JUNE 2, 2013
Strategies that Engage Adult Learners
Cristie McClendon
Outcomes for the Session
Identify the characteristics of excellent faculty members;
Differentiate between a fixed and growth mindset;
Compare and contrast mastery learners, strategic learners and performance avoiders;
Identify four stages of learning;Preview instructional strategies that engage
adult learners
Icebreakers
Icebreakers
Benefit: Requires only the ability to express oneself
Allows the learners to get to know one another before they resort to learning style and competition
Humanizes the learning experience and builds trust
Sets the tone for future communication in the course
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
In a Word…
Purpose: Students introduce themselves to others in a new and innovative way
Instructions: Think of one word that best describes you or your
life right now. Write it on an index card. Find someone else whose word “resonates” with
you. Pair up with them and come up with two other
words that you have in common.
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Name that Show
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Effective Icebreakers
Should be fun and nonthreateningFocuses on the learners instead of contentRequires learners to interact with one
another or read one another’s posts (online)Requires the learner to find something they
have in common with at least 10% of the class
Requires learners to be creative, and express genuine emotions and openness
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Advanced Organizer
1. Left-brained learners need to see the big picture first so they will be able to pay attention to the presentation.
2. When we present, we usually teach to our right, so we need to be sure and make a concerted effort to look to the left periodically.
3. A good way to see if your audience is paying attention and comprehending your presentation is to monitor their blink rate.
4. Interpersonal learners need time at the end of a presentation to reflect and digest the information in order to retain it.
5. Instructors often have to mismatch their own preferred learning style in order to meet the needs of their learners.
The Best Faculty
Active and accomplished researchers and scholars
Follow the current developments and research in their field
Engage in reflection and metacognition within the discipline
Use knowledge to build their own understanding and abilities
Transmit this knowledge to students in a way they can understand
Know how to build foundational knowledge and scaffold content for student understanding
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press.
The Best Faculty
Realize knowledge is constructed, not receivedRealize questions and caring are important
The more questions we ask, the more we can index thoughts in memory.
Ask questions, but teach students to develop their own as well
Students have to want to go beyond just memorizing information for the test.
We have to motivate them.
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
The Best Faculty
Realize mental models change slowlyThree prerequisites for deep learning:
Students must face a situation does not work; Students must care enough that it doesn’t work to
grapple with the issue at hand; Students must be able to handle emotional trauma
that comes with challenging long-held beliefs.
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Motivation is important. Verbal reinforcement and social approval motivate
students Motivation and performance decrease when students
feel someone is trying to control them. If students only study to get a good grade or to be
the best in class, they do not achieve as much as they do when they actually learn.
They cannot analyze, synthesize with the same level of mental skill, nor will they take on challenges.
Feel smart only when they engage in activities that they can succeed in avoid struggling grappling and making mistakes’ want to appear smart
Person praise (you are so smart) versus task praise (you did a great job on that paper)
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Realize people come to and move between the levels
Have a strong sense of who learners are Tailor approaches based on how students
learn; incremental steps Help students believe that they can learn,
build confidence and encourageHelp students craft a notion as to what it
means to be intelligent and educated Help students learn their strengths and
contributions they can make
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Give students as much control over education as possibleOffer nonjudgmental feedback on work and how then
how to improveAvoid dividing students into groups based on level of
achievementEncourage cooperation and collaboration versus
competitionAvoid grading on a curve and grade based on mastery of
criterionGive students multiple opportunities to show what they
knowTalk about the promises of the course rather than a long
list of requirementsMeaningful connections to the course and student prior
knowledge
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
How Would You Rate Yourself?
On a scale of 1-5 with five being the highest, how would you rate yourself on how well you could identify the stage of learning your students are in?
What is your best attribute?Where might you be able to grow?
Mindset
Activity
Fixed or growth mindset quiz
Application Cards
Purpose: New content in the form of theories, principles, or procedures is presented to students.
Instructor hands out index cards and has students write down one real, world application for what they have learned
What have you learned about growth and fixed mindsets?
Video
Think-Pair-Share
How are adult learners similar to and different from the traditional students you might
have in class now?If adult learners were surveyed for this video, what might they say?How might this information change
your teaching?
Types of Learners
Three Kinds of Learners
Mastery learners Respond to the challenge of mastering something Get inside the subject and try to examine its
complexity Believe they can become more intelligent by learning Work to develop their thinking competence Establish individual learning goals Engage for the sake of learning Take more risks in learning, try harder tasks
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Three Kinds of Learners
Strategic Learners Focus on doing well; want high grades React to competition Avoid challenges that will harm their academic
performance and record Fail to develop deep understanding View intelligence as fixed Often develop a sense of helplessness Want tasks that they find easy, make them feel
smart and require little effort Don’t want to grapple with the content to
change their own perceptions
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Performance avoiders…. Surface learners, Don’t want to invest of themselves to probe deeper Fear failure Stick with trying to survive Memorize and reproduce what they hear Avoid competition Pursue answers to questions rather than learning the
information
Three Kinds of Learners
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Four Stages of Learning
Stage 1: Received knowers View learning as a matter of checking with the experts
to get the right answers and then memorizing them Truth is external Sit and get Poised and ready to take notes Ingest information but cannot evaluate or create it for
herself Banking model: professor deposits the answers into
their heads
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Four Stages of Learning
Stage 2: Subjective knowers All knowledge is a matter of opinion Use feelings to make judgments An idea is right if it feels right If they get low grades, they say the professor doesn't
like their opinion.
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Four Stages of Learning
Stage 3: Procedural knowers Learn to play the game of the discipline, program or
class Learn criteria for making judgments and use those
standards in their papers. Sharp students What they learn in class doesn’t influence what they
do outside of class No sustained influence on what they think, act or feel
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Four Stages of Learning
Stage 4: Separate Knowers and Connected Knowers Commitment; independent, critical and creative thinkers Value ideas and ways of thinking to which they are
exposed and consciously and consistently try to use them Aware of their own thinking and correct as they go. Separate knowers detach themselves from an idea,
remain objective and are skeptical and willing to argue on a topic
Connected knowers look at the merits of other people’s ideas but instead of trying to shoot them down, they deliberately bias themselves in favor of that they are examining
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
The Best Faculty
Treat their content and presentations as serious endeavors
Go beyond the mechanics of teaching Think content of lectures, number of students,
assigned readings
They expect more, but not in terms of piling on content without a focus on learning
Favor objectives that will prepare students to know how think and prepare for life
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Begin with the end in mind What do I want my students to know, think and be
able to do when they leave class? What big questions will my course help students
answers? What information will they need to know in order
answer the questions? What reasoning abilities do students need to have in
order to answer the questions? What mental models might students bring with them
that I want to challenge? How do I construct that intellectual challenge?
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Create an environment that fosters authentic, critical learning
Five steps:1. Start with an intriguing question or problem2. Guide students to understand the importance of the
question3. Engage students in higher-order intellectual
activities; grapple with ideas with authentic and challenging tasks
4. Challenge students to develop their own explanations and defend them
5. Leave students with a question: What happens next?
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Start with the students..not the contentStart with something students know about,
care about, know or think they know rather than just laying out a blueprint for the class
Predict the paradigms students are going to bring to class and prepare to challenge it
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Ask students for a commitment to the class and to their learning
Lay out promises and plans for the courseSpell out specific obligations they see as part
of a student’s decision to join the classDon’t try to command students; ask for their
commitment if they plan to take the class and pursue those goals
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Engage students in disciplinary thinkingUse class time to help students think about
the information the way researchers and scholars in the field do
Engage in metacognition and think about processes
Offer explanations analogies and questions that help students learn and solve problems on their own
Create diverse learning experiences
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
Believe students want to learn and assume all students can learn
Display openness and share their own challenges and successes, academically and professionally
Share their passion and enthusiasm for discipline and life
Treat students with decency
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
The Best Faculty
All have a systematic program to assess their efforts and teaching
Avoid judging students on arbitrary standardsAssessment flows from objectivesDon’t blame students for failures or
difficultiesA strong commitment to the larger academic
community rather than to individual classroom success: beyond isolated wonderfulness
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Reflections
Current Issues Reflections/Journal
Purpose: Identify a course-related topic. Students write a journal or blog on the topic and how it relates to their learning
Define the requirements for the journal or blog entry
Decide how often students make entriesDefine what an entry will look like
Date of entry and source Summary (5Ws: who, what, when, where, why, how Discussion of how course concepts relate to the event Discuss how this impacts learning and practice
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Effective Reflections
Require a synthesis of learning experienceRequire learner to share his or her
experienceRequire learner to provide feedback for the
instructor for future course developmentAllow for honest and open responsesInsightful and nonthreatening formatCompleted over several days or weeks in the
course
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
The Best Faculty
Is the material worth learning?Are the students learning what the course is
supposedly teaching?Am I helping and encouraging students to
learn or do they do it despite me?Have I harmed my students? …Fostered short
term learning rather than stimulating additional interest?
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Light bulb or “Aha” Moments
Purpose: Learners reflect on and record moments when something or course content suddenly becomes clear
Post aha’s in a designated place in the classMini epiphanies
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
How is my Navigation?
Purpose: Students engage in formative evaluation of course
Faculty member asks students to provide feedback on the course.
Students offer professional and candid feedback, and instructor makes the commitment to take that into consideration and use that feedback to improve the teaching and possibly change the course.
Divide class into groups of four. Teams discuss strengths and opportunities for improvement for the course, along with potential solutions. Post the summary to designated area of forum.
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Insights-Resources-Applications
Purpose: helps students reflect on and identify what they learned in course readings and connect it to prior knowledge and experience. They also must seek out additional sources on the topic.
