This exercise is meant to help you consider learner analysis from a practical perspective.
Having an actionable real-world context practice would be so helpful to a beginner learner experience designer like me. I think this step is so important to the entire design process and should not be passed over. When we design for the needs of the learner, designers can focus on the effective instructional strategies that increase learning outcomes and foster a positive learning environment.
An experience map is a strategic tool that captures the journey of customers from point A to point B and generalizes critical insights into learner interactions that occur across such experiences.
This experience map reminds me of the Learner Experience Canvas assignment from last week. I can see the connection between using these strategic tools or maps to outline the learning experience from start to finish. It helps to take note of even the smallest sections in order to get the most out of the mapping, and keeping the learner at the forefront will help the designer empathize with the learner.
. Personas may be fictional characters, but they are built based on real learner analysis data and thus embrace the needs and goals of real learners.
For learner experience designers, it's important to remember that each learner might have different learning preferences. Some may prefer visual learning through images, infographics, and videos, while others might prefer auditory or kinesthetic learning environments. When designers can understand these fictional persona preferences, they can create learning experiences that cater to the diverse learning styles of real people.
The Learner Analysis Worksheet below is one way to collect and record key factors and general information about the learners, using information available from student enrollment data.
I really appreciate the thoroughness and detail in this Learner Analysis Worksheet. I have not completed one of these in this great detail (yet). However, I think that it will be an extremely beneficial process for the designer and the learner.
“consideration of the learners’ prior knowledge, abilities, points of view, and perceived needs are an important part of a learner analysis process” (Brown & Green, 2015, p.73).
As a classroom teacher, this sentence resonates with me. We are constantly evaluating what our students already know and connecting that information to any new content that needs to be learned. By understanding our students' unique abilities and points of view, teachers can adjust their instructional methods to meet the diverse needs of their students, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to be successful.