Page 111 - Making Instruction Work

chap 9 3/4/97 3:35 PM Page 97

target population description 97

• If you think your students are all different, describe the
ways in which they differ. Sure, they’re all different. But
most of those differences won’t have anything to do with
how you design instruction. Others will matter a lot. You
spot the important differences by asking yourself whether
the same instructional approach will fit for the entire
range of the characteristic you are thinking about. For
example, will the same approach work for baldies as well
as for bush-heads? Sure. But will the same approach
(treatment) work for readers as well as non-readers? For
experienced as well as inexperienced? Less likely.

• Don’t bother to organize what you write, and don’t fret if
you say the same thing more than once. Nobody’s going
to see this document.
Example #1: This example is organized under headings; the
second one is more of a mind-dump. Both formats are equally
useful.
TPop: Sales Personnel
Course: Computer Order Entry

Physical Characteristics

• These people range in age from 25-40.

• About half are male and half female.

• There are no apparent physical limitations.

• Most will be away from home, and the younger ones will
be bleary-eyed from too much carousing the night before.

Formal and Informal Training

• All of the new hires will have at least a master’s degree.
• The older reps will have more varied training. Some will
have a degree, and others only a year or two of college.