Rosemarie J. ParkAdult Education and Human

Resources Development

Unique Needs and Classroom Strategies:

Working with Returning Adult Learners

Focus on the learner

Know your audience

You are all pretty experienced teachers)There is a huge diversity of experienceYou work with a wide range of clientsWhose skills/access to technology vary

The experience bank

Work with: Elected officialsGovernment programsRural, white communitiesSmall business ownersNon-profits/for profitsNursing homes

Experience bank (cont.)

Migrant womenHispanic communitiesIslamic populationsYouth/adults in organ donationSales & marketingCommunity educationGrant writingConflict resolution

Top picks for learning

Techniques & strategies (65%)Motivations and barriers (63%)Using technology (59%)Communicating specialized

information to lay audiences (50%)Moderating or facilitating (44%)

Knowing your audience

What do they see as useful?Preferred mode of learningDemographics - important or not? Age, ethnicityInstitutional, situational, attitudinal

barriers?

Kolb’s (1984) Learning Style Inventory

AccommodatorConvergerDivergerAssimilator

Keys to content delivery

What the pyramid tells us about strategy-

• The more active the strategy the more effective

• Group learning is not wasted time• Teacher as facilitator model works

What we know about motivation

Learners often prefer to be passive (entertain me!)

Brookfield identifies learner resistance - this can be the product of experience!

Don’t put your reputation on the line each time you meet resistance

Focus on the entire group to meet their needs

Time is the most precious commodity adults have so don’t waste it

Resisting learning

Necessity is often the mother of invention -real need = real learning

Learning may involve taking risks best taken in private

For low skilled groups fear of failure is a strong disincentive

Comfortable certainties, old skill sets and attitudes interfere

Hallmarks of good teaching

Credible & authentic instruction (Extension has a reputation for this)

Clarity of instructionBuy-in built into instructionDemonstrable resultsLearning is incremental & reflective

and hardly anyone will do everything you say

Mediums of instruction - technology

What constitutes good use?How do you evaluate what is on

offer?How do we accommodate the low

end user?Issues of infrastructureIssues of culture

Communicating specialized information

How well does the general public read?

What about my service area?How difficult is this to read?How comprehensible

(understandable) is it?How easy to use is it?

Do I need to redo this?

Writing in plain languageThis includes the NET!How about those forms?Is there help available?There also is a law…

Focus on you the instructor

You are the subject matter expert

What influences how you teach?

Your level of experienceYour vision of learningHow you yourself were taughtYour knowledge of the teaching

processYour own personal style (be yourself)

Instructor roles

FacilitatorGuideCo-investigator

Stuck?

Go back to the pyramid!

Keys to success

The more active the strategy the more learning occurs

Authentic, context based learning motivates the learner

Learning occurs both top-down and bottom-up

Thank you

Never do more than 15 overheads per presentation!