Michigan Persona Project

Preparing early childhood colleagues to support the promise of each Michigan child. The Michigan Persona Project began in spring 2021 to develop resources that will provide powerful new tools to support the work of faculty and professional learning providers who prepare personnel to work with young children, including young children with developmental delays and disabilities. Now available is the Michigan Persona Project eBook, click on the folder below to view the resource.

What’s a persona?
Personas are short stories about a child and family. Each persona offers information about the unique composition of the family, details about the child (name, age, likes, dislikes), and insights about who the child is as a learner. The persona also provides details, like whether a child is receiving services for a disability, is a dual language learner, or has experienced traumatic life circumstances. Each persona also has a totally engaging photo of the child. Personas offer faculty and instructors an effective way to promote individualizing. For example, students might be asked to identify the evidence-based practices they might use to support the child and their family in a persona. Michigan’s early childhood and early intervention/early childhood special education agencies, faculty, and organizations are committed to producing students who are prepared to support each and every child. To accomplish that, we need strong examples for students to practice with. That’s why a set of Michigan personas will be developed, tested, and shared in 2021.

This project is supported by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act through grants from the Michigan Department of Education. For more information about the Michigan Personas Project, contact Kari Holmberg at holmberg_k@ccresa.org.