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16 - Learner Profile and Placement

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This document defines how a learner is placed into the right entry level and pace without assumptions.

Goals

  • Minimize false starts.
  • Reduce confidence loss.
  • Match difficulty to learner readiness.

Intake questionnaire (core)

Use these sections at onboarding:

  1. Digital baseline
  2. Have you used command-line tools before? (never, sometimes, often)
  3. Comfort installing software? (low, medium, high)

  4. Learning preference

  5. Prefer reading, watching, building, or teaching?
  6. Can you tolerate frequent failure while learning? (low, medium, high)

  7. Time and consistency

  8. Weekly available hours (<4, 4-8, 8-12, 12+)
  9. Session style (short daily, long weekend, mixed)

  10. Motivation and outcomes

  11. Primary goal (job, career-change, curiosity, teaching, other)
  12. Time horizon (3 months, 6 months, 12 months+)

  13. Environment constraints

  14. Windows access? local admin? internet reliability?
  15. Corporate restrictions on installs/APIs?

Placement model

Entry level recommendation

  • Start at Level 0 if any are true:
  • no command-line experience,
  • low install confidence,
  • low failure tolerance.
  • Start at Level 1 if:
  • basic command-line familiarity,
  • can run scripts with guidance.
  • Start at Level 2+ only if:
  • can independently run Python scripts,
  • can read tracebacks and fix simple bugs.

Pace recommendation

  • Slow pace: <4 hrs/week
  • Standard pace: 4-8 hrs/week
  • Accelerated pace: 8-12 hrs/week
  • Intensive pace: 12+ hrs/week

Support overlays

  • Confidence support overlay:
  • micro-wins,
  • short checkpoints,
  • explain-before-build prompts.
  • Recovery overlay:
  • break/fix drills,
  • root-cause templates,
  • anti-panic troubleshooting cards.

Reassessment cadence

  • Reassess every 2 weeks during levels 0-2.
  • Reassess monthly from levels 3-10.
  • Reassess immediately after any multi-week stall.

Placement output template

# Learner Placement Result
- Recommended entry level:
- Pace:
- Required overlays:
- First 2-week objective:
- Reassessment date:

Primary Sources

Optional Resources

Next

Next: 17_ASSESSMENT_AND_RUBRICS.md →