Audience analysis occurs during the analysis phase for a given project; the information for which is available in any good tome on instructional design.

As for knowing what to expect from the specific participants of a given learning opportunity, while I will try to do some type of communication with people prior to a class, it's often impossible, so no matter what, I prefer to simply ensure that my facilitation addresses every learning style at some point or another throughout. See Sharon Bowman's book: How to Give It So They Get It for more information on one way to do that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fanatic Facilitator,

I agree FF. There is more than learning styles to consider (you clearly understand, but others may not). I often teach courses where the initial analysis says that the course will be "marketed towards" one group, yet members of another with different backgrounds and needs attends. In a ideal world I could redirect them to another class but the old axiom applies: "the difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference." In other words, I have to be able to adapt on the fly.

I have to admit... I am a bit dismayed to think that any of this is news.

Yes i do agree with you ,this is most definitely not news.
However some of the suggestions here are good and so is the sugessted reading.
The question is that when more and more of us are moving towards using technology as a platform for training...the responsibility of learning has also shifted to the learner.
As an instructional designer when one designs a course the learner profile and prefrences are parmount yet there are very few surveys that are well designed.
The quest if I must say so is to get the golden survey which can translate into a learning course that is just right for the audience mix taking the course .

The responsibility and ability for the learning is always on the learner, whether some trainers want to admit it or not. The best design focuses on the learner. The best way to facilitate is to acknowledge that one cannot control the learner. The assertion now seems to be that there is some sort of magic answer that will help spit out an e-learning solution that is appropriate for every learner --- the only way that is even remotely possible is for the learning to be design well in the first place; but even then, there is absolutely no way to assure that all learners will react well to working alone with a computer.

(no offense, but I simply don't understand why some people seem hell bent on finding magic bullets)

Good, sound learner-focused instructional design comes first. Appropriate delivery modes come after that. And e-learning can offer only a certain level of proficiency in any case. Acknowledge the limitations of the delivery medium and move on.