Transcript Slide 1

Welcome!
Adult Learners: Principles, Barriers
and Best Practices
Presented by Dr. Mary Jo Self
Format
 Conditions an adult learner brings to class
 “Graying of America”
 Dispositional Barriers
 Generational
 Motivational
 Institutional Barriers
 Situational Barriers
 Conditions an Instructor creates PRIOR to
class for the adult learner
 Needs Assessment
 Learning Styles
 Training outlines
 The overall learning environment
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 Conditions the instructor creates
DURING instruction
 Ten Proven Strategies you can use in your
next training class
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Needs Assessments
Icebreakers
Mix or Match Worksheets
Free writes
INSERT
Anticipation Guide
Graphic representations
CUBE
Feedback visual cues
3-2-1
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Conditions an Adult Learner Brings to class
Prior Knowledge
Needs Assessments
 Helping the facilitator or trainer get a better idea
of what is already known by the participants
 Learning Equation
 Learning = New Information + Connection to
Previously Known Information
 Reminders:
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
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Don’t single a student out
Use aggregate (group) data
Use it for planning
Use it for feedback and review at the end of instruction
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Definition of Adult Education
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Practice of teaching and educating adults
“Graying of America”
Increased emphasis
Lifelong process over the entire human life span
• Terms:
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Extension
Lifelong learning centers
Professional development
Personal development
Andragogy
Self-directed learning
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What about adult students?
• What might they bring to the learning
environment?
• How can you address those needs?
Generational theory
• Based on the theory that individuals born
during a period of time experience unique
cultural and societal events which form
their view of the world including education.
Vertical Timeline of Generations
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The Silent Generation
The Baby Boomers
Generation X
Baby Boom Echo
Millennium Generation
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Usefulness of this theory
• In combination with upbringing, education,
affluence or lack of it and geography; can be a
dependable benchmark.
• Those born in the same generation share the
historic events, economics, music, culture of
their time.
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Principles
1. Adults are different; not overgrown
adolescents.
2. Adults have accumulated knowledge during
their lives.
3. Adults usually pursue education voluntarily.
4. Adults are generally better motivated.
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Principles
5. Adults seek to learn what they have
identified as important.
6. Adults seek immediately applicable learning.
7. Adults are at various stages of autonomy.
8. Adults tend to focus on problem centered
learning rather than subject centered
learning.
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Why?
• Means of comprehending their own lives such
as aging process or retirement roles,
• To understand sociocultural change,
• To combat technological and sociocultural
obsolescence,
• As a second career,
• Response to a life changing event or series of
events.
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Why Not?
• Situational barriers
• Institutional barriers
• Dispositional barriers
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Situational Barriers
• Relating to a person’s situation at a given time
– Lack of time (most often cited)
– Cost
– Personal problems
– Child care
– Age
– Level of income
– Home and/or job responsibilities
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Institutional Barriers
• All those practices and procedures that
exclude or discourage working adults from
participating in educational activities
– Scheduling
– Location
– Lack of interesting or practical courses
– Procedural such as enrollment, red tape, etc.
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Dispositional (Social-Psychological)
• Related to attitudes and self perceptions
about one’s self as a learner
– Low self esteem
– Lack of confidence in their ability to be successful
Darkenwald and Merriam added a fourth category
of barrier: Informational
Lack of awareness to what educational
opportunities are available.
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6 Things you should know about adult learnersmotivation to learn:
1. Adults seek out learning experiences in
response to specific life changing events.
2. Life changing events = Motivation to learn
3. Education directly related
4. Change is a certainty? Will engage to cope
5. Learning is a means to an end
6. Secondary motivators are self-esteem and
pleasure.
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Conditions created PRIOR to class for
the adult learner
• Learning Styles
• Curriculum Development including
training outlines
• Overall learning environment
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Learning Styles
6 variables that affect learning:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Mobility while learning
Light (artificial or natural; bright or low)
Time of day (AM or PM)
Design of the learning process (formal or
informal)
5. Processing style of the learner (global or
analytical)
6. Perceptual or learning styles
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Learning Styles
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Consider you have three channels on your TV set;
One channel comes in more clearly;
You CAN watch on all three;
But on one channel, it is much easier to follow the story line.
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3 Major Learning Styles
• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinesthetic/Tactile
• Instructional Strategies used in any training
session should incorporate all THREE learning
styles.
