ITEC 7430 - Instructional Design Dr.

Randy Hollandsworth Instructional Design Project Assignment #1 - Learner Analysis Bobbie Keenan June 11, 2009

Assignment #1 - Learner Analysis Standard # 5 The Student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information. Indicators 1. Is a competent and self-motivated reader 2. Derives meaning from information presented creatively in a variety of formats. 3. Develops creative products in a variety of formats 1. Group of Learners: My learner analysis focuses on a differentiated 5/6 combination class in a small private school. While the class is labeled as a 5/6 class, the entire class is working on the 6th grade curriculum. 2. Differences of Learners: The information assembled was obtained through an informal interview with one of their teachers, a brief student survey, the Memletics Learning Styles Inventory Survey (http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/), and my own observations of these students throughout the 2008-2009 school year. Two of the students are a year behind of the others. Student #1 was home schooled until last year. The testing process, we require incoming students to take, revealed that it would be in the best interest of the student to be held back a grade level to boost his learning skills and self confidence. Because of his apparent isolation from being home schooled, he had real issues with being around other students that resulted in daily panic attacks for a while. Thankfully, he is doing much better now, both socially and academically. Student #2 was held back his kindergarten year in another school, which was prior to him being diagnosed with ADD. Learner Characteristics Student Favorite Gender Race Age # Subject 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Male Male Female Female Male Female Female Female Male Male Female Male Male W W W W W W W W W W W W W 13 13 11 12 11 12 11 11 12 12 11 12 11 Least Technology Group Favorite Know How Work Subject Soc.Studies Lang. Arts Yes Yes Science Lang. Arts Yes Yes Science Lang. Arts Yes No Math Lang. Arts Yes Yes Soc. Studies Lang. Arts Yes Yes Science Lang. Arts Yes No Soc. Studies Lang. Arts Yes Yes Soc. Studies Lang. Arts Yes No Science Lang. Arts Yes Yes Soc. Studies Lang. Arts Yes Yes Soc. Studies Lang. Arts Yes Yes Math Lang. Arts Yes No Soc. Studies Lang. Arts Yes No Do You Like School? Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes

Academic Levels Special Needs Iowa Test Iowa Test STAR STAR Learning, Student Grade Reading Language Reading Performance Emotional, # Level Scores Scores Level Level Psychological, 2008 2008 Physical 1 6th 5.9 Below 65 23 2 6th 3.4 Below 50 39 ADD/Reading 3 5th 6.7 Above 95 98 Selective Mutism 4 6th 3.8 Below 70 64 Reading 5 5th 6.2 Above 87 85 6 6th 5.6 Below 58 47 ADD 7 5th 5.2 On 91 96 8 5th 6.5 Above 91 90 9 6th 5.2 Below 54 43 Autistic 10 6th 3.7 Below 67 66 ADD/Reading 11 5th 7.3 Above 74 97 12 6th 10.6 Above 86 74 13 5th 7.1 Above 97 98

Reading Abilities: This class consists of 5th graders that are all reading at or above their grade level, and 6th graders that are reading below grade level with the exception of one student with a 10.6 reading level. As indicated in the chart, most of the students with below grade reading levels also have special needs issues. Reading/Language Iowa Test scores: Our school does not use the CRCT for assessment purposes. The Iowa test scores in the chart above reflect how the student ranks nationally in their skill level. The Iowa test scores for the target group appear to reinforce the information obtained through STAR testing as well as teacher observation. Special Needs: Three of the 6th grade students have been diagnosed with ADD and are taking medication. One student is autistic and was brought to this school midyear. One 5th grade student is a selective mute. She has no learning disabilities, but selective mutism is anxiety disorder. While none of the students have been identified as gifted, all of the 5th graders are exceptional students that learn quickly and are very self motivated.

Gardners Multiple Intelligences: I have observed and worked with this class at least once a week over the course of the 2008-2009 school year, so I already knew there were many different learning styles in this class. The Memletic Survey weighed each section (Verbal, Logical, Aural, Physical, Visual, Social, and Solitary) on a scale of 0-20. Im not surprised that many of the students scored the highest in the Verbal (12), Aural (9), and Social (9) style sections. This is a very outgoing group of students. They are not lacking in confidence or the ability to express themselves and seem to thrive when working in groups. With the exception of students 9 and 12, this class has had mandatory music lessons (there is a school band) since 4th grade, so its no surprise that many of them seem to gravitate to the aural style of learning. Despite the evidence that the verbal, aural, and social styles appear to be the main way in which the majority of the class prefer to learn, they other styles should be pursued and made part of lessons for the other students whose strengths are found in other styles. Also, the logical, physical, visual, and solitary styles should be incorporated into lessons to encourage the majority of the class to think outside the box when presented with new information and ideas. Memletic Learning Styles Survey Results Student # Verbal Logical Aural Physical Visual Social Solitary 1 l l l 2 l l l 3 l l l l 4 l l l l 5 l l l l l 6 l l l l 7 l l l 8 l l l l 9 l l l l l 10 l l l l 11 l l l l 12 l l l l 13 l l l l Totals 12 4 9 5 5 9 7
l- Areas with scores higher than 10.

