Jagged profile: learner characteristics that guide learning capacity cannot be described by one-dimensional values like IQ or standardized test scores¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

Drawing on Todd Rose's The End of Average (2016), the paper argues there is no such person as the "average" student. "In what Rose describes as a 'jagged profile,' there are a number of unique characteristics that guide our capacity to learn that cannot be described by a one-dimensional value like an IQ score or performance on a standardized test." The paper uses this account to argue the industrial-age system designed for an average student should shift toward equity, defined as providing every learner what he or she needs to be successful.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Educational approaches that account for neurobiologically-based diversity rather than treating all students as the same

Constraints¶

• The paper attributes this account to Rose (2016) rather than testing it itself

Target Learners¶

• All K-12 learners, particularly those whose profiles diverge from the fictional average student

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Fairness through equity: providing every learner what he or she needs to be successful

Claims¶

• Norm-referenced mental-age and IQ metrics distract investigators from the structural and hierarchical aspects of developing abilities [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Jagged profiles concept of learner variability
• Learner variability and jagged profiles as the foundation for personalized learning
• Digital Promise's learner variability framework: every learner has a jagged learning profile across four domains

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Making Learning Personal for All: The Growing Diversity in Today's Classroom. (2016). https://digitalpromise.dspacedirect.org/items/7acc6442-9c20-42ff-b4b2-21645832493e