Unit 1- Learner Analysis

Show: Boy Meets World
Character: Cory Matthews
Year:1993-2000

• Does the student excel at school?
• Cory is an average student. He tends to take school seriously at times, although,  goofing off and focusing on anything but his academics does get in the way. He shares a fence with his teacher, which leads to more life lessons than academic ones. He tends to be responsible and make good choices. In the first season Cory receives detention more than a couple times, and this is only in 6th grade.

• What is the socioeconomic status of the character?
• The Matthews are upper-middle class. They live in a nice neighborhood, attend a good school, and have money to send their children off to college. The family attends different events and is always baking in the kitchen. 

• Does the character engage in school or does s/he distract others?
• Cory engages in school when it is a lesson that hits home. He ends up going to college, getting a degree, and moving to New York, however, there are times when Cory misbehaves. Cory makes fun of the teacher, goofs of in class with various props, cheats on a test, etc. 

• What interest does the character have?
• Cory is a very intense Philadelphia Phillies fan. He one time failed a test because he stayed up past midnight to watch a no-hitter. Other than his love for baseball, in the more recent seasons he becomes interested in his girlfriend Topanga, his friends, and graduating high school.

• If this student were in your class, what strategies and technologies could you use to assist this student?
• If I had Cory as a student, I think he would benefit from different resources technology has to offer. One strategy I would use would be to incorporate videos into the lessons. Cory's attention is not held unless he is being stimulated in any way that isn't a lecture.  His focus would be on watching an activity, experiment, documentary, etc. I think while this would be used it would also be beneficial to have Cory type notes to stay engaged, and less likely to be distracting to others. He fails to pull out proper utensils when in class, I think providing a computer would produce better results in his studies.

• Is this student “college ready”?
• Cory in the beginning of the series does not seem like a promising contender to attend college. Throughout the series he becomes more responsible as he gains more intimate relationships. He eventually goes onto college and graduates.