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Hooking the Adult Learner
Multimedia ApproachesBy Elizabeth G. Honaker
Consider the following first-day scenario:
• You prepare physically & mentally.
• You assemble your materials.
• You arrive early.
• You organize your classroom.
• You anticipate the arrival of your students.
• You prepare to deliver the opening lecture.
• You “hear” the following:
“I can’t pass your class.”Various disguised messages:
“I could never write well in high school.”
“I can’t think past 7 p.m.”“My last instructor told me to quit
on the first day.”“My children never give me a
moment’s peace.”
“I don’t understand poetry.”
What to do?
• Ignore them.• Smile a lot.• Hope for the best.• Refer them to the
syllabus.• Pretend they said
something else.• Act hard of hearing.
OR: Get ’em H-O-O-K-E-D
• Hopeful
• Optimistic
• Operative
• Knowledgeable
• EDucated
Aims of this Presentation• This presentation will
explore an understanding of adult learners with certain learning problems.
• We will delve into some of the psychology involved in reaching adult learners positively.
• I will suggest things I have done with media to overcome some of the problems we explore.
Why talk about being HOPEFUL?
• Some adult learners feel like “also-rans.”
• Some are facing opposition at home.
• Some are experiencing problems at work.
• Some remember bad high school experiences.
• Some have a history of disorganized learning behaviors.
Ways to instill HOPE• Focus them on what
they can do.• Insert into your class
time some activity that they suggest doing.
• Ask their opinion on how to cover a topic.
• Take two minutes to talk to them about home life before or after class.
Multimedia Approaches• Use a website to
explain a concept (such as the OWL at Purdue).
• Have a librarian give an e-library talk on the first day.
• Discuss personal scheduling techniques in MS Outlook.
• Set up email access between you and your students.
• Show an excerpt from a DVD related to your first-day topic.
• Pass around a book, album or scrapbook related to your topic.
Why talk about being OPTIMISTIC?• Some adult learners have learned the
“victim” approach to life.• Some have a history of problems:
Health – Family – Job – Social • Some are worried that their degree will
not benefit them.• Some are taking your course “because
they have to.”
Ways to foster OPTIMISM• Show passion for your
subject – it’s catching!
• Tell an inspiring personal story.
• Give a second chance.
• Be open about failure.
• Offer recovery tactics.
• Remind them: “What would Granny say?”
Multimedia Approaches• Have student-led
O.H.T. summaries.
• Invite one-minute reflections at the beginning of class.
• Encourage and praise student searches on databases for material related to class.
• Have students “pass it forward.”
• Use a poster or two that instructs or challenges.
• Use an artifact or two that is funny.
• Use a song that inspires.
Why talk about OPERATIVE?
• Some adult learners have no idea how to organize their time.
• Some are preoccupied with household chores.
• Some are entangled in unhelpful habits.
• Some are not forward thinkers.
• Some panic at the slightest problem.
Encourage OPERATIONS
• Demonstrate what success looks like from previous class.
• Bring a cheap paperback library to class of “how-to” books & loan them out.
• Take time to plan strategies with uncertain students.
• Be accessible on certain days each week – cell phone, email, etc.
Multimedia ApproachesSuggest general ways
to stay focused:1. Associate work
with reward.2. Advocate the
students have a pleasing & relaxed study area.
3. Use bookmarks as check-off lists.
Create attractive associations with your classroom:
1. “Redecorate” quickly.
2. Play “Mozart Music.”
3. Place materials strategically
4. Welcome the students with food.
Financing Multimedia Approaches• Make your laptop versatile.• Buy second-hand books &
DVD’s for class.• Recycle “stuff.”• Be creative with storage space.• Buy bargains at Staples.• Make friends with your nearby
computer techno-geek.• Nag the “powers that be” about
technological advances.
How can my students become KNOWLEDGEABLE?
• Access the adult’s experience – set aside time to let the student talk.
• Find ways to plug into the adult’s knowledge base at home, on the job, etc.
• Encourage students to become a “resident expert” – seminars, mini-lectures, etc.
• Fun Facts to Know and Tell (no test!)
Multimedia Approaches• Wherever possible,
advocate “whatever works” for the student.
• Schedule certain times when you can be available by phone to explain or reassure.
• Assign “study buddies” wherever possible.
• Encourage the student’s exploration of your topic, however small.
• Encourage audio books if possible.
• Encourage trips to labs or other on-campus resources.
• Give your student permission to be creative.
How EDUCATED is educated?• Define “educated” in
your own setting.• Allow some flexibility
in goals.• Reinterpret a student’s
feedback in light of curriculum standards.
• Assess strictly but fairly.
Multimedia Approaches• Go off on a tangent
(once in awhile!).
• Bring in a suggested movie & show an excerpt during break.
• Listen to a student’s musical contribution.
• Share the baby pictures.
• Share the sad stories.• Share how-to advice
(like changing tires).• Share Fun Facts to
Know and Tell off the internet.
• Share new food!
Crossing the Finish Line
• Foster the “Friend at the Finish” mentality.
• Celebrate that hard-won B with an e-card.
• The “extra mile” pays off with a stadium of smiles.
• Go fishing for good memories!
Get ’em HOOKED TEACHING:
1. Passion
2. Accessibility
3. Reinvention
4. Inclusion
5. Acknowledgement
6. Fun Facts to Know and Tell
7. Lots of bait!
• TECHNOLOGY:1. Cheap paperbacks2. Packets &
handouts3. O.H.T. notes4. Picture albums5. Power Point 6. DVD presentations7. Email8. Cell phone