Who Are Your Learners? Dirksen Chapter 2

Dirksen talks about the importance of understanding your learners, not just demographically, but also what they know, what motivates them, and how they learn. She breaks down why each component is important and the implications for design:

• Understand the learner profile: This is the demographic information about your learners. The developmental level, the context, age, gender, race etc. There are different learning challenges in different contexts for example, you would not use the same strategies for teaching wealthy students in a suburban area as you would for poorer students in an urban area. Understanding what challenges your learners may face like reading levels and access to different resources is important.
• Find sources of motivation: I enjoyed Dirksen’s description of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation. What I found to be the most useful was thinking of strategies to make extrinsic motivation more intrinsic by sourcing their situation for intrinsic motivation. I was thinking of ways that teachers have done this for me in the past and a few examples I thought of were letting us pick our own topic for a project, and having a discussion about what we would like to learn at the beginning of the semester.
• Don’t make them feel stupid: I think this one especially hits home for me. I’ve taken a lot of classes where the teacher had assumed everyone knew how to program or had taken a course on the subject before. Right off the bat I was struggling to keep up. It really hindered my motivation and worked in a way to confirm my belief that I am not capable enough. I think this one really aligns with the research Claude Steele has done on stereotype threat and how ineffective design can perpetuate these beliefs.
• Tailor design for Novice vs Expert: Knowing who your users are also includes knowing the level of expertise your learners possess. Designs for beginners should include more scaffolds and guidance than for learners who are more expert. Slowly, the scaffolds and support lessen as learner get more experience and practice.

Scaffolding the learning experience for beginners

• Organize Information: Another recommendation that Dirksen suggests is providing high level organizers and visuals for learners. This provides learners with some framework and context to work off of.
• Try Things Out: Dirksen suggests trying activities and ideas out with your learners early and often. Sometimes you cannot predict when a learner will get confused or misunderstand information.
• Respect: Finally, understanding your learners also mean respecting that people may learn and may be motivated by fundamentally different things than you. Coming from a place of respect and empathy can create more effective learning experiences.

Respect the learners, for they are not you.