Explain Why It Is Important To Be Mindful Of Our Adult Learners

This briefing document is for staff development and is designed to support staff to have a better understanding of inclusive learning and teaching in lifelong learning. At the end of the briefing session participants will be aware of what inclusive learning involves, how to motivate and engage students and establish ground rules. Participants will be learning the importance of providing students with constructive feedback to assist with motivating their learning. That student’s should be encouraged to contribute, discuss and learn from the feedback. Additionally the briefing will inform participants can use opportunities to advise students to

My personal learning does not only have an impact on me but on the others around me as well, my family, friends, and staff at my placement are an example of people that is affect my personal learning and development. I have the capability to assist others by using knowledge and skills that I have obtained by learning and by own experiences. I believe that by sharing this knowledge and skills I can benefit others and I also believe that I can share my own experiences with others, for example if I have been through a bad experience I can advice others and help them gain knowledge about it and if they go through the same experience that I did they would not need to have to

I agree with your idea. Adult learners want to depend on themselves during nursing practice and use their concepts or knowledge in the clinical setting. However, as long as they are learners, they need practical advice from their instructor. Certainly, the theory might provide relevant information about clinical setting, but if adult students do not apply that knowledge and concepts in the clinical setting, they do not know that theory is positive or negative. Its necessary adult learners obtain new information about nursing education because adult learners will help and teach community or society in the future. Of course, if the learners wish to learn, they can learn. For instance, when I worked in the intensive care unit, I saw

Utilizing this information and comparing it to the programming in place, educators will be able to better meet the needs of adult students and hold their interest. Engaging an adult learner with programming modifications isn’t the only challenge faced.

As educators, we spend a great amount of time looking for different ways to implementing curriculum, meeting school and district deadlines, assessing, planning, and grading. But do we ever take time to really get to know our students and their families in a personal level? Without event knowing, we hold different biases towards students and their parents; we expect them to have certain knowledge about their community and culture depending on their demographics and socioeconomic status. We completely ignore the fact that many parents can make positive contributions to our classrooms. In the book Funds of Knowledge edited by Norma Gonzalez, Luis C. Moll, and Cathy Amanti, we can see how many families have abundant knowledge that the schools/teachers do not know about and therefore do not use in order to teach academic skills.

First I had to be open and understanding of what an adult learner actually was. I came in to the class knowing I fit the criteria, but it was not until we read and discussed a few articles on the subject that I learned what that criteria actually was, and how it was a hinderance. In the article “Adult Learning Theory” it was brought to my attention that adults, though ready to learn, come to the class with predetermined bias and expectations. That while they come with knowledge and understanding, sometimes this is uses to reject new information instead of build on it (Kenner, C & Weinerman, J., 2011). This is exactly how I came in to the class, assuming I knew things, ready to reject things, and would continue to unknowingly do so. I could recognize my self and my own learning patterns here, I was always quick to access what I already knew and easy to reject new ideas that did not fit. My fear with language is another example of this, I had a self proclaimed language barrier, a preconceived reactionary bias that I accepted from the knowledge I had built, creating no room to focusing on feedback and development.

I gave verbal instruction in the form of reading the detail on the PowerPoint slides and further emphasising the main points by verbally expanding further when required. I used the investigator pack visual aid to reinforce the spoken word and in conjunction with the PowerPoint slides listed the contents within it. Each item was shown to the learners in turn with discussion taken place about the use of each item. I assessed that this would be the most appropriate method of introducing these items as giving the items to the learners within the classroom environment may have led to a loss of control within the classroom and would have allowed the learners to see the items during the planned assessment later in the session.

A student's job is not done after the end of the day. There is always homework that still needs done or checked, editing a paper, studying for the test that is coming up next week, doing their own notes for chapters they read, reading textbooks, and trying to have a social life. They are still trying maintain good grades as best as they can. During all this pressure for freshman year college students tend to forget their roles in the classroom, responsibilities, and having mental and physical impediments for their learning. Students have the constant worries and fears but it still bad when getting yelled at by their parents, teachers, and their school for lack of engagement in the classroom. By helping the freshman year college students, it

Gadbow believes it is the duty of adult educators to instill a life-long love of learning into their students, "helping adults learn how to learn is the most important thing a teacher ever does" (p. 53). The first responsibility of educators working with adults is to help them identify their learning styles and differences as well as other special learning needs, and then provide effective strategies to adapt to these individual learning needs (53). The author's contention that all learners are special means seeing the possibilities as well as the problems or particular needs of each student as they present themselves.

Because they have been away from a formal classroom for an extended time or it is their first collegiate experience, adult learners may experience anxiety as they pursue a certificate or degree in higher education. Since the average adult learner at Baker College is 30 years old, it is understandable. It is important to remember that the learner’s adult sophistication

Adult learners use their life experiences and knowledge to make connections which allows adults to have a better understanding of a specific concept. " Adults have lived longer, seen and done more, have the tendency to link their past experiences to anything new and validate new concepts based on prior learning" (Pappas, 2013). As a teacher, I am constantly asking my students to make connections so they can relate to what they are reading or learning about in class. This is a skill. Adult learners have had the time to develop this skill and master it. This is yet another concept children must learn so they can use it in their adult life to effectively learn.

Before taking adult education classes, I was under the impression that learning for adults and children were the same. The difference being that correct context was being taught to children and different content for adults.

During my visit to the Berkeley Adult School the first thing that strikes me is that it feels like a learning environment. While this may seem a given I have not always found that to be the case when visiting other adult learning campuses. The student body is a diverse population inclusive of, but limited to, homeless person trying to establish basic education skills in math and literacy in order to acquire and maintain employment to the spouses of International students from UC Berkeley seeking to improve their English. The students appear relaxed, but also serious and engaged. They are there to learn. A former elementary school campus (my own child actually attended first grade there) the space now serves the vast needs of Adult Learners, aged 18 and up, from Berkeley and surrounding areas. As an institution BAS seems to be doing its’ part in offering a wide range of educational opportunities for those seek to improve their skills, as well as significant support services to improve student’s potential for success in their pursuits.

As adult learners, students are expected to accept responsibility for their learning experience. This means it is up to the students to plan and use practice/study time to the best advantage. Students should schedule their time in order to complete all assignments on a timely basis. Instructors will be happy to provide individual help when requested by the student.

Through out many generations of children, one thing educators always questioned was why some students understood material and why others couldn’t. Since education is based off of factory line work, educators should’ve seen why some were successful and others weren’t. While most students pushed forward after a setback, others got scared and were afraid to push. The best way to foster success and tackle student anxiety is by pushing the idea of grit since grit is a great way of motivating students to push forward and reach their goals.