Class Preparation and the Adult Learner

Steve HorvathAmy Chase Martin

Getting to Know You

• Please take a moment to share one of your greatest instructional challenges/concerns as a teacher• If you have time, optionally, on a separate card, write

down a brief description of your favorite “exit ticket” to conclude a class

How Many Years Have You Been Teaching Undergraduates?A. 0-1B. 2-4C. 5-7D. 8-10E. More than 10 years 0-1 2-4 5-7

8-10

More th

an 10 years

0% 0% 0%0%0%

I feel prepared for the first day of classes….A. Strongly AgreeB. AgreeC. Somewhat AgreeD. NeutralE. Somewhat DisagreeF. DisagreeG. Strongly Disagree

Strongly

Agree

Agree

Somewhat Agre

e

Neutral

Somewhat Disa

gree

Disagre

e

Strongly

Disagree

0% 0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

Roadmap for Session• Before Your First Class• First Day!• Meet the Adult Learner• Andragogy – Unpacked• Review of Bloom’s Taxonomy• Wrap Up

Before Your First Class- Administrative

View your classrooms online at http://hccfacultysupport.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Views

Before Your First Class- Administrative continued• Prepare to communicate policies for the following:• Attendance• Cell phones• Late work• Plagiarism• Late openings • Contacting you (mechanism and when you will respond)

• Know your resources for the following:• Alternate readings (if textbook not available)• Disruptive students/students in crisis• Student tutoring• Your own absence• Safety concerns• Classroom technology needs, including printer paper

• Enroll in HCC’s mobile alert system - https://www.howardcc.edu/about_hcc/news_and_events/alert/

First Day!• Plan a strong opening statement/example/introduction• Raise a question or provide a demonstration • Share a story • Conduct a poll • Create an activity connected to your syllabus

• Plan for late arrivals• First five - ten minutes of class may be chaotic so plan

accordingly.• Take attendance via index cards• Pair students for introductions• Write a provocative entrance question

Your Turn

What do you have planned for the first ten minutes of your first class?

The Adult Learner

What do we know already?

Plan for the Session• Review adult learning theory concepts• Identify some ways to encourage student

interaction with content• Consider the value and design of entrance

activities• Consider the value and design of effective

questions• Wrap up

YOUR Learner Descriptors

Learn Like an Adult!

A. I recognize the practical application of the information.

B. The teacher acknowledges that I probably have some previous experience in the subject matter.

C. I can work at my own pace and in my own way, i.e. individually or in a group

D. The new information seems like something I CAN learn.

I reco

gnize th

e practi

cal ..

.

The teach

er ack

nowledge...

I can

work

at my own pa..

The new info

rmation se

e..

Which of these conditions is most important to you when learning a new concept? (press answer for most important first, then two other options)

Adult Student ADDAttention Dis-Interested Disorder (aka Guess who)

Rejecting Hopeless Rejecting Fragile

Evading Defiant Evading Motivated

Don’t See Value See Value Don’t See Value See ValueENVIRONMENT NOT SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTIVE

Hig

hLo

w

Strategies to Motivate and Increase Support• Pair up• Person 1 – share a concern about … (pick one)• not being able to stay on top of the readings • not understanding how to use Canvas• Material being too easy• Materials being too difficult• Really hating group work

• Person 2 – provide support/actionable help to Person 1

• Switch roles

Your Turn

Learn Like an Adult!

What’s in it for me?

Plan for Session Redux

• Review adult learning theory concepts

• Identify some ways to encourage student interaction with content

• Consider the value and design of entrance activities

• Consider the value and design of effective questions

• Wrap up

• To reinforce WHO we are teaching and their qualities

• To support faculty goals for student learning

• To encourage stronger beginning to class session

• To encourage students to think critically about the subject matter

• To bring closure to the session, provide additional resources and answer any last questions

Andragogy Has 6 Principles

For each group, choose an envelope and draw a picture or saying on the whiteboard that represents that principle.

Your Turn

Learn Like an Adult!

