DESIGNING EVIDENCE-INFORMED LEARNER PROFILES FOR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: A CONTEXTUAL STUDY AT SMP NEGERI 40 SERAM BAGIAN TIMUR

Abstract

Learner profiling can support differentiated instruction when it is treated as a revisable evidence system rather than a mechanism for assigning fixed learning-style labels. This contextual design study develops a practical learner-profile framework for a proposed Grade 8 implementation at SMP Negeri 40 Seram Bagian Timur, Indonesia. The study re-examines a 2024 source article on student profiling and visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic preferences, then synthesises exactly 25 references published from 2021 to 2025. The synthesis covers educational equity, curriculum and assessment, universal design for learning, multimedia learning, personalised instruction, Indonesian learner-profile studies, and recent criticism of learning-style matching. The resulting PROFILE cycle comprises Prior knowledge and performance, Resources and readiness, Objectives and interests, Functioning and participation, Instructional options, Learning strategies, and Evaluation and updating. Design outputs include a school-readiness audit, a triangulated profile matrix, a short student questionnaire, an observation protocol, a multimodal lesson-planning template, an 80-minute Grade 8 example, and a pilot-evaluation framework. The model deliberately distinguishes learning preferences from proven learning needs and prohibits teachers from restricting students to one modality. Because no primary data were collected at SMP Negeri 40 Seram Bagian Timur, the article reports a contextual intervention design rather than empirical findings. The school identity, grade profile, language context, staffing, infrastructure, and consent procedures must be verified before implementation.