LEARNER ANALYSIS / DATA SOURCE / CHARACTERISTIC / IMPLICATION
Entry Behaviors / Other: first-hand experience / Based on my first-hand knowledge of curriuculum and grade-level achievement, students can be expected to have basic computer skills. / While the instructions will need to be simple, there are entry-level skills that can be assumed, such as mouse skills, single clicking verses double clicking, and some standard computer vocabulary words.
Prior knowledge of topic area / Survey: Learner / Based on student responses, almost all students had some exposure to iMovie. There was a wide range in what they were able to recall, and it appeared to be tied to vocabulary. / The screens should not be brand new to the students, however, the vocabulary will need to be emphasized and used frequently.
Attitudes toward content and potential delivery system / Survey: Learner / Six students worked with still pictures, and 5 worked with video clips. Students did not indicate a preference for either medium. See additional comments for delivery system under General Learning Preferences. / Because many teachers are using iMovie to work with both still pictures and video footage, this indicates that both forms of media needs to be used in the instruction.
Academic motivation / Document Research (citation below) / Having choices, feelings of competence / I will need to provide opportunities for the students to make choices that will personalize their movie, and an opportunity at the end to share the finished product.
Education ability and levels / Survey: Learner / Five students would be classified as having a high level of experience with iMovie, three would have a medium level, and three would be classified as having a low level. / There is a broad range of experience. By building in patterns into the instruction, students with a low to medium level of experience will benefit from the reinforcement. Students with a high level of experience should be able to quickly identify the areas that they can skip or skim through.
General learning preferences / Survey: Learner / Seven students would prefer teacher-led instruction; four would prefer CD or Internet. / An independent project of this nature will be a new experience for most of the students, so I will need to make it a positive experience for them. This will mean that I will need to build in frequent rewards and/or motivators.
Attitudes towards person(s) or organization providing the training or education / Other: first-hand experience / Based on my first-hand experience with these students, they are excited to use the computers and to learn about technology. / It should be easy to motivate these students to work with this project. The difficult part will come if the project takes too long to complete. Frequent breaks are recommended, but it is also recommended to not let the project continue on too long.
Group characteristics / Survey: Learner / The majority of the students had just completed third grade; half were boys and half were girls. / The instructions will need to be written at a very simple reading level. The sentences will need to be short with only one or two directions given at a time.
Merlin, R. (2003). Student's Motivation to Learn: Considerations for Elementary Teachers. (Master's Thesis, College of William & Mary, 2003). Retrieved on July 28, 2009 from http://www.wm.edu/education/599/pdffiles/R_Merlin.pdf