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TRAINING AND THE NEEDS OF ADULT LEARNERS
Yensegenova Gulmira Zhumabekovna, Batyrbaeva Nadiya Kadyrovna, Zhamantayeva Karashash Kalshenovna, Kabdenova Alima Kazbekovna, Kalieva Tamara Kaidarovna, Alzhanova Gulzat Kenzhebekovna, Branch of JSC "NCPD "Orleu" institute for professional development of North-Kazakhstan region Republic of Kazakhstan, Petropavlovsk, trainer
E-mail: kz.gulmira@bk.ru
Abstract. This paper therefore presents the core notion of teaching adults and needs of adults' leaners, the nature of three generic domains of adult learning is posited, each with its own interpretive categories, ways of determining which knowledge claims are warranted, methods of inquiry as well as its own learning goals, learning needs and modes of educational intervention.
Keywords: adult education, lifelong learning, needs, center adult education, adult education classes, adult education courses, adult basic education.
Teaching adult learners can be very rewarding, but very challenging as well. We mustn't forget we're dealing with individuals who have their own lives outside of school, some with very busy schedules. But adult learners are also better equipped for dialogue and exchange. They come to class with a set of tools and information that can be of great use to us. On the one hand we present the advantages that come with teaching adult learners and the way you, as an ESL teacher can maximize their great potential for learning. And on the other hand, we examine the challenges we face and suggest some ways to overcome them.
When we teach adults, we're dealing with individuals who, to a greater or lesser degree, have a set of study skills, acquired in their previous schooling. At the very least, they possess writing, summarizing, and note-taking skills. They know perfectly well what it's like to attend classes, and the greater their commitment to their learning, the more organized they are, and the more skills they are willing to deploy.
How do we fully take advantage of their previously acquired study skills?
Ask them to produce a summary of a video seen in class, or a reading assignment. Encourage them to prepare charts or graphs. Feel free to assign more challenging types of homework assignments, not necessarily more time-consuming, as most adults learners don't have a great deal of free time on their hands, but they may handle more mentally-challenging exercises. They may even make a Power Point presentation for their final examination. Never underestimate them.
The first characteristic of adult learners you should learn is that they are not children, and they don't need help with their homework.
Most adults, who enroll in professional development courses, do so of their own volition. This is another characteristic of adult learners. Their needs may vary, but the fact of the matter is they feel an interest in learning, a need, sometimes even an urgency to study teaching technique. Some need to improve their teaching skills to have better chances of advancement in their careers [1; p. 123].
The teacher of adults has a different job from the one who teaches children. If you're teaching adult students, for the best results it's important to understand and practice five principles espoused by Malcolm Knowles, a pioneer in the study of adult learning. He observed that adults learn best when:
- They understand why something is important to know or do;
- They have the freedom to learn in their own way.
Principle 1: Make Sure Your Adult Students Understand "Why".
Most adult students are in your classroom because they want to be. Some of them are there because they have Continuing Education requirements to keep a certificate current, but most are there because they've chosen to learn something new.
This principle is not about why your students are in your classroom, but about why each thing you teach them is an important part of the learning. I'll use my own pickle-making lesson as an example.
Principle 2: Respect that Your Students Have Different Learning Styles.
There are three general learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
Visual learners rely on pictures. They love graphs, diagrams, and illustrations. "Show me," is their motto. They often sit in the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions and to watch you, the teacher. They want to know what the subject looks like. You can best communicate with them by providing handouts, writing on the white board, and using phrases like, "Do you see how this works?"
Auditory learners listen carefully to all sounds associated with the learning. "Tell me," is their motto. They will pay close attention to the sound of your voice and all of its subtle messages, and they will actively participate in discussions. You can best communicate with them by speaking clearly, asking questions, and using phrases like, "How does that sound to you?"
Tactile or kinesthetic learners need to physically do something to understand it.
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Their motto is "Let me do it." They trust their feelings and emotions about what they're learning and how you're teaching it. They want to actually touch what they're learning. They are the ones who will get up and help you with role playing. You can best communicate with them by involving volunteers, allowing them to practice what they're learning, and using phrases like, "How do you feel about that?"
