Conducting a Learner Analysis

Conducting a Learner Analysis

EDU 120 Principals of Instructional Design

Ashford University

Conducting a Learner Analysis

Learner analysis reviews the unique characteristics to design a course that will address the needs of your learners (GMCTL UofS, 2013). It identifies the critically important general traits of a group as well as identifying the range of skills and talents within that group that are relevant to the instructional situation (Brown and Green, 2016).

At Brown’s Insurance, the employees will be working from home due to the recent pandemic of the COVID-19. They will be using a virtual private network (VPN, which extends a private network across a public internet connection where employees can send and receive data securely. The employees will have one week to learn the instruction and adjust to this program to ensure success while working at home

Age

The age range is adults 21 and older.

Gender

The genders are both male and female.

Educational Background

The educational background includes persons who have a high school degree and higher.

Physical Abilities

The employees are able to access the learning online through the Brown’s University (training website) or in person during a training course scheduled at work.

Prior knowledge and Skills

The employees have no prior knowledge based on company knowledge of using this software. Employees have previous experience of the use of computers in the training environment (Brown’s University) where this training course can be accessed. Our employees have a standard degree of technical skills which are required when completing the training.

Attitudes and Motivational Levels

Employees are intrinsically motivated to complete the training course. The course is geared towards the goal of being able to complete their daily work abilities and servicing agents while working from home. Attitudes towards taking the course are positive because employees can work from home.

Preferred Learning Styles

Employees learning styles vary in several ways. The VARK model is a frequently used method for understanding learning styles and breaks down learning styles into four types: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic (Elrick, 2018). The learning styles used during training were Visual and Auditory. Employees were able to go into a training room and do a hands-on training or through a virtual e-learning video.

Review

After reviewing the learner analysis, employees were able to complete the training both virtually through a training course online and in the training classroom. Surveys were created to be completed at the end of each course (both in the classroom and online) to obtain results on how well the course explained the instructions on how to use the virtual private network. The member check method was used in these evaluations. “If the data and interpretations seem familiar and appropriate to the person with similar experiences, it suggests that the learner analysis was successful (Brown et al., 2016).

Conclusion

Employees are required to understand the information related to how to connect to the virtual private network (VPN) before being released to work from home. At Brown’s Insurance, we thrive on making sure that our employees are aware of the requirements needed to complete their job effectively. The “How to connect to the Virtual Private Network” course needs analysis, and learner analysis show that this course is needed in order to prevent any business interruptions while working from home.

References

Brown, A. H., & Green, T. D. (2016). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice (3rd ed.). Retrieved from https://redshelf.com

Elrick, L. (2018, August 9). 4 Types of Learning Styles: How to Accommodate a Diverse Group of Students. Retrieved from https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/

GMCTL UofS. (2013, July 17). Introductory learner analysis presentation (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/aeBFwXkyJbk

The analysis process (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesignexpert.com/analysisProcess.html