BRICK 1: Describe the intended learneR


BRICK 1

 

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                       Introduction   -   BRICK 1    -   BRICK 2   -   BRICK 3  -   BRICK 4  -   BRICK 5  -   BRICK 6    -  MULTIMEDIA 

 

It's insufficient to describe your learners as “12-year-old middle school students who do not like school and whose primary interest is texting to their friends .”

A much better description of your intended learner, assuming it is a 12-year-old, would be to describe something about the socioeconomic background of that student, the academic ability of that student, the resources available to that student, and as much information as you can—generally speaking—about that student. You might consider some of that information superfluous, but there is no such thing as too much description when you're describing your intended learners. 

For example, instead of saying that the 12-year-old does not like school, give specific reasons why. Maybe the 12-year-old is in a military family and changed schools five times in the last six years. Maybe the student actually really likes the idea of learning but dreads the idea of having to make a whole new set of friends every time she enters a new school. Perhaps the 12-year-old is extremely well-traveled because her family is a military family, and she has been to Puerto Rico and the Philippines. But these trips to exotic places do not equate to a broader understanding of other cultures because she rarely gets to leave a military base. Maybe although she is only 12 years old, she and her friends are expected to take care of siblings and the younger children of other military families whose parents cannot afford daycare.  Therefore, your intended student rarely has free time on weekends. 

These types of details start present a much better picture of your intended learner. 

 

Describe the intended learner:

 

The Progreso Independent School District is a Title I school located in south Texas. The 5th grade class consists of 175 students. Out of those 175, 80 are labeled Limited English Proficient (LEP) and about 35% commute on a daily basis from Mexico. While the district administrators are great advocates on ways of enhancing each child's learning, it is extremely hard to accomplish. Like in many other districts, educators are always looking for ways to engage, enhance and motivate the learning process. Our intended learners are all 5th grade students in the Progreso Independent School District.