Principle 3: Allow Your Students to Experience What They're Learning.
Experience can take many forms. Any activity that gets your students involved makes the learning experiential. This includes small group discussions, experiments, role playing, skits, building something at their table or desk, writing or drawing something specific - activity of any kind. Activities also keep people energized, especially activities that involve getting up and moving about.
The other aspect of this principle is honoring the life experiences your students bring to the classroom. Be sure to tap into that wealth of wisdom whenever it's appropriate. You'll have to be a good timekeeper because people can talk for hours when asked for personal experiences, but the extra facilitation needed will be well worth the gems your students have to share [2; p.95].
Many adult teachers work on a part-time basis, often in addition to another career. Because classes designed for adult students are often held in the evenings, early mornings, and possibly weekends, adult teachers will likely have irregular class schedules. Such classes are entirely elective, most often filled with students who are highly motivated; because of this adult teachers may find teaching such eager minds more rewarding than teachers of other age groups.
Teacher, adult education
Adult education teachers coordinate and teach programs designed specifically for adult learners. Typical activities involve designing and teaching courses, liaising with further education authorities and following curriculum development.
Adult education covers a whole spectrum of subjects, from academic areas like history and literature to practical subjects like IT and languages, as well as social and life skills. Learners are usually between 18 years of age and 85 and above; they may be recent school levers or retired people looking to extend their skills and knowledge base, to help them in day-to-day life.
Teachers organize and run tutorials, seminars and lectures in particular subjects. Along with the responsibilities of teaching and preparing lesson plans to engage people from a variety of backgrounds, the teachers often have to carry out administration tasks connected with the running of the programs. Many of the locally based groups deliver accredited courses while others concentrate on ensuring that learners develop self-confidence about learning, enabling them to progress to accredited options [3; p.56].
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Work activities:
- Planning, preparing and delivering lessons to classes;
- Involving learners in the planning and implementing of their learning activities;
- Creating a climate that encourages and supports learning;
- Fostering a spirit of collaboration in the learning setting;
- Developing a report with members of the class, to meet the needs of each and deliver a structured and fulfilling learning experience;
- Foster critically reflective thinking;
- Assessing and recording pupils progress, through coursework and examinations;
- Participating in staff meetings;
- Further training is provided through in-service courses. Professional development and other specialized courses are also offered by some universities.
Skills and qualities:
- Highly conscientious and committed to the highest standards of professional
- Excellent communication and organizational skills;
- Caring and motivated by the best interests of his/her students;
- Enthusiasm for the subject material that will foster a love of learning by
- Willing to engage in ongoing professional development;
- Ability to relate well to different groups of students of different ages and ability levels;
- Team-player who can collaborate with colleagues.
How can I use adult learning principles to facilitate student learning on placement?
Here we discuss some ways to facilitate learning by applying Knowles' Adult Learning Principles:
1. Adults are internally motivated and self-directed.
Adult learners resist learning when they feel others are imposing information, ideas or actions on them [4, p.163].
Your role is to facilitate a students' movement toward more self-directed and responsible learning as well as to foster the student's internal motivation to learn.
As clinical educator you can:
- Set up a graded learning program that moves from more to less structure, from less to more responsibility and from more to less direct supervision, at an appropriate pace that is challenging yet not overloading for the student;
service;
students;
- Develop rapport with the student to optimize your approachability and encourage asking of questions and exploration of concepts;
- Show interest in the student's thoughts and opinions. Actively and carefully listen to any questions asked;
- Lead the student toward inquiry before supplying them with too many facts;
- Provide regular constructive and specific feedback (both positive and negative);
- Review goals and acknowledge goal completion;
- Encourage use of resources such as library, journals, internet and other department resources;
- Set projects or tasks for the student that reflects their interests and which they must complete and "tick off" over the course of the placement. For example: to provide an in-service on topic of choice; to present a case-study based on one of their clients; to design a client educational handout; or to lead a client group activity session;
- Acknowledge the preferred learning style of the student. A questionnaire is provided below that will assist your student to identify their preferred learning style and to discuss this with you.
2. Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences.