Insights: Provide 3 insights (one sentence bullet points) that represent new understandings you now have about the reading or topic.
Resource: Provide 1 additional resource that you have identified that amplifies your understanding of the reading or topic.
Application: Briefly discuss how this learning relates to your current or past experiences with concrete examples.
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Autobiographical Reflections
Self-reflection and self-awareness are important factors for students to engage in as they move through a degree program.
Students write about their own history or background experiences regarding a course concept or topic.
Identify a topic and parameters of the self-reflection. Do you want to limit it to prior experiences? Academic? Family? Professional? Similar courses?
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Doctoral Self-Assessment
We give a self-assessment at the beginning of the program (first class) and then again in the fifth class to see how learners perceive they are growing as doctoral students.
Learning Audit
What do you know now that you didn’t know this time last week?
What can you do now that you couldn’t do this time last week?
What can you teach someone else to know or do now that you couldn’t teach them this time last week?
Brookfield, Stephen. (2006). The skillful teacher: On trust, technique and responsiveness in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Survival Memo
Write a memo to the learners who are taking the next session of this class.
Some items you will want to cover in your memo are: Outline as specifically as you can what the
characteristics of a graduate of this course are. What are the things students will learn in the class
that will help with their success in the doctoral program?
What advice do you have for the next group of learners?
Brookfield, Stephen. (2006). The skillful teacher: On trust, technique and responsiveness in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Partner and Team Activities
Effective, Authentic Activities
Is the activity original, inductive, problem-based?
Learners work together and use their experiences as a starting point.
Students are allowed to learn from their mistakes.
Activity has value beyond the course or learning setting
Builds skills that students can take beyond the life of the class
Learners have a way to implement their outcomes in a meaningful way.
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Effective Partner Activities
Should be academically oriented, focused on content
Requires learners to interact, communicate and read others’ posts
Requires learners to express what they agree with or like about one another’s work
Requires express what they would improve upon their peer’s work
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Physical or Online Stations
Purpose: Allow students to engage with content using visuals, artifacts and symbols to examine and exchange ideas.
Identify a suitable topic and identify items (pictures, videos, documents) that can be used in an exhibit. An option is to give students the topic and have them generate the visuals.
Have students generate a collage of pictures for the topic and reflect on them.
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Say it With Pictures– Boomers and Net Generation Collage
Think About It
Purpose: This activity is designed to have students reflect on a statement and decide on its merit or truth and then to substantiate their opinion with evidence.
Identify a common misconception about a topic or discipline. Record as a statement.
Have students read and take a poll on who agrees or disagrees.
After the poll, tell students that the statement is not a fact and have them complete a task to prove it is not true.
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Effective Group Activities
Consist of more than questions and answersFocused on course contentRequire learners to interact with one
another/read and reply to postsRequire each team member to think criticallyTeam must construct a synthesized response
or productTeam members are individually held
accountable for their contributions to the project or discussion.
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Team or Dyad Debates
Learning stylesMultiple intelligencesUse of animals for medical testingIdeas?
Discussion Web
Adapted from Alvermann, D.E. (1991). The Discussion Web: A graphic aid for learning across the curriculum. The Reading Teacher, 45, 92–99.
Teaching the Adult Student
AN APPROACH TO TEACHING ( 5 'R's )RespectResearchResponsivenessRelationshipsReflection
Siebert, A. and Karr, M. (2008, August 10). An instructor’s manual to accompany: The adult student’s guide to survival & success (6th ed.). Portland, OR: Practical Psychology Press. Retrieved November 1, 2009 from http://www.adultstudent.com/eds/im/
Teaching the Adult Student
Learn to be flexibleLearn to reflectChunk informationUse active learning strategiesMake it real and relevantMake it immediately applicableInclude team learning projects;Support theory with real-life examples; Make class sessions interactive; andProvide frequent positive feedback.
What would you add?
Teaching the Adult Student
Attention: 90:20:8 Rule Adults can listen with understanding for 90
minutes and with retention for 20 minutes,so try and involve them every 8 minutes.
Instruction should be focused and diffused.Those who do the processing do the learning.Chunk lectures and make them interactive.
Siebert, A. and Karr, M. (2008, August 10). An instructor’s manual to accompany: The adult student’s guide to survival & success (6th ed.). Portland, OR: Practical Psychology Press. Retrieved from http://www.adultstudent.com/eds/im/
The Best Faculty
Teaching is not just about delivering information or transmitting knowledge.
Teaching is about helping and encouraging students to learn.
Teaching occurs only when learning takes place.
Create conditions where most students will realize their potential to learn
Use failures to gain further insightAlways have something new to learn
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
References
Conrad, R. and Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning.
Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press
Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Brookfield, Stephen. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Brookfield, Stephen. (2006). The skillful teacher: On trust, technique and responsiveness in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
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