Interview with Professor XUnit 3 BlogThea LeonardHE521: Teaching Adult LearnersProf. Margaret HeaterDecember 30, 2013

Educational setting

• Large, on-line university• Small, on-ground liberal arts college

Program description

On-line university:• Asynchronous classroom• Psychology associate’s

degree program

On-ground college:• Night courses• Accelerated adult degree

completion• Human development

bachelor’s degree program

Why did you become an instructor?

• Intended to go into teaching, but followed path of counseling into private practice instead

• Obtained Master’s degree, opening doors into teaching as well

• Teaching lets Professor X keep up to date on latest theories and research

• Counseling practice provides good application examples to use in classes

Teaching adults (andragogy)

• Both programs Professor X teaches are primarily older adult learners returning to school after many years

• Occasionally students are right out of high school• Once taught a “regular semester class” but did not

enjoy the classroom full of younger students

Best parts of your job?

• Hearing student’s thoughts• Watching students have insightful moments• Being asked questions Professor X has to look up

new answers for• Sharing knowledge of humans’ amazing capabilities• Hearing how learning is helping students in real life

Worst parts of your job?

Pay doesn’t match the hours and personal investment

Biggest challenges?

• Grading: tedious and time consuming• Student excuses: takes the fun out of teaching• Student entitlement: E.g., “I paid for this class so

you can’t give me a failing grade”• Program requirements: Restrictive or limiting

syllabus or course requirements

Learning moments?

• “I learn every time I teach”• From research• From students

Describe effective teaching of adults

• Set firm and reasonable boundaries and clear expectations

• Personal responsibility to meet or not meet expectations

• Adults have many priorities• Keep learning tangible and applicable to real-life• No busy work

Advice for new teachers of adults?

The instructor is a person of authority, not a peer.

Ask a lot of questions:• Why do you want to teach?• Why is teaching important to you?• What feels meaningful about teaching?• What do you think will be most fun?• What do you think will be most challenging?

Summary

Professor X is clearly passionate about teaching. However, many of her responses about being “in charge” seemed very teacher-centered or pedagogical in nature. That written, Professor X clearly noted adult learners bring valuable life experiences to class and have many roles and responsibilities (andragogy) as compared to younger students. Professor X made no mention of the concepts of heutagogy (self-directed learning).