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Visual Learning Style (SEE)
 An eyeful
 Appears to me
 I see
 Clear cut
 Eye to eye
 In light of
 I just don’t see
 In view of
 Looks like
 Get the picture
 See to it
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Auditory (HEAR)
 I hear you
 Clear as a bell
 Call on
 Earful
 Give me your ear
 Hold your tongue
 Loud and clear
 Rings a bell
 To tell the truth
 Tuned in/tuned out
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Kinesthetic/Tactile (FEEL)
 Boils down to
 Come to grips with
 Get a handle on
 Get a load of this
 I feel that
 Hand in hand
 Hold on!
 Pain in the neck
 Pull some strings
 Sharp as a tack
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Your Perception or Mine?
• If you don’t speak to me in my
‘language’, I may only hear 50% of
your message.
• Keep the message in front of the
listener.
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How do I implement this
knowledge of learning styles as
an instructor?
• Know your own learning style AND
those of your participants .
• Encourage participants to provide
meaningful feedback such as “Did that
work for you?” “Do I need to present
that information in a different way?”
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Other ideas:
• Don’t allow a participant to use their learning style as
an excuse.
• Give participants experience with problems before
giving them the tools to solve them
• Balance concrete information with conceptual
information
• Liberally use graphic representations such as mockups, examples, pictures, etc.
• Make comparisons to physical objects
• Show participants how concepts are connected
within and between subjects and to everyday life
experiences.
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Training Outlines
• Many, many models exist
• P-P-A-E model is simple and easily
used
• P = Preparation
• P = Presentation
• A = Application
• E = Evaluation
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Overall Learning Environment
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Student Needs
• According to Maslow, human needs can
be grouped in the shape of a pyramid.
• Unless the basic needs (bottom of the
pyramid) are met, individuals can not
move up the pyramid and seek
opportunities for self-fulfillment.
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
SelfActualization
Need for
Aesthetic
Appreciation
Being
Needs
Need for Intellectual
Achievement
Need for Self-Esteem
Deficiency
Needs
Need for Belonging
Need for Safety
Need for Survival
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Basic things to do to create a
successful learning environment
1. Show participants that training is worthwhile
2. Show the relevance of your subject
3. Involve participants in their own learning and pique
their interest
4. Use the natural motives of curiosity, suspense,
action as appropriate
5. Teacher enthusiasm is DIRECTLY related to students’
need for achievement and motivation levels.
6. Use focusing techniques and varied interaction
styles.
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Additional concepts
7. Use effective attention getters including motivational hooks and
bell ringers
8. Ask for student input.
9. Allow students to teach, present, and interact with each other
often.
10. Model empathic listening and respect.
11. Provide acknowledgement, praise and acceptance.
12. Honor cultural diversity and incorporate diversity into learning.
13. Stay committed to totally positive interactions.
14. Use themes in training.
15. Minimize distractions and interruptions as much as possible.
16. Provide a sense of organization.
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Top 10 Checklist:
1. Did you complete a needs assessment and use the
information in planning?
2. Did you have as much knowledge as possible prior
to instruction and during instruction about the
participants?
3. Did you identify the expectations of both you and
the participants?
4. Did you provide immediate relevance to the
participants?
5. Did you provide (as much as possible) for the
physical comfort of the participants?
6. Did you show the applicability of the content?
7. Did you make every effort to engage the students?
8. Did you provide a balance of activities?
9. Did you identify the best possible fit as an
instructor?
10.Did you evaluate and assess the training to
use in the future?
 Conditions the instructor creates DURING
instruction
 Ten Proven Strategies you can use in your next
training class
Needs Assessments
2. Icebreakers
3. Mix or Match Worksheets
4. Free writes
5. INSERT
6. Anticipation Guide
7. Graphic representations
8. CUBE
9. Feedback visual cues
10. 3-2-1
1.
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Strategy #1: Needs Assessments
 Helping the facilitator or trainer get a better idea
of what is already known by the participants
 Learning Equation
 Learning = New Information + Connection
to Previously Known Information
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Remember
 Don’t single out a participant
 Use aggregate (group) data
 Use it for planning
 Use it for feedback and review at the
end of instruction
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Strategy #2: Icebreakers
 Example: “Getting to Know You”
 Designed to break the ‘ice’ - So What's the "Ice"?
 Used to encourage the participants to relax and engage
in the learning process
 Why use them:
 Participants come from different backgrounds.
 People need to bond quickly so as to work towards a common
goal.
 Your team is newly formed.
 The topics you are discussing are new or unfamiliar to many
people involved.
 As facilitator you need to get to know participants and have
them know you better.
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 BTW: It is also a special-purpose
ship or boat designed to move and
navigate through ice covered
waters.