3. Accommodations for Special Needs Learners This is also an inclusion classroom. As mentioned before, one of the students has Autism (Aspergers Syndrome). This student came to our school mid-year primarily because we are listed as an SB10 school, and his parents were impressed with how our school was designed to be conducive not only to this students learning abilities but also to their comfort levels. This environment is also extremely beneficial to the three students that have ADD and the student that is a selective mute. Our school was specifically designed with all types of learners in mind. It is school policy that all classrooms have no more than 15 students in a classroom. Because of the class size, teachers have the ability to customize lessons so that all student benefit from instruction. As a result, no one is held back or left behind, regardless of ability. All the classrooms have skylights and windows that look out onto natural settings. Also, the hallways and classrooms are carpeted to minimize noise. Each classroom has a group table, in addition to their individual desks, so teachers can work with different groups. Its also used by those students that work better in a group to have that option to do their work there rather than by themselves at a desk. Teachers are able to keep all students focused, but particularly those with students that fall into the special needs area. Each class is also furnished with overhead projectors, a CD player, LCD projectors, and four internet ready computers that are utilized to diversify and facilitate learning. 4. Culture and Ethnicity of Learners: This entire class is made up of Caucasian students. That isnt unusual considering the school is located in North Georgia. However, the demographics of the area are rapidly changing, and that can be seen in the school as a whole, but not in this particular class. Most of these students also come from affluent families. I specifically chose a particular piece of literature that's characters were almost exclusively African-American. In addition, the setting takes place during the Great Depression. The story is completely outside of their experience in the sense of race, race relations, and economic hardship. Because this is a private school setting, the students are in a bubble and arent usually exposed to a lot of real life issues that they need to experience or at least know exist. I feel that it is very important to continually remind and show these students that there are real people out there that have a different standards of living, belief systems, and cultures than they do.

5. Motivational Strategies Standard # 5 The Student who is an independent learner is information literate and appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information.

Indicators 1. Is a competent and self-motivated reader 2. Derives meaning from information presented creatively in a variety of formats. 3. Develops creative products in a variety of formats The Information Literacy Standard for Student Learning that I chose, I decided to pair up with GPS Standard ELA6R1: The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary informational texts. C. Relates a literacy work to historical events of the period. The reason for choosing to use this additional standard was directly related to the motivational aspect of this project. It was unanimous, the student named Language Arts as their least favorite subject. When I asked the students to rank their core classes in the order they liked best to the least, Social Studies was ranked either first or second. Its apparent that they dont understand how closely Social Studies and Language Arts are related and thats something I hope to make them aware of. Hopefully, some of the glamour of Social Studies will rub off on at least the literary aspect of Language Arts if not the mechanical and structural aspect of it. Since, this is a Language Arts project I will have to be creative to get their attention. Attention: To appeal to their love of Social Studies, I would start off with a history lesson that incorporates visuals from the Great Depression. I could use news footage, pictures, or even news articles from sources on the internet that illustrate what life was like then for a lot of people. There are several websites that could be used that have only pictures, and from those pictures they could write about what they think life was like during the Great Depression compared to present day. In addition to visuals, they could listen to music of the time, to give them an audio perspective that could appeal to the aural learners. Relevance: I want to demonstrate to them that good literature isnt usually just imagined, its inspired. In this case, a historical event that shaped an entire generation, and still echoes today. Since whispers of another depression are on the news everyday due to the economic situation, that makes it even more relevant. Of course, the point isnt to scare them, but to inform them. I want them to know that not only can they Google a historical event to learn facts, they can also seek out novels and stories that were inspired by the event that can give them a more personal and possibly more relevant perspective of the event. Confidence: They will gain confidence with this lesson by being able to utilize their computer, artistic, and even musical skills to show they understand how to appreciate literature by means other than traditional methods like book reports. Satisfaction: This class is very social, and the majority prefers to work in a group, but at the end of this lesson, I want them to be aware and satisfied that they can work independently and produce something that is just a creative and well done as something they would have

ordinarily worked on in a group. This is also reflects the characters journey in the book that will be the focus of the lesson, because even though there was help along the way, the character reached his goal because of his own determination and knowledge.

Student Survey
1. Whats your gender? __________________ 2. Whats your age? _________________ 3. Using numbers 1-4, with 1 being your favorite and 4 being your least favorite, rank the classes you like for favorite to least favorite. ________ Language Arts ________ Math ________ Science ________ Social Studies 4. Do you like working with computers? ________ 5. Would you rather work in groups or alone? _________ 6. Do you like school, in general? ___________