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Target Audience & Learner Profile

The target audience for this mini-course falls within the following demographics:

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  • Age​: Learners include varying ages from early 20's to mid 50's.

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  • Sex: Both men and women​​ are included. 

Note: For consistency in terminology and DoW directives, "gender" is no longer used; "sex" is categorized as either male or female.

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  • Education: All are high school graduates (or equivalent), with many having professional certifications, undergraduate degrees, and graduate degrees in various fields.

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  • Occupation: All are mid-level managers and supervisors in various Divisions and at various levels throughout the organization, which includes administrative, educational, financial, and business backgrounds.

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  • Military/Civilian: An extremely small percentage are Active-Duty Marines (approximately 40 total), the vast majority are a mix of military dependents and/or retired military, while a small minority of the population has no military background.

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  • Role: All are mid-level managers or supervisors in the organization, with levels of responsibility ranging from individual facilities to programs, and to branches within their respective Divisions.

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  • Geographic Location(s): The learners are geographically separated; smaller groups are located in Bridgeport, California and Yuma, Arizona. The largest population is working on Camp Pendleton, California, the largest Marine Corps installation. 

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  • Learning Objectives and Goals​: Individual learner goals include being more familiar with the organization as a whole and understanding how their role supports the organization's mission. There is also the goal of learning about similarities and differences with other Divisions. 

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  • Prior Knowledge and Experience: All members are provided an extremely brief overview of the organization, naming the Divisions and the organization's mission and vision. This brief is part of a three-day new employee orientation, and this information can get lost amid the large volume of material already presented, including regulations, benefits, and processes. All of the learners have some familiarity with the military, and many may have experience in at least one other Division, given the organization's emphasis on internal movement and promotion systems. At the Division level, Directors are exposed to details about how the organization operates, including funding streams, but at the mid-level management/supervisor level (the target learner), they are more likely to focus only on their respective piece of the organization. Some managers oversee predominantly Appropriated Fund-operated programs and facilities, while others oversee Non-Appropriated Fund programs and facilities. Unfortunately, this does not allow for exposure to the regulations and requirements for both sides. Many of them who work in Operational Divisions (i.e., Retail, Services, Fitness, etc.) are likely aware of Support Divisions (i.e., Logistics, Operations, Human Resources), but only for specific tasks, not how those Divisions support the entire organization

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  • Learning Styles and Preferences: Due to the wide range of backgrounds, there is no specific learning preference identified at this time. Current training and education programs in the organization are delivered in a variety of methods to cater to preferred learning styles. 

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  • Microlearning​: Based on feedback from learners, microlearning is highly valued due to the learners' hectic schedules and shifting daily priorities. This method fits into that schedule, while avoiding information overload.

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  • Training Equipment: Many younger learners prefer accessing information via smartphones. The organization's learning management system is accessible from home networks and personal devices. Due to HR Policy, implementation on personal devices may be limited, and the use of personal devices is at the learner's discretion. Organizational laptops are the preferred method, but they may limit the number of participants due to limited assets available during working hours. ​

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  • Motivation and Challenges: Learners have expressed an interest in learning the topics to better assist their customers, better understand how the organization works, and how their contributions are valued. One of the key characteristics identified in the Defense Organizational Climate Survey was a strong sense of pride in their work and a strong sense of purpose serving Active-Duty Marines, Sailors, and their families. To encourage completion of this training, the organization can offer employee incentives, such as time-off awards, to promote the mini-course. The challenges they will face are conflicting priorities, including time allocated to other training or organizational tasks. Another challenge is limited computer access during normal working hours, unless learners are willing to complete this mini-course in their own time.

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  • Technology Proficiency: Due to the wide range of learners, technology proficiency will also have a wide range. This mini-course will be designed in a similar fashion to other existing training that learners are already familiar with, requiring less technological proficiency. 

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  • Accessibility and Inclusivity: The mini-course will require collaboration with the Human Resources Division to ensure regulatory compliance and full accessibility for a wide variety of learners. Given that the learners are all American federal employees, the material will be in English and will not require translation. 

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  • Feedback and Iteration: Feedback for continuous improvement will be achieved using pre-existing systems, including feedback via "Ethos," the organization's LMS, and Microsoft Teams, a hub for communication within the organization. 

Artificial Intelligence Disclosure
I used Grammarly as a thought partner to assist with organization, spellchecking, and editing for clarity. All final ideas, content, and analysis are my own.  I used Gemini to generate graphics throughout my website. 

Community Team. (n.d.). How to do an e-learning audience analysis. E-Learning Heroes. https://community.articulate.com/articles/how-to-do-an-e-learning-audience-analysis

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Pandey, A. (2020, January 28). L&D guide series: How to use an audience analysis and learner personas. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/how-use-audience-analysis-and-learner-personas

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Grant, A. (2019, November 7). The myth of learning styles — And why you should still design for them. PCMA. https://www.pcma.org/adam-grant-myth-learning-styles/

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