A Learner Analysis for the Instructional Design Process

 

A Learner Analysis for the Instructional Design Process

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Determining the manner in learners’ approaches to classroom instruction with their required skills, knowledge, and attitude is essential for the development of perfect instructional design (Brown, and Green, 2016). It usually clarifies different forms of assumptions that are derived by the instructional designer and course creator before starting with the design process. A classroom will have multi-ability learners, and they should never be underestimated. One should avoid thinking about learners that are simply empty papers on which we write knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Instead, they should think that different learners learn differently based on their experiences and abilities. Before the instructional design process, if it is to be effective, learner analysis is essential. During the learner analysis process, it is essential to identify the nature of the learners and who the learner is because it helps in shaping the instructions by revealing some significant variables that hinder learners (Harper, 2022). This write-up elaborates on the three most important goals that are significant during the instructional design process out of nine goals by Brown and Green (2016, pp. 84),

Analyzing Learners to Understand the Intended Audience for the Instruction

The question, “Who is the intended audience for the instruction?” is critically important in getting clear information about the target audience of learners because gathering data about learners is necessary. Knowing our learners in a deeper sense enables teachers to tailor their instruction effectively to meet their instructional needs, interests, and challenges (IOPN, n.d.). For instance, a child in the classroom may like to learn through watching videos and other children may not enjoy it but like to learn through the field trip. On the other hand, the instructional designers would be able to understand the learner’s unique character, barriers that are hindering them, and their cultural background and find out accurate information on the factors that are adversely affecting their learning to best fit in their design. Most essentially, identifying learners’ prior knowledge, their social, psychological, and affective needs, and their demographics, would help in understanding them closely so that instructions can be customized based on the focus areas identified (Harper, 2022) and enable teachers to remain focused on their learning needs (Fulgencio and Asino, 2021).

Challenges of Learner Analysis

Having said all the processes, even after having the preliminary evaluation of learners to understand the intended audience, acquiring the rightful and complete information from learners can be challenging. Sometimes, the information gained from them cannot be reliable or trustworthy (Brown, and Green, 2016) which hinders the teacher. Moreover, defining learners’ psychological, cultural, and social information is difficult for teachers because there isn’t any appropriate method defined to extract accurate information for instructional designers. However, it is understood that the major aspect of learner analysis is to better classroom instruction through the understanding of every learner’s characteristics so that they are helped in learning.

Understanding the Differences among Learners

The success or failure of learners depends on the type of environment they experience in the classroom because the environment is not simply the classroom setting, but is something more than that (Harr, n.d.). We find multiple individual differences in the classroom, which can sometimes become a hindrance to learners’ attitudes and performance. In this context, the question, “What are the differences among learners within the group?” is essential for any instructional designer to ask themselves so that they can address them while designing the instructional design. This question will help instructional designers to work in finding not only the student’s differences in their cognitive and affective development but also their differences in unique abilities, potential, interests, needs, learning style, and social maturity. By understanding the different behaviors, characteristics, and learning styles of the learners, the instructional designer can develop appropriate tools and techniques that cover the varied learning styles of the learners for inclusive and effective teaching and learning (ITTA, n.d.).

Challenges in Understanding the Differences

Teachers can have a huge impact on learners if they can understand them well. Challenges always linger around in different ways. The most disturbing challenge that a teacher faces is understanding their learner’s ability and capacity to learn due to their varied understanding and abilities (Tadas, 2019). In a classroom, there will be some learners who learn fast and some who learn slow. In such scenarios, teachers often fail to understand the learning challenges of slow learners. Moreover, the teacher often faces difficulty in uplifting the close relationship with their learners, which often makes teachers have a better understanding of the students. On the other hand, due to some problems at home and school, learners are emotionally broken and often do not open up in the classroom, which makes it teachers hard to understand them. Such variations in learners can often hinder teachers from understanding them, and their instructional design doesn’t become appropriate due to missing information.

Accommodating Culturally and Physically Diverse Learners

In a classroom, there will be learners from diverse cultural backgrounds, often neglected (Larrivee, 2000). Exclusion in a classroom will give rise to a negative impact on learners. The victim of exclusion in the classroom will experience learning difficulty because they face difficulty in managing their behavior, learning collaboratively, paying attention, etc. It even makes them the victim of gender bias, racial/ethnicity discrimination, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic status, which will hinder their positive well-being, emotional strengths, and to get supportive peers (Freud, n.d.). It is therefore important that the teacher should analyze the question, “How has the instructional designer or design team planned for the accommodation of culturally and physically diverse learners?” so that any form of social gap in the classroom will be filled with positive measures (Ruggs and Hebl, 2012). Trying to concentrate on this question would help instructional designers remain focused on the social issues in the classroom so that the instructional design can be made inclusive by including accommodation plans through learners’ engagement strategies and other awareness teachings so that diversity of education is enforced. On the other hand, there will be learners in the classroom who are physically challenged, and the problems faced make them feel insecure due to their disabilities and impairments. Instructional design must be clear about accommodating such learners concerning time allotment for any task, space, and support so that they are encouraged to learn.

Challenges in Accommodating

Despite diversity and inclusiveness, teachers often face challenges while trying to accommodate culturally diverse learners in the classroom. It is because learners may not open up due to some social barriers such as neglect, bullying, poverty, and other family conditions back at home (Oliver, 2019) that can make teachers not understand their real problems. This would make instruction designers have blurred ideas about their background and may not be able to put appropriate intervention strategies in the instructional design, or sometimes their incompetence in social and physical areas may also hinder the process of instructional designing.

To conclude, the above-stated points such as understanding the intended audience for the instruction, understanding the differences among learners, and accommodating culturally and physically diverse learners are the most essential components that instructional designers should consider and prioritize in the first stand before going to other questions provided by Brown and Green. Any instruction design work should not be based on the assumption of a few people because the assumption is not goal-oriented. It leads to an ineffective process that would ultimately result in negative results. Thus, learner analysis plays a vital role in the instructional design process

 

 

References

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Freud, A. (n.d.). School Exclusion. https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/risks-and-protective-factors/school-based-risk-factors/school-exclusion/#:~:text=Children%20and%20young%20people%20who,and%20skills%20and%20support%20networks.

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Harr, N. (n.d.). Learning Environments II. https://sites.google.com/site/elps710/readings---learning/how-people-learn/learning-environments-ii

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Larrivee, B. (2000). Transforming teaching practice: Becoming the critically reflective teacher. Reflective Practice, 1(2), 293-306. http://ed253jcu.pbworks.com/f/Larrivee_B_2000CriticallyReflectiveTeacher.pdf

OHRC. (n.d.). Main barriers to education for students with disabilities (fact sheet). https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/main-barriers-education-students-disabilities-fact-sheet#:~:text=Physical%20Inaccessibility%3A%20Students%20with%20disabilities,transportation%20to%20and%20from%20school.

Oliver, F. (2019). Student Learning Barriers That Go Unnoticed. https://rmhshighlighter.com/8682/features/student-learning-barriers-that-go-unnoticed/

Ruggs, E. & Hebl, M. (2012). Literature overview: Diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness for classroom and outreach education. In B, Bogue., & E, Cady (Eds.). Apply research to practice. http://teach.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ARP_DiversityInclusionCulturalAwareness_Overview.pdf

Tadas, P. (2019). The Challenges Faced by A Teacher. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/parimala/teachers-challenges-4812/