Characteristics of the Learners. Every educational situation has a set of students involved, and these students differ from course to course and even from student to student within a given course. Different students bring different life or professional goals, even to the same course. They are in different working or family situations. A teacher would need to plan differently for a class that consists primarily of single nineteen-year-olds living on campus than for a class with a high per centage of students who are parents, perhaps married, twenty-five to forty years old, and working full or part time.
In addition to demographic differences, students also bring different feelings, relevant experiences, and prior knowledge to different courses. Students often bring a high level of fear or anxiety to courses on some subjects, such as math or statistics. In other courses, they may come with anticipation or excitement. For example, in my region of the country, a course titled “Geography of Sports” will always create enthusiastic interest.
This is also the place in the design process to consider the topic of students’ varied learning styles. Some learners prefer visual ways of learning, others verbal or kinesthetic or a combination. Students also vary in the level of education, maturity, or sophistication they bring with them. Some are ready to engage in “deep learning” while others are only accustomed to superficial learning.