These responses suggest that over time these teachers developed general ideas about what they ‘knew’ about particular cohorts of
students. This is not to say they necessarily stereotyped their students, but that observing the characteristics of cohorts over time enabled
teachers to anticipate the types of students they would be teaching and adjust their learning designs accordingly.
Designing to the needs of students went beyond the particular learning outcomes of a unit, with many considering what students
required more generally to be prepared in a discipline or for a profession. This sentiment is clearly expressed in the following comment: