Identifying Learner Needs#

Designing effective learning products begins with a deep understanding of your learners. Every educator’s objective is to prepare the best learning material ahead of any lesson. Whether you are developing a course, demonstrating software, or providing training, your aim is to use the best ideas, communication strategies, and learning outcomes. However, what is considered the “best” can vary according to the context and audience. This chapter compiles the experiences of educators from diverse fields, especially those involved in Data Science and Education study groups, to guide you in creating learning personas and designing educational content tailored to your learners’ needs. Key ideas covered in this chapter:

  • Designing your learning products

    • Start with research

    • Show and Tell

    • Empathy

    • Never assume, deconstruct bias

    • Include everyone, accessibility (eg. neurodiversity)

  • Learning Persona

    • Group Activities to Identify Learner Needs

      • Learner Surveys

      • Feedback Circles

      • Brainstorming sessions

  • Competency Profiles and Professional Standards

    • What is a competency?

    • Key aspects of the competency-based approach

    • Competency frameworks and accreditation

      • T-Shaped competency framework

      • Professionalization and Accreditation of Data Science

      • AdvanceHE: Professional Standards Framework for Educators - A Case Study

Designing your learning products#

Among the possible ways of starting your teaching material design, a great consensus in the educators cohorts is to focus on your user experience, using the so called UX principles. In the following we identify and describe 5 UX principles that can be pitched for your special kind of users: the ‘learners’.

Start with research#

To design effective educational content, begin by conducting thorough research. early your overall preparation. First step could be to form a clear picture of the topics your delivery will cover, making sure to touch on all the relevant problems and questions related to it (Key Topics Identification). Which are the relevant questions you should address? A way to find out is to research such questions and also brainstorm with your team (Relevant Questions). If you do not have one, you could share a document with colleagues or expert of the field for feedback and discussion (Feedback and Discussion). It is also very important to clarify from the beginning how you would measure the success of your product (Success Metics). After this phase, you could start specifying goals and objectives, problems and solutions, timeline, delivery modalities, measures of success, in a specification document. RPD

Show and Tell#

A natural further step is to show your drafted plan to a selected expert audience (ideally your team). This will allow quick feedback to inform timely a revision of your delivery plan as well as objectives and principles. You could reiterate this process, maybe involving a different audience, till you are happy with the overall result and consensus. The final product could be your prototype that you could test on a small set of users. Feedback from the users will be essential to refine your delivery project. You will be finally ready for delivery to you learners audience.

Empathy#

One essential element of designing learning material is to do it with empathy for your users. This literally means being able to understand the learner perspectives, challenges and struggles. When designing you should be aware of learners struggles and challenges. A good way to collect this information and embed empathy in you project, could be to talk to your potential audience (when possible), suveying about backgrounds, challenges and expectations. This will help you design material that addresses the learners’ specific needs and fits well into their learning context. Empathy

Never assume, deconstruct bias#

When creating learning resources, it is important to be aware of biases and assumptions. Biases can unconsciously impact how you come up with new ideas, and therefore affect how you design and build the resources. Deconstructing biases means re-examining the knowledge and beliefs we all have, be open to feedback and developing new ways of thinking to guide the work moving forward. For instance, you can ask yourself:

  • Which parts of my thinking show bias or lack verification?

  • What other perspectives or data am I leaving out of my analysis?

  • If I step into someone else’s shoes, how might they view this design differently?

  • What unconscious stereotypes or generalizations could I be making that need to be confronted?

Questioning preconceived notions and presumptions is a crucial principle that every user experience (UX) designer must adopt. Designers should strive to eliminate their existing biases and assumptions by embracing diverse perspectives, challenging their thought processes, and developing a deep understanding of their target users.

Include everyone, accessibility (eg. neurodiversity)#

Considering accessibility from the outset of the learning resources design process is crucial. Accessible design entails creating a solution that is inclusive and usable for a diverse range of learners, including those with disabilities. By prioritising accessibility early on, educators can ensure that the final learning resources cater to the needs and abilities of a broader audience, fostering an environment of inclusivity and equal opportunities. Several key factors should be considered:

  • Multimodal Content Presentation: Provide content in multiple formats such as text, audio, video, and interactive elements. This accommodates different learning styles and preferences, as well as learners with disabilities (e.g., visual impairments, hearing impairments).

  • Clear and Simple Language: Use plain language that is easy to understand, avoiding complex jargon or technical terms unless they are properly explained. This helps learners with cognitive or language barriers.

  • Adjustable Font Size and Colour Contrast: Allow users to adjust font sizes and ensure sufficient colour contrast between text and background. This improves readability for learners with visual impairments or specific visual needs.

  • Captioning and Transcripts: Provide captions for audio and video content, as well as transcripts for audio materials. This accommodates learners with hearing impairments or those who prefer reading over listening.

  • Keyboard and Assistive Technology Compatibility: Ensure that all interactive elements, such as navigation menus, buttons, and forms, are fully accessible through keyboard input and compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers.

  • Logical and Consistent Structure: Organize content in a logical and consistent manner, using clear headings, subheadings, and navigation cues. This helps learners with cognitive or attention-related disabilities follow the material more easily.

  • Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Content: Represent diverse cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives in the learning materials, avoiding stereotypes or biases. This promotes inclusivity and makes learners from different backgrounds feel valued and represented.

  • Customisable and Flexible Delivery: Offer options for learners to customise the learning experience according to their needs and preferences, such as adjusting the pace, sequence, or format of the content.

  • Accessible Assessment and Feedback: Design assessments and provide feedback in an accessible manner, considering the diverse needs of learners and offering alternative formats or accommodations as necessary.

By incorporating these factors, learning resources can become more inclusive and accessible to a wide range of learners, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or learning preferences.

Learning Persona#

A learning persona is a detailed and data-driven representation of a specific part of your target audience for educational content. It is based on real data and insights about your learners’ attributes such as demographics, behaviours, goals, challenges, and preferences. The identification of learning personas is essential to help educators create more targeted, effective, and engaging learning experiences by understanding and addressing the unique needs of different learner groups.

Group Activities to Identify Learner Needs#

Educators can use various group activities to collaboratively identify and define learning personas. These activities help gather insights about different learner segments, ensuring that the educational content is tailored to meet diverse needs. Examples can be brainstorming sessions, Focus groups, interactive polls and quizzes and feedback circles. Some of these activities like live polls and quizzes can be conducted with a wide audience and anonimously. Onthe other hand, in order to facilitate sharing, the activities that involve learners more personally, would have best results if conducted with smalle groups. This will facilitate sharing and empathy. Before staing any of these activities it is essential to set ground rules aiming to establish guidelines and ensuring respectful and constructive behaviour. In the following we describe a few group activities useful for the idenytification of learning persona in your audience.

Learner Surveys#

This activity has the objective of collecting quantitative data on learner demographics, preferences, and challenges that will be useful to make necessary changes in your teaching material and practice. You could create a mix of question types to gather comprehensive data focussing on about learning habits, preferences, goals, and obstacles. For example you can use multiple-choice, Likert scale, open-ended, and ranking questions to capture different aspects of learners’ experiences. The analysis of the responses should aim to identify patterns, trends, key insights and learners groups.

Feedback Circles#

This activity has the objective to create a safe and supportive environment where your audience can share constructive feedback. Ideal group size between 6 and 12 participants. You could start with an icebreaker to build rapport and create a comfortable atmosphere. Each person shares their thoughts about specific aspects of their learning experience they want to discuss, such as teaching methods, classroom environment, materials used, or any particular challenges they face. The rest of the group will provide feedback and this will be followed by a brief discussion to claify suggestions and possible solutions.This process can be continued until each learner has had the opportunity to share and receive feedback.

Brainstorming Sessions#

A brainstorming session has similar goals to the feebcak circles, but it is less structured. This can involve an entire class or smaller selected representative groups. It is important to emphasize the importance of open-mindedness, no criticism of ideas during brainstorming, and building on others’ ideas. Ideally also in this case you can start the activity with an icebreaker and define a focus area. For example you could clearly state the focus question: “What are the biggest challenges you face in your learning?” then give students a few minutes to write down as many ideas as they can think of individually. Ideas can be then shared freely and you could map them on a whiteboard or large paper. You could close your session by summarizing and defining an action plan.

Competency Profiles and Professional Standards#

What is a competency?#

To effectively identify learners’ needs, educators should have access to and utilize specific competency profiles and professional standards relevant to their field of instruction. A competency is a combination of skills, knowledge, and behaviors/attitudes that an individual must have to perform a specific job or task effectively. It encompasses not only technical abilities and expertise but also personal attributes such as problem-solving, communication, teamwork, and adaptability. Competencies are often used in educational contexts to assess and develop individuals’ abilities to meet specific standards or achieve particular goals. Here is an example of knowledge, skills, and behavior in the context of teaching data science in higher education:

  • Knowledge: Understanding advanced data science concepts and methodologies.

    • Example: A data science educator has in-depth knowledge of machine learning algorithms, statistical analysis, and data visualization techniques, which they use to inform their curriculum and lectures.

  • Skills: The ability to effectively teach and apply data science techniques.

    • Example: The educator skilfully designs and conducts hands-on projects and coding labs, allowing students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world datasets using programming languages like Python and tools like Jupyter Notebooks.

  • Behaviour/Attitude: Demonstrating professional and ethical behaviour in an educational setting.

    • Example: The educator shows a commitment to academic integrity by promoting ethical data usage, encouraging collaboration over competition, and providing constructive feedback to support student development.

Key aspects of the competency-based approach#

A competency-based approach for educators focuses on ensuring that both teaching and learning are centered around clearly defined competencies—specific skills, knowledge, and behaviors that students need to master. This approach emphasizes the outcomes of the learning process rather than the traditional time-based methods. Please hover over the bubbles to read more about the key aspects of competency-based approach:

Focus on Outcomes
Emphasising the desired outcomes or competencies that learners must achieve, rather than the time spent in a course or the specific content covered.
Personalization and Flexibility
Allowing learners to progress at their own pace, based on their individual needs and prior knowledge. In addition, offering flexibility in how learning occurs, which can include online, in-person, or hybrid models, and recognizing prior learning and experiences.
Continuous Improvement
Encouraging ongoing reflection and adaptation of the educational program based on feedback and assessment data to ensure it meets the evolving needs of learners and the industry.
Relevance to Real-World Applications
Ensuring that competencies are aligned with real-world skills and requirements, making the education directly applicable to professional and practical scenarios.
Clear Competency Definitions and Assessments
Establishing well-defined and measurable competencies that specify the skills, knowledge, and behaviours required. Also, using various assessment methods to evaluate whether learners have achieved the defined competencies, often requiring the demonstration of skills through practical applications or projects which can be collected in a portfolio.

Competency Frameworks and Accreditation#

Competency frameworks for educators are structured outlines that define the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes educators need to perform their roles effectively. These frameworks provide clear expectations and benchmarks for professional development, instructional practice, and career progression. In the following we describe the T-shaped competency framework and give details about professionalization and accreditation in Data Science education.

T-Shaped Competency Framework#

A T-shaped competency refers to a model for skills and expertise characterised by two dimensions:

  1. Depth of Knowledge (the vertical bar of the “T”):

    • This represents deep expertise and proficiency in a specific area or discipline. It indicates a strong foundation and advanced skills in a particular field, allowing the individual to be highly competent and specialised in that domain.

  2. Breadth of Knowledge (the horizontal bar of the “T”):

    • This represents a wide range of knowledge across multiple disciplines or areas. It indicates the ability to collaborate across different fields, understand various perspectives, and apply knowledge from other areas to their specialised field.

In a nutshell, T-shaped competencies describe professionals who possess deep expertise in one area while also having broad knowledge across other areas, making them versatile and effective in collaborative and interdisciplinary environments. This model is particularly valued in domains that require innovation, teamwork, and adaptability like data science.

You can access a number of different competency frameworks using this link https://competency.ebi.ac.uk/

Professionalization and Accreditation of Data Science#

Accreditations for educators vary depending on the country and the specific area of education. The genearl aim accreditations is to ensure that educators, whether individual teachers or educational institutions, meet established standards of quality and effectiveness.

