them to process information. Goals will be looked
at throughout the lesson to ensure the students are meeting them to enable levels of confidence to be
boosted or to use as a motivator to strive harder to get where they want/need to be.
Students should find satisfaction by the end of the lesson as they meet their goals, learn and
understand new information, and be able to apply the information in the context of life and in
childcare settings. Due to the nature of the students I teach, an overwhelming majority will find great
satisfaction in understanding information that will also give them the ability to earn high scores on
assignments and assessments. Students will be rewarded intrinsically. Extrinsically, students will be
awarded with compliments, smiles, and the opportunity to post papers on the bulletin board.
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Learner Characteristics
The learners in this group of students are among the top of their class. Gender, race, culture, and
ethnicity vary in this group of learners. However, a vast majority of these students also have many
similarities. The learners are influenced by their religious backgrounds due to the nature of the class.
The students already have strong religious views and opinions and stand strong. Therefore, with the
standard I have chosen for this assignment the students may not agree with some of the theories
proposed. During a class discussion after the pre-test students concluded each one of them had a
religious background and believes in God in some sort of way. These religious views gave them
interesting outlooks on the theories because they were unfamiliar with how theories originated and
what their full meanings are.
Students also vary in Gardner’s multiple intelligences. The students are strong in the verballinguistic area. They are very good with words and can carry on successful, deep, meaningful
classroom discussions. I feel the students are weaker in the logistical-mathematical area because they
were unable to reason and think outside of what they already know. Applying the principles listed on
the pre-test was not easily accepted because they had not been previously exposed to these thoughts
and ideas. As far as the number part of this area, the students were not required to use numbers. The
students created pictures and situations in their minds to use as examples during the pre-test and
classroom discussion and therefore have a strong visual-spatial intelligence. This class is extremely
strong in interpersonal intelligence. The strong religious views the students were easily able to share
and voice opinions shows their strength in intrapersonal intelligence.
All of these observations, declarations from students, and information gathered during the pretest and classroom discussion will better help me design a lesson to meet the needs of the students.
The instruction and assessments for the curriculum I am required to teach will vary as I learn more
about the students. To meet all of the learner’s backgrounds some of the following practices from Mark
Smith’s article may be implemented: support diverse learners and requiring hard work from teachers,
building educator’s awareness of multiple intelligences, using multiple intelligences as a tool to
promote high quality work, and encourage staff development and collaboration.
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Accommodations
There are two students with IEP’s in this class. Both students have been diagnosed with ADHD.
I also have five gifted students. In an article by Block and Smith, suggestions for helping students with
ADHD get organized at school especially while doing homework. Using folders and color coding folders
or papers will help students stay organized and focused.
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education gave suggestions for arranging the
classroom. Having ADHD students sit near the teacher in low traffic areas with their backs to other
distractions will help them focus. Making frequent eye contact during verbal instruction will enable
them to focus and understand what is being said. Simple things such as assigning a daily notebook for
the student to keep up with assignments will help them with organization and recalling what they did
or need to do.
An article written by the staff of the Mayo Clinic helps identify students with ADHD and cope
with it. This article is geared more towards adults. Keeping the young adults that are in this class in
mind, the article helped shed light on how to better help the students with ADHD. Poor work or school
performance can often be the result of ADHD, but can be helped through the use of medicine and
educating those that work with ADHD individuals.
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References
Block, J and Smith, B. (2010). Helping children with ADHD succeed at school
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_teaching_strategies.htm
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education (1998). Teaching children with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. http://www.childrensdisabilities.info/adhd/teachingadhd.html
Mayo Clinic staff. (201). Adult ADHD. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adult-adhd/DS01161
Smith, Mark K. (2002, 2008) 'Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences', the encyclopedia of
informal education http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm.
(Retrieved 2010). Arcs motivation theory. http://ide.ed.psu.edu/idde/ARCS.htm
Appendices
Pre-Test:
Matching: Theorists
a. John Locke
b. Jean Rousseau
c. Johann Pestalozzi
d. Friedrich Froebel
e. Sigmund Freud
f. Arnold Gesell
g. Jean Piaget
h. Lev Vygotsky
i. Erik Erikson
j. B. F. Skinner
k. Maria Montessori
l. Loris Malaguzzi
m. Lawrence
Kohlberg
n. Alfred Binet
o. Benjamin Bloom
1. Believed in self-exploration without interference from teachers. Children develop in 4 stages.
2. Studied Freudian theory from Anna. Social/Emotional theorist divided development into 8
stages.
3. Founder of educational philosophy.
4. Saw the importance of home education in the early years.
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5. Founder of kindergarten.
6. Believed that children are born naturally good.
7. Established the normative theory.
8. Promoted scaffolding in the early childhood classroom.
9. Social developmentalist coined the term, operant conditioning.
10. Believed children are born as blank slates.
11. Taught that children can be corrupted by society and parents.
12. Promoted the value of play and believed that it was very important for teachers to be trained.
13. Established the use of child-sized furniture.
14. Wrote How Gertrude Teaches Her Children.
15. Believed children will develop according to how nature made them. Children are who they are
when they are born.
16. Promoted the idea that children should be cultured, and experience other races and diversity.
17. Studied behavior modification using positive and negative reinforcement.
18. Designed the observation dome that later became an observation window
19. Developed the Reggio Emilia schools.
20. Very controversial theorist. Focused on the importance of first 5 years. Considered psychosocial
developmentalist. Late 1800s. Promoted the idea of the id, ego, and superego.
21. Inventor of the first usable intelligence test, the basis of today's IQ test.
22. He focused much of his research on the study of educational objectives.
23. Children develop at their own pace and gain knowledge by actively using their senses.
24. Psychological problems occur in adults when needs are not adequately met a various stages of
childhood.
25. Personality develops according to how a person responds to psychological crises at certain stages
of life.
26. Children’s intellectual development proceeds through stages, as they adapt to the physical
environment.
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27. Children’s moral development begins with a desire to avoid punishment and proceeds to the
development of ethical principles.
28. Children learn through reinforcement; behavior continues or ceases according to whether it is
rewarded or punished.
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