PERSONAS: AN EMPATHY TOOL FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Today, more than ever, curriculum development falls within the genre of content creation. Building curriculum isn't simply a matter of structuring lesson plans based on desired end states. Students bring diverse backgrounds and literacies into classrooms. Personas, built upon the diverse frameworks that create and constrain student identities, are a tool that can help educators build curriculum that supports inclusive classrooms.

 
In the world of advertising, "a persona is a fictional, generalized character" representing a target audience. This series of blogs examines how personas can serve as a tool for curriculum design. The first entry describes factors that contribute to individual identity and how diverse backgrounds add constraints to rhetorical communication between designers and their audiences. The next entry explores how personas can address the challenges created by diverse backgrounds and identifies information that educators should incorporate into their personas. Our third entry discusses the challenges inherent in using personas and offers recommendations for overcoming those challenges. The final entry identifies data sources and provides instructions that educators can use to build personas.

Please use the buttons below to explore how personas can help you build an inclusive curriculum for your students!