Design a learning program that begins with significant structure but gradually is more student-directed

Lead the student toward inquiry – resist just telling them facts

Set projects or tasks for the student that reflect their interests

Find motivators provide incentive to learn content

Learn Like an Adult!

• Provide real-world examples of content• Encourage learners to identify aspects of the content that

most interest them• Interest survey• Student introductions

Your Turn• Consider an existing lesson you teach through the lens of what

you have learned about adult learners• Draft a brief description of one element of the lesson you

could change to better reflect characteristics of adult learners

Revisit Learner Descriptors• Are there more characteristics to add?

Learn Like an Adult!

Stage 3

Involved Learners; want support

Stage 1

Dependent Learners; need support and direction

Stage 4

Self-directed Learners

Stage 2

Interested but lack competence; need direction but not much support

Need for support

Need for direction

Pratt Model of Readiness to Learn (1998)

High

Low High

You have some interest in learning a new topic, which best describes your preferred approach?

A. Step-by-step guidance and reinforcement from instructor

B. Opportunities to work at my own pace with variety of methods/assessments

C. Direct connection of material learned to test questions

Step-by-step gu

idance an...

Opportunities t

o work

a...

Direct

connecti

on of mat..

.

0% 0%0%

Learn More!• Free resources to support learning about the adult

learner

How Learning Works: 7 Research-based Principles for Smart Teaching - Ambrose, Bridges, Lovett (2010)

The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species - Malcolm Knowles (1973)

Adult Learning in Under 3 Minutes

@MERLOTorg

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• What the heck is a taxonomy?

Amplify Learning• Goal is to get students to identify the role Maryland had in the

Civil War and why its politics and geographic location was so pivotal in a Northern Victory

• What do they need to know / do at each level on the taxonomy?

• Creating• Evaluating• Analyzing• Applying• Understanding• Remembering

Your Turn

• Think of one lesson you do now that could be elevated on Bloom’s…• What do you need to do/ask/require differently?• What will you and your students gain?

Learn More!• Free resources to support learning about Bloom’s Taxonomy

Iowa State Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Writing Objectives Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy in under 5 minutes

Wrap Up• Prepare for your first day by ensuring you have access to

needed resources and reserving those you may need• On your first day, have a strong entrance activity planned• Consider the characteristics of the adult learner when

planning instruction• Consider the design of your in-class questions/activities to

encourage higher-order thinking• Contact Faculty PD/Instructional Media for assistance

• Amy Chase Martin amartin@howardcc.edu • Faculty Questions IMFacultyLab@howardcc.edu

THANK YOU!

Well-Crafted and Well-Timed Questions

The Importance of Questions

• “Thinking is not driven by answers but questions.” (Paul & Elder, 2006, p.62).

• Students are active in the learning process/ creates an interactive environment

• Promotes critical thinking and rich classroom discussions

• Helps teachers understand students’ thinking• Student level of understanding

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Thinker's Guide to the Art of Socratic Questioning. Foundation Critical Thinking.

Effective Questions• Require students to relate material to personal experiences• One of Knowles’ 5 assumptions• While explaining heat transfer through conduction• For example: Remember when you took a pizza right out

of the oven? Did you notice that the crust of the pizza didn’t feel as hot as the pan? Why is that?

• Ask questions that require students to apply knowledge in a practical application- case studies. For example:• (History) How would Napoleon likely respond to the

current crisis in Syria if he were the leader of the Syrian government ?

Think of a question you ask your students… Rephrase that question so it incorporates your students’ personal experiences.

Multi-Dimensional Questions

Questions…

• Have you learned anything from this presentation so far?

• What have you learned so far from this presentation?

• What have you learned so far, and how can you can use it in your own courses?

See the difference?

Wrap Up• Prepare for your first day by ensuring you have access to

needed resources and reserving those you may need• On your first day, have a strong entrance activity planned• Consider the characteristics of the adult learner when

planning instruction• Consider the design of your in-class questions to encourage

higher-order thinking• Contact Faculty PD/Instructional Media for assistance

• Amy Chase Martin amartin@howardcc.edu • Faculty Questions IMFacultyLab@howardcc.edu

THANK YOU!