3. Enrollment
Students age 25+ enrollment rose 42%
between 2000 and 2010.
Enrollment of students age 25 + made
up 43% of students in degree-granting
institutions in 2010 (US Dept. of
Ed., 2012).
4. Enrollment
The National Center for Education
Statistics projects that students age
25 and older will continue to
comprise 43% of undergraduate
students in 2020.
Students age 35 and older comprise
18% of the student population.
5. Who are they?
In recent years, adult learners are:
Workers who lost their jobs in the
recession of 2008.
Veterans returning from Afghanistan
and Iraq.
6. Adult Learners
Characteristics
Age 25 and older.
Delayed enrollment.
Attend part-time.
Have taken college courses.
Work full-time, 35 hours/week.
7. Adult Learners
Characteristics
Characteristics
Have dependents, children or elderly
parents.
Are single parents.
Have a high school diploma or GED.
Are active duty military personnel.
8. Adult Learning
Theory
Andragogy is a term coined by Malcom
Knowles in the 1960s to distinguish
between pedagogy, a learning theory
applied to children and teenagers,
and the learning needs of adults.
9. Andragogy: four
principles
They are self-directed, take
responsibility for their own actions,
and resist having information
arbitrarily imposed on them.
10. Andragogy: four
principles
They have an extensive depth of
experience, which serves as a critical
component in the foundation of their
self identity.
11. Andragogy: four
principles
They are ready to learn. As most adult
learners return to college
voluntarily, they are likely to
actively engage in the learning
process.
12. Andragogy: four
principles
They are task motivated. Adult
students returning to college attend
for a specific goal and the primary
component of their motivational drive
tends to be internal.
13. Adult Learners
Draw upon previous life and work
experience, which enables reasoning
and reflective thinking during the
learning process.
Possess a healthy skepticism related
to well established attitudes,
beliefs, and values.
14. Online Courses
Students choose online courses for:
convenience.
flexibility.
ability to balance work, education,
and home and family obligations.
15. Online Courses
The Pew Internet and American Life
Project reports that 36% of adults
over the age of 30 who graduated
college took courses online.
16. Online Courses
A Pew Internet and American Life Project survey says
that,
“77% of college presidents report that their
institutions now offer online courses, and college
presidents predict substantial growth in online
learning:
15% say most of their current undergraduate students
have taken a class online,
50% predict that ten years from now most of their
students will take classes online.”
17. Online Courses
89% of 4 year colleges offer online
education.
91% of 2 year colleges offer online
education (Parker, 2011).
18. Challenges of Online
Courses
Students experience negative emotions
such as anger, frustration,
confusion, boredom and isolation.
Technophobia.
High drop out rate.
68% of college students have a
negative view of online courses and
say it does not have the same value
as face-to-face classroom setting.
19. More challenges
Learning how to communicate by
written discourse in an asynchonous
manner (Zembylas 2008 ).
Lack of immediate feedback
(Mouzakitis and Nazime, 2011).
Increased preparation time.
Problems managing time.
20. What Faculty can do:
Become familiar with
learning styles and
comfortable with a variety
of teaching strategies that
address different learning
styles.
21. What Faculty can do:
Maintain large, easy to read fonts
and clear bold colors (Cercone 2008).
Ensure students can move through the
instruction at their own pace.
Allow students to review previous
learning.
22. V. A. R. K.
V= Visual. Learn best by observing,
watching and seeing.
A= Aural. Learn through listening,
discussing and talking.
R=Read/Write. Learn best by
interacting with textual materials.
K=Kinesthetic. Learn best by doing.
23. Activities to support visual
learning style:
pictures
posters
slides
videos
flow charts
different color/font
graphs
24. Activities to support aural
learning style:
discussions with teacher/peer
debates
arguments
audio
video
music
seminars
25. Activities to support
Read/Write Learning Style:
textbook readings/articles/handouts/notes.
written feedback.
Manuals.
Essays.
Bibliographies.
Dictionaries.
Glossaries.
26. Activities to support Kinesthetic
learning style:
Hands-on experiences.
Modeling.
Role play.
Physical activities.
Guest lecturers.
Real life experiences.
Demonstrations.
28. Podcasting
“Instructors may want to consider
podcasting as a medium to assist with
learning, providing a structure for
analysis or interpretation for
content, thus fostering improved
reflection” (Luna and Cullen, 2011,
p. 44).
29. Podcasting
A study of graduate students revealed
50% of students accessed the podcast
more than once, while only 31% read
the unit material more than once.
30. Podcasting
75% of students would recommend that
other students taking the course
listen to the podcast.
Students took notes while listening.
Believed they were more productive.
76% agreed the podcast enhanced or
clarified their understanding.
34. Assist Students by:
Re-evaluating assignment instructions
and the frequency and type of
guidance provided to online learners.
Provide examples of how students can
best manage their time.
Include training on specific
technical skills.
35. Different
Assessments
Use different assessment tools for
different learning styles.
Students with read/write learning
style perform better on quizzes. How
will you assess visual, aural and
kinesthetic learners?
36. Finally...
Remember that everyone is different.
Adults have jobs, families, and other
duties beyond their coursework.
Adults want to learn and are
motivated.
And they have life experience to
contribute to the classroom whether
it’s face-to-face or online!
37. Cercone, K. (2008). Characteristics of adult learners with implications for online learning design." AACE Journal, 16 (2)
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