Diverse Learners, Diverse Services:Reaching out to Continuing Education

Students & Instructors

Megan Fitzgibbons, Jessica Lange & Robin CanuelMcGill University, Montreal Canada

Do you have a continuing education center of some kind in your institution?

Context

Why do we care?

In 2007…

42% of Canadians49% of Britons49% of Americansaged 25-64 were participating in some type of education (OECD)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/publicdomainphotos/3706529071/

Reasons for Growth

• Newly arrived immigrants• Unemployment rates• Developing new skills• Economic downturn• Actively growing their programs• Lifelong learning

Who are Continuing Education Students?

Diverse! Vary widely in :

• Age• Technology skills• Academic and professional experience• Mother tongue, country of origin• Purpose for study• Life circumstances

Busy! Balance work and family with studies

Frequently unaware of university services

"Adult learners differ from traditional learners in responsibility level, and not necessarily age, gender, or other such distinguishers."

(Cooke, 2010)

McGill University's Centre for Continuing Education

McGill Continuing Education 2010-2011 profile:

• Total enrollment: 12,132 students• 45 diploma and certificate programs• 58% women• Average age: 33

2010-2011 profile cont’d:

• 1,327 international students from 130+ countries

• 40% recent immigrants• 53% have a mother tongue other than English

or French

English26%

French 21%

Other53%

Mother Tongue of McGill University Centre for Continuing Education Students

How do we reach out to this underserved group?

Does your library target this group through particular services or liaison librarian

positions?

Case Study

Learners and strategies

• You have been given a sample profile of a typical continuing education course.

• In a small group, identify teaching techniques and specific learning activities that might be used to address challenges in the context of the workshop’s learning outcomes.

Learner Needs & Challenges #1

Characteristics/needs• All students are studying

English as a foreign language.

Strategies/Techniques• Provide handout with key terms

and definitions• Use a “bingo” game to help

students focus on new vocabulary

• “Think-pair-share” : students pair up to brainstorm keywords

• Minimize cultural references and idioms

• Definition matching• Utilize visual literacy (e.g. video,

handout etc.)• Make sure to face the audience

Learner Needs & Challenges #2

Characteristics/needs• Some students have had

little exposure to academic work in a North American context.

Strategies/Techniques• Layout the cultural norms of

academic work in North America

• Exercise on how to use LC Call numbers (perhaps use a “treasure hunt” for books in the library

• Recognize cultural differences• Share what skill that works

for them (can sense their cultural sense of school and adapt)

Learner Needs & Challenges #3

Characteristics/needs• Some students have not

used academic library recently or ever.

Strategies/Techniques• Have library tours (perhaps

lead or co-lead by current students)

• Have flexible classroom space (e.g. groups of chairs or tables in different directions rather than all facing front)

Learner Needs & Challenges #4

Characteristics/needs• Some students have

recently participated in library instruction, while others haven’t.

Strategies/Techniques• Directed questioning (e.g. ask

“where should I click? What do I do next? Where can I find this book?)

• Hands-on-practice (let each student go at their own pace so the more advanced can go further and the less advanced can take their time)

• Group work (pair up experiences students with less experienced students)– peer to peer learning

Learner Needs & Challenges #5

Characteristics/needs• Some students have very

little previous experience using computers.

Strategies/Techniques• Assess room immediately (e.g. who

has a cell phone, who has a laptop, who is comfortable with the computers

• Group work (tech savvy paired with students who have less experience—see above for getting sense of students in classroom)

• Let them know that they can’t break it!

• Develop useful analogies to help students understand technological concepts

• Free time to practice (let them go at their pace)

Learner Needs & Challenges #6

Characteristics/needs• Students’ levels of

education vary.

Strategies/Techniques• Background knowledge

probes (e.g. Ask students “how can you find out if a library has a particular book?”)

Learner Needs & Challenges #7

Characteristics/needs• Students are expected to

learn a large amount of information in a short amount of time.

Strategies/Techniques• One-minute writing ( students are

asked to write one thing they learned and one thing they don’t understand)

• Try to convince the instructor to have multiple sessions

• Recognize limitations (i.e. hit the most important learning objectives and let the rest go – be flexible)

• Have online tutorials students can refer to if they’re feeling overwhelmed/need a second going over

Learner Needs & Challenges #8

Characteristics/needs• Students are goal-oriented

and want to develop very specific skills.

Strategies/Techniques• Incorporate students’ own

suggested topics into database search examples

Key Takeaways

• Information overload• Break it into chunks and have students break into

groups and be responsible for a section• Learning through teaching• Stop and re-evaluate –flexibility!• Break session into 3-5 KEY points• Message of friendly librarians • Online tutorials • Asking the class about what tutorials they would like

(custom tutorials)

Challenges faced at McGill

• Absence of shared experience• No common denominator in skills• Difficult to reach through traditional methods• Lack of continuity

Solutions at McGill

• Communication and outreach• Collection development• Teaching techniques, especially active learning• Liaison model

Conclusions

• Multi-layered, tailored approaches have been successful

• Liaison model is key

Feedback Received

• Written feedback from instructors• Informal evaluation of student performance• Increased requests from workshops• Requests for new workshops to be developed

Future plans: Formal Assessment

Questions

Jessica Langejessica.lange@mcgill.caRobin Canuelrobin.canuel@mcgill.caMegan Fitzgibbonsmegan.fitzgibbons@mcgill.ca

Contact

Photo CreditsSlide 8 : Money by Andrew Magill (http://www.flickr.com/photos/amagill/3367543296/in/photostream/)

Slide 12 : McGill Building by Zestbienbeautouza(http://www.flickr.com/photos/wpointw/439292077/)

Slide 1,3-5 : Klaus Fiedler, McGill Library