Adults like to be given opportunity to use their existing foundation of knowledge and experience gained from life experience, and apply it to their new learning experiences. As a clinical educator you can:
- Find out about your student - their interests and past experiences (personal, work and study related);
- Assist them to draw on those experiences when problem-solving, reflecting and applying clinical reasoning processes;
- Facilitate reflective learning opportunities which Fidishun (2000) suggests can also assist the student to examine existing biases or habits based on life experiences and "move them toward a new understanding of information presented" [3, p.202].
3. Adults are goal oriented.
Adult students become ready to learn when "they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems" [5; p. 119]. Your role is to facilitate a student's readiness for problem-based learning and increase the student's awareness of the need for the knowledge or skill presented. As educator, you can:
- Provide meaningful learning experiences that are clearly linked to personal, client and fieldwork goals as well as assessment and future life goals;
- Provide real case-studies (through client contact and reporting) as a basis from which to learn about the theory, methods, functional issues implications of relevance;
- Ask questions that motivate reflection, inquiry and further research.
4. Adults are relevancy oriented.
Adult learners want to know the relevance of what they are learning to what they want to achieve. One way to help students to see the value of their observations and practical experiences throughout their placement, is to:
- Ask the student to do some reflection on for example, what they expect to learn prior to the experience, on what they learnt after the experience, and how they might apply what they learnt in the future, or how it will help them to meet their learning goals;
- Provide some choice of fieldwork project by providing two or more options, so that learning is more likely to reflect the student's interests.
5. Adults are practical.
Through practical fieldwork experiences, interacting with real clients and their real life situations, students move from classroom and textbook mode to hands-on problem solving where they can recognize first hand how what they are learning applies to life and the work context. As a clinical educator you can:
- Clearly explain your clinical reasoning when making choices about assessments, interventions and when prioritizing client's clinical needs;
- Be explicit about how what the student is learning is useful and applicable to the job and client group you are working with;
- Promote active participation by allowing students to try things rather than observe. Provide plenty of practice opportunity in assessment, interviewing, and intervention processes with ample repetition in order to promote development of skill, confidence and competence [6, p.267].
6. Adult learners like to be respected.
Respect can be demonstrated to your student by:
- Taking interest;
- Acknowledging the wealth of experiences that the student brings to the placement;
- Regarding them as a colleague who is equal in life experience;
- Encouraging expression of ideas, reasoning and feedback at every opportunity [7, p.78].
It is important to keep in mind that the student is still developing occupational therapy clinical practice skills. However, with the theory and principles of adult learning in mind, you can facilitate the learning approach of the student to move from novice to more sophisticated learning methods. This facilitates greater integration of knowledge, information and experience; the student learns to distinguish what is important when assessing and working with clients; how to prioritize client needs, goals and caseload; when rules can be put aside and how/when the approach to occupational therapy practice and professional communication emerges from strict modeling of behavior into a unique therapeutic and professional expression of self.
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Literature:
1. Allen, S. (2005) Self-paced adult learning module for allied health professional practice educators. University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Australia. Theory and practice of clinical supervision. London: WB Saunders Company LTD
2. Clinical Placement Advisory Committee [CPAC] (1997) Clinical supervisor's survival kit. A resource handbook for Occupational Therapists supervising students on placement. University of Queensland, Division of Occupational Therapy. Australia.
3. Fidishun, D. (2000) Andragogy and technology: Integrating adult learning theory as we teach with technology. [Conference Paper]: 5th Annual Instructional Technology Conference. Retrieved April 4 2007, from Middle Tennessee State University website [Electron recourse]. - URL: http://www.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed00/fidishun.htm
4. Fitzgerald, C (2007, March) Workshop for occupational therapy clinical educators. [Powerpoint presentation] School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. University of Queensland. Presented at Princess Alexandra Hospital. Brisbane. Australia
5. Fleming, N. D. & Mills, C. (1992).VARK a guide to learning styles. Retrieved June 20, 2007, from
6. Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (1992). The manual of learning styles. Maidenhead-Berkshire: Peter Honey. Knowles, Malcolm S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From andragogy to pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education.
7. Kolb, D.A (1976) Learning Style Inventory. Boston, MA: McBer and company.