 Many, many great icebreakers exist
 http://wilderdom.com/games/Icebreake
rs.html
 http://www.eslflow.com/ICEBREAKERS
real.html
 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/articl
e/newLDR_76.htm
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Strategy #3: Mix or Match Worksheet
•Used to divide participants into
groups in an objective manner
•Can also use colored pencils;
different types of candies; different
colors of balloons
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Strategy #4 – Free Writes
 Purpose:
 Lifelong Learning Skills of being able to write and clarify thoughts
and summarizing thoughts
 How –To:
 Provide the focus
 Set the time limit
 Make sure all are engaged
 May not stop writing
 Must write in complete sentences
 Can model for them
 Have students read if they would like
 Collect free writes
 Read several out loud (anonymously) and share your own
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Strategy #5 - INSERT
 Interactive Notating System for Effective Reading
and Thinking
 Purpose: improve comprehension while reading;
being able to synthesize and evaluate ideas during
reading.
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How to use INSERT
 Provide guide for symbols.
 Give reading to be completed.
 As students read, the symbols are used – can be
completed lightly in pencil; using post-it notes;
pieces of notebook paper.
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To begin:
 Might use just a check mark and question mark.
 Put the chart on the wall or easily viewed
location.
 Use symbols appropriate to your teaching
content:
 C = Cause; E = Effect
 F = Fact; O = Opinion
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Next Steps:
 After students have read and used INSERT;
 Have small group or classroom discussion based
on notations;
 Large group discussion and/or writing activity
such as Cubing.
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INSERT
SYMBOL
MEANING OF SYMBOL
I Agree. This confirms what I already knew.
I have a question about this.
I totally don’t understand at all.
X
!
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I disagree.
Wow! This is neat!
This is important.
Strategy #6 – Anticipation Guides
 Used to help participants ‘anticipate’ instruction;
 Easily constructed using the content of the training session
 Each statement concerns the important concept of the
lesson.
 Each statement rephrases what the text says.
 All statements are plausible.
 Some statements are worded in such a way as to provoke
critical thinking about the key concepts.
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Strategy #7 – Graphic Representations
 Purpose:
 Previewing; using prediction; reading critically;
visually representing text and using key
vocabulary terms to show important
relationships
 Sometimes called ‘mind mapping’ or ‘concept
mapping’
 Great study tools for students (and for teachers
too!)
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Situational
Adult
Learners
• Lack of time
• cost
Dispositional
• Self concept
• attitude
• Location
Institutional
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• Inconvenient
scheduling
Strategy #8 - CUBE
 Lifelong Learning Skills:
 Using a thinking taxonomy to better
understand information
 Writing to better comprehend information
 Great as a review or summary providing
meaningful feedback.
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How to “CUBE”
 Participants have paper and pencil out (could be
on the computer)
 Use a prepared cube
 Give a topic/focus/question/issue
 Using the CUBE participants write individually
on each level of thinking.
 Can conclude at this point or share with a
partner; come to a consensus and share with the
group.
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The Thinking Cube
 Describe:
 Look closely. Describe what you see.
 Compare:
 To what is it similar? Or different?
 Associate:
 What does it make you think of?
 Analyze:
 What is it made of? What are the component parts?
 Apply:
 Tell how it works. What can you do with it?
 Argue:
 Tell why it is positive or why it is negative? Or tell why it is important to know about it.
Give specific reasons.
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Strategy # 9 – Feedback Visual Cues
 Posted around the training room with large sheets
of paper
 Participants use sticky notes to record thoughts
during the training
 Instructor will review all of them; incorporate
into the training session at some point.
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Parking Lot
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I Get It!
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Burning Questions I Need Answered
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Gems I Will Treasure
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Ideas that S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d My Thinking
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Something I will Erase from my Training
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Strategy #10 – 3-2-1
 Review instrument
Three things I want to hang onto .. .
Two things to try to see if they are a fit for my training sessions
are. .
One idea to run with at my next training session . .
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Summary
 Adult learning is multidimensional and multifaceted.
 “ Our practices need to be examined in reference to
the specific context in which they will be applied.
The value of these principles or characteristics is they
compel us, as educators, to reflect upon and question
our current practices in relation to the specific
context and/or environment in which we teach.”
(Kistler, pg. 29)
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Questions?
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For more information
 Mary Jo Self, Ed.D.
 Oklahoma State University
 Workforce Education
 261 Willard Hall
 Stillwater, OK 74078
 (405) 744-9191
 [email protected]
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