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The Changing Adult Learner
The document discusses the changing adult learner population and how to engage them effectively. It provides demographics of adult learners at Concordia University Wisconsin, including a majority being over age 30 and working full or part-time. It reviews key principles of andragogy, such as relating learning to learner needs and making it experiential. Tips are offered for engaging learners through incorporating technology, feedback, and storytelling while avoiding death by PowerPoint. The future of adult learning is discussed in the context of millennial learners who have always had technology and changing references over time. The presentation emphasizes understanding generational differences and learners' environments to guide their learning.
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The Changing Adult Learner
- 1. The Changing Adult Learner BarbaraB. Nixon, Ph.D. (ABD) Green Bay Center
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- 4. In times ofchange learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer
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- 6. The hope: Wideawake audience
- 7. The reality: Sleepyaudience
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- 12. Religion Lutheran Roman Catholic CommunityBaptist Gen. Christian Other
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- 17. They need tounderstand why something is important for them to know or do.
- 18. They want thefreedomto learn in their own way.
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- 20. The process is positiveand encouraging.
- 21. The time isright for them to learn.
- 22. Which of thesecan we, as faculty, impact? They understand why something is important for them to know or do. They have the freedom to learn in their own way. Learning is experiential. The process is positive and encouraging. The time is right for them to learn.
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- 25. My three besttips, plus some watchouts
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- 27. And . ..No Death by PowerPoint
- 28. Offer & accepttimely feedback
- 29. And . .. Know what to do with defensiveness
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- 31. And . .. Watch out for creating a class of Horshacks
- 32. The Future of AdultLearning
- 36. Some facts fromthe most recent Beloit Mindset List This year’s entering class has never licked a postage stamp, and for them electronic mail has always been the “new formal” (as opposed to texting and Instagram and Facebook and Twitter). Google has always been there Princess Diana has always been dead. When they were born, cell phone usage was so expensive that families only used their large phones, usually in cars, for emergencies. The proud parents recorded their first steps on camcorders, mounted on their shoulders like bazookas. If you say “around the turn of the century,” they may well ask you, “which one?”
- 37. For students whowere born in the late 1980s Computers have always fit in their backpacks. Gas has always been unleaded. There has always been some association between fried eggs and your brain. Stores have always had scanners at the checkout. George Foreman has always been a barbecue grill salesman. Tylenol has always been impossible for children or adults to open. They have always been able to make photocopies at home.
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- 41. 1.Know about generational differences 2.Recognizeenvironmental & cultural forces 3.Understand potential intergenerational tension
- 42. 4. Guide andfocus their learning 5. Identify & share your teaching philosophy 6. Become comfortable using eLearning technology
- 43. 7. Create aestheticallypleasing presentations 8. Help them know where to find support 9. Encourage curiosity
- 44. 10. Encourage collaboration 11.Be fair 12. Identify limits of multi-tasking
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- 47. In times ofchange learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. Eric Hoffer
- 48. Contact Me BarbaraB. Nixon, Ph.D. (ABD) Adjunct Professor, CUW Green Bay Center Manager of Learning & Documentation, SPI E-mail: barbara.nixon@cuw.edu Social Media: @barbaranixon Blog: publicrelationsmatters.com
Editor's Notes
- #2 .
- #3 Before I officially start . . . Like many others, I was hoping to see a few more of my peers here today. I wonder if we put this sign out front we might attract more? Show of hands: how many of you have any idea what that sign means?
- #5 One of my favorite quotations has long been one by social philosopher, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and longshoreman (seriously) Eric Hoffer. “In times of change LEARNERS inherit the earth, while the LEARNED find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. “ [twitter] Testing AutoTweet plugin [/twitter]
- #6 Learn about the demographics of our students Have a quick refresher on the principles of andragogy Discuss how to engage adult learners in our classes Become familiar with the future of adult learning
- #7 And being the first presenter after lunch can be challenging. I’m hoping y’all will be more like this audience, than THIS one . . .
- #9 Okay, now let’s start off with the demographics of our students in the Adult Learning Program here at Concordia. I’d like to thank Bernard Bull and Tamara Ferry for helping me to gather these numbers for you.
