In the United States, companies spend BILLIONS annually on consumer research. It is no secret to the developers of consumer products that knowing the customer is key to consumer happiness. This reinforces the value of the learner analysis in an instructional design product.
My goal for the week was to complete a learner analysis. I have ample experience teaching the population who will engage with the curriculum, so I definitely entered this task feeling as if I was just jumping through hoops to say that I followed a process. However, with analysis complete, I will definitely admit to a few “aha moments”.
The biggest moment of awareness came when I realized that the students I work with have a schedule dictated by a single teacher. The students I am writing the curriculum for, in contrast, have a full high school schedule with multiple classes and are required to leave their school for their work experience. This means that the amount of time I am able to fill with curriculum will be cut to minutes per week instead of hours per week!
My analysis also helped me to reconcile concerns over meeting the needs of two diverse audience groups. I was struggling with how to create an e-learning course that met the needs of one group who dislikes online coursework with another group who strongly values technology and education. What I uncovered is that limited access to the internet in one group paired with a strong desire for hands-on learning in another paved a clear path to short, online lessons to be coupled with more interactive, offline activities. In a very lucky twist, this push for shorter online bursts works well with the time constraints that I identified.
There is a well-known saying about the hazards of making assumptions. I am grateful that I took the time to complete this step. I am also hopeful that this lesson on the danger of assumptions will help me approach the customer design specification research with curiosity instead of conviction.
Lesson learned: Donkeys belong on farms, not in instructional design.
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