CLANBEST PRACTICES in Adult Education

September 19, 2008

Kaunas, Lithuania

2nd Meeting

CLAN – Continuous Learning for Adults with Needs134649-LLL-1-2007-IT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

What distinguish adult students from other students in terms of motivation, way of learning, cognition and stamina?

(Malcom Knowles, professor at US Universities)

adults need to know why they must learn. They must be aware of the gap between already acquired competences and those they need

adults consider themselves capable of self-management and going back to a dependency situation might cause a feeling of reject

adult groups are heterogeneous and personal identity is given by past experiences. They represent a collective knowledge reservoir from which individual potential can be developed

adults are ready to learn for specific reasons, therefore, teaching must improve their competences and must be applied to daily living

practical sense. To make it worth investing one’s energy and emotions teaching must be an abstract exercise but must focus on real life and help carry out tasks and solving problems

motivations also change. Young people are more pliable and conform more easily with society’s expectations. Adults, instead, have inner motivations for learning, such as self-realisation, self-esteem, involvement, pleasure … and in the end these are more important than external pressures (career, available time etc).

THE MEANING OF TRAINING ADULTS

So adult learning must be “innovative” in one or more of the following aspects:

Experience and Best Practices in adult training

Teaching and Learning Methodology

Use of new technologies and new ways of communication

Personalisation of contents according to needs

Training organisational method

WHAT’S NEW AND WHAT’S GOOD IN ITALY…

Let’s start with

a brief national overview…

Adult community learning based on the “Participation method” (with talks, interviews, observations, focus group)

Spontaneous gathering over one subject, a theme, a field of interest. Some people with common interests discover to be a resource for each other and develop reciprocal and cooperative learning within the group as well as self- teaching

Participants define their needs and their competences.

Education opportunities for self-run small groups are encouraged

The average duration of the circle is 30 hours (with expert intervention if needed); the number of participants is from 3 to 8; such a small number ensures in-depth discussion of the subject and favours participation

Students may put forward proposals on themes to be thoroughly examined, answer enquiries, widen and develop competences, develop manual and creative skills, planning and developing together further training aspects

CIRCOLI DI STUDIOwww.circolidistudio.net

What’s new and Effectiveness …..

The model is effective in homogeneous groups of employed workers who have thus been able to join a “light” training programme to strengthen their transversal skills.

Learning becomes a passion, a spontaneous meeting free of ties and obligations, very flexible and manageable also from a formal point of view.

Development of meta-cognitive competences: the individual and the group are responsible for the project’s pre-established result and therefore also for questioning themselves, facing-up reality, regain abilities and develop their potential.

CIRCOLI DI STUDIOwww.circolidistudio.net

53,2 % dei partecipanti posizione occupazionale attivaStudenti 7,2%Disoccupati 8,4%

70,4% dei partecipanti con titolo medio-altodi cui il 60% a frequenza con titolo di studio medio alto per oltre il 70%

CIRCOLI DI STUDIOwww.circolidistudio.net

Circoli con presenza femminile oltre il 70%Le donne si raccontanoMultimedialità applicataIl corpo: memoria, parole, emozioniScrittura creativaLettura ad alta voceDecoupageErboristeriaRapporti genitori-figliMentalità strategica e autodifesa

Circoli con presenza maschile oltre il 70%ComputerSensibilità ed agricolturaLo stereotipo di giudizioLa cultura fiorentina dal dopoguerra ad oggi

NEW COMMUNICATION METHODSTRAINING FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEES: AN EXAMPLE

Language courses for traffic policemen useful both at work and in private life.

new teaching product: “Didatticomica”

used with a “Courseware in Foreign Micro- language”

What’s new …. The “didatticomica” is an audio/visual product showing in a “comical” way the type of situation a traffic policeman can find him/herself in when dealing with a foreigner asking for directions.

The Courseware in Foreign Micro-language is accessible on the Web; it is a blend of animation and interaction guiding the student to learning the main grammar and communication structures of the foreign language in the context in which he/she is working.

Furthermore, the student can also use LO e Forums

www.era-edu.com/eraedu/scos/02_Clip/video_Didatticom_FRA.html

www.era-edu.com/eraedu/scos/02_Clip/video_Didatticom_SPA.html

www.era-edu.com/eraedu/scos/02_Clip/video_Didatticom_TED.html

www.era-edu.com/eraedu/scos/02_Clip/video_Didatticom_ENG.html

THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES 1. ERA-EDU

Objectivepublicise the use of new learning methods supported

by information and communication technology

new learning and training philosophy completing

classic education reaching the target of life-long learning.