- #10 This may be one of the easy ones to guess, just based on what you’ve seen in your classes. Which group do you think is larger, male or female? Female 74 Male 26
- #11 This one may be a little tougher to guess. Which age bracket do you think has the most students? 17-21 5 22-29 26 30-39 35 40-49 24 50+ 11
- #12 As far as ethnicity goes, would you say that your classes are representative of your community? White 53 Hispanic 4 African-American 30 Native American 2 Two or More Races 4 Asian 2
- #13 This one looks more like a Trivial Pursuit game piece than any of the others . . . Our students are almost evenly balanced among these religions – with Lutherans being the largest piece of the pie Lutheran 23 Roman Catholic 18 Community 18 Baptist 12 Gen. Christian 17 Other 10
- #14 The last demographic I’ll share is related to our students’ employment. And this is pretty dramatic. A full three-quarters of our students are employed full time, and then they come to us one, or sometimes two, evenings a week. For those of us who come from a background of teaching so-called traditional students, this is quite different. Full-time 75 Part-time 18 None 5
- #15 We’ll get to that in just a little bit. So now you know some of the numbers . . .
- #16 Let’s move into some background that many of us are familiar with regarding teaching adults, and that’s the main principles of andragogy. These are based on the work of Malcolm Knowles.
- #17 And there are five main things to keep in mind about adult learners.
- #18 They need to understand why something is important for them to know or do.
- #19 They want the freedom to learn in their own way.
- #20 For adult learners, it works best when Learning is experiential.
- #21 Make the process is positive and encouraging for them
- #22 And finally, they learn best when The time is right for them to learn.
- #24 Before we get into how to engage our adult learners, let’s discuss (move to next slide) some of the roadblocks to engagement . . .
- #26 I’d like to share my three best tips for engaging our adult learners, and then I’ll provide you with the opportunity to share some of yours. Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/14087668094/">Leo Reynolds</a> via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
- #27 #1 – use technology wisely
- #28 …. And make sure there’s no Death by PowerPoint
- #29 #2 Offer AND accept timely feedback
- #30 And . . . Watch for defensiveness
- #31 And #3, incorporate storytelling
- #32 And watch out for creating a class of Horshacks. (How many of you knew who this was even before I said his name? After? No clue who he is?)
- #33 So far, we’ve discussed the demographics in our classes, some principles of adult learning, and a little on how to engage adults in our classes. Keep in mind that the longer we teach, the more generational differences we’ll need to work with and adapt to in our classes. Let’s now see a short video about how social media transforms the way we live and learn. As the video proceeds, jot down any stats or facts that were surprising to you.
- #34 The social media revolution, by Eric Qualman
- #35 What are some of the things that surprised you from the Social Media Revolution? Share at your own tables, then I’ll ask for a few to report back.
- #36 So what’s going on in the minds of our millennial students? Researchers at Beloit University put together a “Mindset List” every year to help us out. There should be a colorful piece of cardstock on most tables. PINK & PURPLE = for graduating seniors now entering college GREEN & GOLD = for students about a decade older
- #37 Source: https://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2019/ Maybe put these on notecards, and have audience members read them off
- #39 It’s SO easy to fall in to the trap of sounding like an old geezer to our students.
- #40 http://www.pewresearch.org/quiz/how-millennial-are-you/ -- or just Google “how millennial are you?” We don’t have time to do this now, and I encourage you to try the quiz after the conference. I discovered that even though I’m over 50, I am 88% millennial.
- #41 So how can we best teach our millennial students? Educators at Harvard have developed a dozen tips.
- #47 Recognize these guys? What movie is this from? (City Slickers) Curly was the tough old cowboy character played by the late Jack Palance. Here’s the scene from the movie where Curly espouses his life philosophy to Mitch, Billy Crystal’s character: Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? Curly: This. [holds up one finger] Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit. Mitch: But what is the “one thing?” Curly: [smiles] That’s what you have to find out. Image Credit: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue51/images/Pic3-City%20Slickers%20Secret%20of%20Life[1].jpg