In the data science and AI domain, there are several accreditation and professionalization bodies serving various purposes. Due to the rapid growth and evolution of these fields, multiple bodies ensure that certifications and standards keep pace with technological advancements. Additionally, data science and AI find diverse applications across industries like healthcare, finance, and marketing, prompting different accreditation bodies to cater to specific needs and standards within these sectors. Moreover, accreditation bodies play a crucial role in standardizing skills and knowledge, ensuring that certified professionals meet predetermined levels of competency and adhere to best practices. Furthermore, different regions and countries may have their own accrediting bodies to maintain local standards and practices, thereby promoting global recognition and mobility. Certification and accreditation also provide a pathway for continuous professional development, enabling individuals to stay abreast of new tools, techniques, and industry standards. Employers value certifications from recognized bodies as they instill confidence in the skills and knowledge of their employees, aiding in recruitment and career advancement. Finally, ethical standards in data science and AI are paramount, and accreditation bodies contribute to establishing and enforcing ethical guidelines within the profession. Examples of professional accreditation bodies are:

Some examples of higher education professional bodies:

AdvanceHE: Professional Standards Framework for Educators - A Case Study#

We give in this section a case study specific for professional standards framework in the UK. The Professional Standards Framework (PSF’23) is a competency framework which governs teaching and supporting learning in the UK higher Education context. AdvanceHE operates a “Fellowship Category Tool” which allows you to demonstrate personal and institutional commitment to professionalism in learning and teaching in higher education. It breaks down competency around professional values, core knowledge and areas of activity. We list in the following some of the professional values and core knowledge that this entails.

Professional Values

  • V1 respect individual learners and diverse groups of learners

  • V2 promote engagement in learning and equity of opportunity for all to reach their potential

  • V3 use scholarship, or research, or professional learning, or other evidence-informed approaches as a basis for effective practice

  • V4 respond to the wider context in which higher education operates, recognising implications for practice

  • V5 collaborate with others to enhance practice

Core Knowledge

  • K1 how learners learn, generally and within specific subjects

  • K2 approaches to teaching and/or supporting learning, appropriate for subjects and level of study

  • K3 critical evaluation as a basis for effective practice

  • K4 appropriate use of digital and/or other technologies, and resources for learning

  • K5 requirements for quality assurance and enhancement, and their implications for practice Areas of Activity

  • A1 design and plan learning activities and/or programmes

  • A2 teach and/or support learning through appropriate approaches and environments

  • A3 assess and give feedback for learning

  • A4 support and guide learners

  • A5 enhance practice through own continuing professional development

Summary#

Understanding the needs of learners is fundamental to designing effective learning products. Insights from various educators are compiled in this chapter to help create learning personas and tailor content accordingly. When designing learning products, a strong focus should be on user experience (UX) principles. The initial step involves thorough research to identify key topics, relevant questions, and metrics for success. Plans should be presented to experts for feedback and refined based on their input.

Designing with empathy requires understanding the perspectives and challenges of learners. It is crucial to avoid assumptions and be open to diverse perspectives to deconstruct biases. Ensuring inclusivity means considering the needs of all learners, including those with disabilities. Creating detailed representations of different learner groups, known as learning personas, helps tailor educational content. Group activities, such as brainstorming sessions, focus groups, and feedback circles, are effective methods for gathering insights about learner needs.

To effectively identify learners’ needs, educators should have access to and utilize specific Competency Profiles and Professional Standards relevant to their field of instruction. We focused on the competency-based approach that combines skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed to perform tasks effectively, focusing on outcomes, personalization, continuous improvement, real-world relevance, and clear competency definitions. The T-shaped competency framework combines deep expertise in one area with broad knowledge across multiple areas.

Finally, we described the role of various accreditation bodies to ensure standardization, quality, and ethical practices in data science and AI. We provided ‘The AdvanceHE Professional Standards Framework’ as a case study, to outline professional values, core knowledge, and areas of activity essential for educators in higher education in the UK.