Learner Analysis
Our Context Study provided us with a path forward, but there were still a lot of unknowns at this point. Now that we had talked to our sponsor and stakeholders, we decided that it would be helpful to talk to our learners next in order to collect user-centered data for our analyses.
This section was informed by the works of Smaldino, Lowther, and Russell (2012) and Brown & Green (2015).
In my experience, a lot of learning gets designed without talking to learners...To be fair, most of these experts have a lot of experience with the subject matter. [But] you should talk to all of those people and you should talk to your learners.
Dirksen, 2016, p. 55
Our Approach
Smaldino, Lowther, and Russell Learner Analysis method (2012)
We chose to use this method because it was exactly in line with the kinds of learner characteristics we wanted to learn about. In particular, this method emphasizes the following 3:
General Learner Characteristics
Specific Entry Competencies
Learning Styles
We brainstormed a list of questions to ask our learners and categorized them into Survey or Interview questions depending on their nature. Quick, easy-to-answer questions went into the Survey, while any that might require elaborations or clarifications became interview questions. Below is a snapshot of our Miro board.
Affinity Mapping
Drawing Insights from the Data
We used affinity mapping in order to find common themes in our data. Combined with our survey results, it began to form a much clearer picture of who our learners were and what they wanted.
When asked about which aspects of financial literacy they most wanted to learn about, learners responded with Investing as their #1 choice, followed by knowing how to Protect their assets.
General Characteristics
Educated & Young
Some 75% of our respondents were between the ages of 23-35, with 70% having a Masters Degree (and 100% having at least a Bachelor's). As our data showed (both from the survey as well as interviews), financial literacy becomes more of a priority as people graduate college.
Busy but Willing
Our respondents were evenly split between students and working professionals, but they were all willing volunteers who were motivated to learn without a mandate. They noted that they would be too busy for full-time courses on financial literacy, but were still motivated to learn.
Specific Entry Competencies
Low Prior Knowledge
72% of our learners believed they were average or below in their financial literacy skills. Although they were highly educated, they felt a lack of confidence in what they knew. Their knowledge was also uneven across the categories (ie. some knew a lot about taxes, while others did not).
Mostly Self-Taught
The vast majority of respondents said their knowledge of financial literacy was self-taught through free online resources. The most popular was YouTube videos. Those who learned in school or from their parents reported that they learned "very little" from them.
Learning Styles
Motivations
Respondents had a wide range of motivations for wanting to acquire financial literacy skills, from wanting to break poor money habits to needing to learn as they became working professionals. But the common theme among them all was a simple desire to just make wise financial decisions.
Wishes
Learners asked for a solution that would be stress-free, since they felt that financial matters already came with an inherent sense of stress. In addition, they showed a strong preference for a visual medium (rather than text). They also preferred that it was not a course.
Visualizing our Learners
Personas
Instead of targeting our learners by the age demographic, we thought it more relevant to instead categorize them according to prior knowledge (low, average, high) as recommended by Brown & Green (2015). So we developed the following 3 personas in order to represent as much of our potential user base as possible.
Jin
Prior Knowledge: Low
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Age: 27
Status: Single
Education: B.S. Comp Sci
Job: Software Developer
City: Arlington, VA
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Bio: Jin is a bit of a homebody who likes what she does. She receives a good income and good benefits from her job, which makes her think a lot about wanting to protect her assets.
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Personality: Introverted. Not a risk-taker, but understands that investing will come with risks.
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Goals: To more aggressively contribute to her retirement fund.
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Motivations: As she nears 30, thoughts about how to secure her retirement motivates her.
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Challenges: Existing learning modules are long, boring, and impersonal.
Bria
Prior Knowledge: Average
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Age: 23
Status: In a relationship
Education: B.A. Education
Job: Public School Teacher
City: Chicago, IL
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Bio: Bria is a recent grad who is working her first job as a public school teacher. She recently married her partner Simon, and they are now making various financial decisions but she feels unconfident about her skills.
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Personality: Ambitious and eager to become more knowledgable.
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Goals: To save money for a house with her partner.
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Motivations: To break from her family's history of poor money handling and achieve financial stability.
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Challenges: Doesn't know where to start or how, even with all the free resources.
Matthew
Prior Knowledge: High
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Age: 30
Status: Single
Education: M.S. Engineering
Job: Quality Assurance Lead
City: New York, NY
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Bio: Matthew obtained his Masters Degree soon after undergrad, and has been working for the past 5 years. He received a promotion 2 years ago and has been saving aggressively since then.
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Personality: A risk-taker who feels confident in his quantitative skills.
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Goals: To have his money "work for him" through investments.
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Motivations: A lot of his friends work in finance and talking to them has sparked his interest in investing.
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Challenges: Has mostly just learned from his friends, has no formal foundations.