Issue #5: How Well Do You Know Your Learners? 🔍

This content series is all things instructional design and learning and development. Subscribe to this series to get notified for content on a monthly basis!

In our last issue 😼 Jesse Garza remarked on how the learning principles as applied in the website I designed parallels some things he's learning in a web development bootcamp. Thanks for the thoughtful comments!

In marketing and business, target audience is a topic commonly talked about. But did you know this applies to instructional design too?

Consider this scenario from a time when I was public school teaching (many moons ago):

I had just wrapped up my last period environmental science class and was dipping out to the bathroom after the school pick up rush cleared out (an ill advised timing as all teachers will know as the hallways turn into literal en masse stampedes). I noticed my colleague, an engineering teacher (abbreviating ET here), across the hall looking pale, a bit shocked, and crestfallen.

Me: “What happened?”

ET:  “That lesson didn’t go as planned…” 

Me: “How so?”

ET: “I thought they already knew algebraic expressions with more than one variable. I was trying to introduce something about limits (from calculus) and they were totally lost. I think I need to go back and do a remedial lesson now on working with multi-variables.”

Me: “Well, you will sort it out. I believe it. My students surprise me all the time with what they do vs. don't know haha.”

Testing is supposed to convey if a student has the academic rigor to be in a certain class, but the reality is lived experiences (poor prep by a former teacher, number of times of exposure, belief in the importance of a topic) can all have contributed to why those students were ill-prepared for that topic in a curriculum deemed ready for. 

Moral of the story: Assumptions can only get us so far…it’s important we get to know our learners. And the worst is when we overlook their needs, motivations, and considerations altogether.

So this teacher did the right thing by pausing to witness how this lesson met a sticky end and that some remedial prep work was required first.

However, in the online world of education and training and delivery, we don’t always get this day in - day out level of transparency. We may be working with learners we never meet with synchronously (an online class) or potentially learners that utilize a product at scale and would be impossible to get to meet / know every single one of them.

Knowing our learners can be implemented, however, with some marketing infused considerations and practices. 

Here are some to consider:

Entrance Survey Administer a brief interest survey to gauge students' proficiencies with specific technologies, content topics, and any anticipated accessibility needs. This can provide immediate insight into where students may need more support or enrichment.

Best for: Online courses, particularly in higher education.

Market Research Explore what similar products or courses are already available. What sets them apart, for better or worse? Look for raw feedback corners of the internet like Reddit or Quora to get a sense of what works and what doesn't. This research can inform how you position your product or course in a crowded marketplace.

Best for: Edtech product development, asynchronous online courses (e.g., Udemy, Teachable, Etsy).

Focus Groups If budget and time permit, gather a group of potential learners and ask them directly about their needs, pain points, and what features or content they would like to see. First person feedback is always the best for insights!

Best for: Organizations with access to their target audience but applicable for all who can swing it, as direct feedback is invaluable.

Learner Personas

Using a combination of research and direct Q & A, put together some metrics that can simulate a learner persona for future iterations of this course / product. This helps everyone down the line – from graphic designers to executive leadership to carry out company decisions with the learner know how in mind. Ideally you do 2-3 learner persona mockups in this way (fictionalized so as not to reveal anyone’s personal data, but informed by market research you did). Try not to make presumptions here and use actual data. Where the budget is paper thin, start with postulations, test them out, then adapt as you go.

Best for: Large and small companies alike, as this approach can scale depending on budget and resources.

Here’s a learner persona template I designed recently for an internal online learning toolkit:

In all possibilities above, aim to gather data and then test it in the product / course launch.

Why is all this important? Besides meeting people where they are, knowing our learners also helps mediate product development and product feedback. Perhaps you thought a certain feature of the vocabulary set would be innate to an online student, but it’s not. It requires some further scaffolding like a quick start guide or pop up vocabulary index. In short, knowing our learners actually helps mediate product development and thus sales. It’s a vital component of the learner’s experience to feel they are held, supported, and seen. This can take on many formats in the end but ultimately starts with that essential question: how well do you know your learners?

I want to hear from you! Check out the polling question below and reply in comments. I shout out some responses in the next issue (easy chance to get a little publicity 😉). This issue’s one is below!

Julie Ann is a junior instructional designer with a strong background in education and STEM. She’s available for project based, part time and flexible work while in school. This could include anything from an advisory session to updating training decks or crafting learning materials. If you have a need in mind, reach out via DM!

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