Transcript Plus 50 Initiative

LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
for the PLUS 50 Learner
Tracy Reilly Kelly, MST
Program Director and Manager
Corporate & Continuing Education
Plus 50 Initiative
Clark College, Washington
PEDAGOGY and ANDRAGOGY:
Application of Principles
 We move from theory to
application.
 How can we prepare
instructors to teach adults
over age 50?
 What is different about
teaching to adults above age
65?
.
IDEAS TO USE FOR PLUS 50 LEARNERS
 Research is well supported that by age 65, over 70% of
persons have hearing loss.
 Presbyopia (need for reading glasses) begins in the early 40s.
 Avoid asking people to identify their handicaps - do not
assume because one’s audience is under 65 that they hear or
see as well as you do.
 Do know that it is highly embarrassing to identify yourself as
having a handicap associated with aging, so most do not.
Thus, “handicaps” appear earlier than cultural acceptance
does.
IDEAS TO USE FOR ALL LEARNERS OVER 50
 Use more handouts to give
visual support of what you are
saying – especially if you have
poor sound.
 Use #14 font for handouts for
persons over the age of 40. Use
#12 if you cannot use #14.
Never use a lower font – what is
the value of a handout that
persons cannot read?
IDEAS TO USE FOR
“BABY BOOMER” LEARNERS
 Course online chat
rooms offer opportunities
to share experiences and
create ongoing support
networks among students.
This also promotes repeat
enrollments as Boomers
are busy, yet they are
seeking intellectual
friendships & meaning.
 Promote email contact
and other ways for students
to contact instructors to ask
questions. For the
instructor, this contact aids
them to tailor their existing
curriculum to 50+ learning
styles – a current need in
program development.
IDEAS TO USE FOR LEARNERS OVER 65
 Learners over 65 are rewarding to
teach. They are in awe of you and
your credentials. Sometimes they act
like they accept without questioning
because of this, but actually they hold
many opinions.
 They like “The sage on the stage”
didactic learning more than group
projects. If you probe, their critical
thinking abilities are deep and wise.
CLASSROOM ACCOMODATION:
Create Access - Observe Instructors
Always use amplification whenever one has
access to it! Avoid asking this common,
labeling question- “I have a loud voice- does
anybody here really need me to use the mic?”followed by the statement- “Good!” – when no
one in the audience identified themselves as
being hard of hearing. Train every instructor
to use sound support.
Monitor the body as one speaks - does the
instructor turn their head down at the end of a
sentence or turn to the board? This makes
them harder to hear. Add these questions
about habits to the evaluations.
IDEAS TO USE FOR LEARNERS
OVER 65
 Repetition is valuable to all learners,
but especially older learners. Begin
sessions with a review of the content
of the last session.
 While short term memory may be
impaired with aging, intellect,
wisdom, sophistication and
experience are not. Avoid associating
age with impaired intellect.
WEBSITE DESIGN
 VISUAL: Less cluttered , avoid
moving images – but create
complexity of content.
 AVOID: Red, blue & green - color
blind people see blue poorly, no one
sees red.
 CONTENT: For interest, include
historical references, (think of NPR &
PBS) 60’s pop culture, social justice.
 SOUND: Can be distracting and out
of proportion for older learners.
SYLLABUS AND HANDOUTS
 Create a syllabus that includes a class schedule with dates for
each day of class: offering dates will help them to see your
schedule in order to plan their own.
 Begin each class with a quick synopsis of the last week’s
content.
 Plan to distribute approximately 3-10 handouts over the course
of the quarter. The syllabus and handouts make a major
difference to how students learn.
 Include more detail than for younger learners – include reading
lists and other learning enrichment.
WHY LEARNING OUTCOMES?
Learning outcomes help instructors more
precisely to tell students what is expected of them.
By doing this, educators assert that they:
 help students learn more effectively. They know where they
stand and the curriculum is made more open to them.
 make it clear what students can hope to gain from a particular
course or lecture.
 help instructors to design their materials more effectively by
acting as a template.
 help instructors select the appropriate teaching strategy, for
example lecture, seminar, student self-paced, or laboratory
class.
 ensure that appropriate assessment strategies are employed.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Require instructors to rewrite
their Learning Outcomes for
50+.
 If you are not yet requiring a
formal set of Learning
Outcomes, this is a good time
to utilize this tool.
 Offer a worksheet and models
to each instructor and persist in
this as a requirement for
teaching.
LEARNING OUTCOME CATEGORIES
OUTCOME
#1- KNOWLEDGE:
The student recalls or recognizes information; the
student gets the facts straight.
 Collect examples of __; Define; Label; Fill in__.
 Identify and name; Identify results; Identify
variables; Identify situations that __.
 List materials; Locate and list; Locate and state;
Locate sources.
OUTCOME
#2 – COMPREHENSION:
The student is able to understand the information
and put it into a context or meaning.
Define; Describe; Differentiate; Evaluate;
Discuss; Paraphrase; Predict.
Distinguish between facts; Distinguish between
ideas.
Draw conclusions; Estimate; Express; Identify;
Interpret; Locate; Match.
OUTCOME
#3 – APPLICATION:
The student solves a problem using the knowledge.
The student is able to use learned knowledge in a
new contrived situation.
Apply principles; Apply the idea to our classroom
situation.
Calculate; Construct; Dramatize; Demonstrate; Find
solutions; Illustrate
Design procedures for __; Employ knowledge of
everyday events in making inference about __.