What’s new

public catalogue available to all citizens, possibly of access to educational activities, personalised service and a virtual library. Each user has his own writing desk as well as an online tutoring system; the user can also activate and manage cooperation groups and has all the material needed for the course: e-learning forms (courseware, video, e-seminars etc), downloadable documents and reports on the activities carried out.

community tools: forum, chat line and teaching instruments that allow to reduce the “distance” in Distant training through the use of communication tools which encourage interaction between students, tutors and teachers.

2. TRIOwww.progettotrio.it

The project is an answer to the increasing demand for training connected with the evolution of the present social/economic system.It also ensures the acquisition of the necessary competencesin a wide field of range.

What’s new …...

It has been instrumental to a distance professional learning system, it offers a number of training courses available online, web based and distributed over the region through a series of 20 tele-training centres

It disposes of more than 1200 training products: on-line forms, cd rom, e-books and guides regarding various themes (environment, ecology, economy, business, computer science, languages, equal opportunity, public administration, health and social services, science and technology, service industry and associations) as well as online tutoring, virtual classrooms, tools for cooperative learning both synchronous and asynchronous.

LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES AND PERSONALISATIONEDA SERALI

personalisation of the courses and therefore improvement of individual learning style. The teacher can choose and propose to the student those training activities which are better suited to his life style and training needs. Students, under the teacher’s guidance, can find several opportunities to exercise their knowledge, train and interact with their colleagues.

learners become the actors of their own training time and space; they become interactive, cooperating and self-evaluating

Basic elements : Allows access to adult learning courses overcoming space and time obstacles; Guarantees the quality of service through teaching methods designed on the student’s needs; Offers a wide range of interacting training courses; Multimedia implementable training environment; establishment and management of virtual classes; Use of Learning Objects - currently there are 70 of them available ; Support activities to training courses (community, general forum, teacher's forum etc)

EDA SERALI

…… What’s new ……

Webqueston the basis of a reference framework and of the task description, the students can carry out research work, unveil extra information on certain subjects, consult the sitography, elaborate the data collected, find an answer to a problem, propose solutions, browse through concepts and documents..

Teaching methodology from sequential becomes network linked and interactive.Both the leaner and the teacher, the level and interest groups, joint together in research work

Through web exploration the adult learner can approach knowledge in its dynamism: he/she can establish direct contacts with authors, can collect information, new developments and daily changes in culture, science and techniques. The adult learner can follow the dynamism of ideas, the evolution of knowledge and by comparing it with his acquired competences can understand the line between non-final knowledge, but topical, and final knowledge but non-topical.

In comparison with the past, the different approach is:

the use of the learning objects in a circular teaching/learning process rather than reversed, the result being interactively built knowledge through a critical analysis of the acquired competences.

Wiki allows the use of educational and learning methodologiessuch as Collaborative Learning and Cooperative Learning

Wiki allows profitable cooperation among students, division in groups, assignment of defined roles in order to achieve the objective that has been set, it also allows to develop writing skills, communication skills, problem solving, argumentation, discussion. It is furthermore a valid tool in collaboration and cooperation and it makes a great quantity of material available to a wide range of users.

Collaborative Learning has always been considered a very good method using a computer, especially for Distance Learning (courses in chat, forums, etc.).

Cooperative Learning is an excellent tool when used in class, face to face, as a sheet on which students can write the results of their research, as a feedback to go back to when going over a subject or studying, as a website that can be always updated also by the classes that will follow that in turn will update certain subjects. Its freedom of work will make the student more autonomous and more responsible.

Here Cooperative learning has been used to create a wikiclass

Educational uses of Wiki for collaborative and cooperative learningThe example of ADGWIKI

There are many ways to use a wiki:

as a website that collects bibliography and guidelines for the study of several subjects as a Distance Learning tool as a virtual space where students can collaborate in writing short essays

Using the space adgwiki.wikispaces.com, adgwiki becomes public, that is it is visible by all users but the possibility to contribute to Wiki is limited to ADG students. The interesting fact is that the students can contribute also once their course is finished: they have therefore the possibility to continue following the evolution of the pages created by them or their colleagues or contribute directly and use it for long periods. The human contact, which is a bit lacking, can be easily redressed in the class during assessment or in other parallel activities carried out at distance through other means such as forums, chats or video-chats.

Usefulness : In almost all the classes in which this type of activity was presented the students have often split in to autonomous groups working as peers. Also, the students who are “weaker” in some subjects can overcome their difficulties with the more or less direct help from their colleagues It seems one of the best tools to develop learning itineraries in classes where students have a different educational and cultural background. Possibility to continue working with Wiki adding material from different sources and different students creating an ever-growing databank. Possibility to manage a high number of students, checking their work and assessing progress.

ADGWIKI

Thanks for your attention!

September 19, 2008

Kaunas, Lithuania

2nd Meeting

CLAN – Continuous Learning for Adults with Needs134649-LLL-1-2007-IT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained

therein.