The Sisyphus Comments

Adult Learning – Quick Tip #5

This is the fifth (and final) segment in a series of Quick Tips covering a wide range of adult learning principles. So if you are an inexperienced instructor, you may want to read these tips carefully and think about how you can incorporate them into your curriculum. If you are an experienced instructor, you may find yourself thinking “Oh, I forgot about that.” Of course, if you are a really experienced instructor . . . well, they are short tips so it will only take a minute or so to read them. Well let’s get started.

Unlike young children, adults come to the classroom with a large amount of intellectual baggage. They already possess huge quantities of knowledge and new knowledge has to be integrated with this previous knowledge. This requires the instructor to utilize learning methodologies that permit students to actively participate in the learning experience. If the proper methodology is utilized, both the instructor and the student can benefit from the classroom interaction. The adult learner will benefit by receiving confirming feedback on skills practice from the instructor. The instructor will benefit from the learners’ feedback about the curriculum and his in-class performance.

The key to success for an instructor is classroom management and control. The instructor must balance the presentation of new material, discussions that may end up following unrelated “rabbit trails”, sharing of relevant student experiences, and the clock. Some experts contend that instructors are best able to establish control when they conduct their classes in a manner where they may risk giving it up. The theory is that when instructors set aside their egos and accept the challenge to traditional plans and methods, they can step out of their “instructor” role and move toward the type of facilitative control that needed for effective adult learning.

The instructor’s facilitative role includes protecting minority opinions and keeping disagreements civil. In addition, the instructor must recognize and make connections between various opinions and ideas. The goal here is to the keep the sharing of ideas open and to remind the group that problems often have a variety of potential solutions. In addition to “refereeing” these ongoing debates, the instructor must be constantly alert for opportunities to integrate new knowledge and skills.

If you have found this mini training series on adult learning theory to be useful in your effort to improve your instructional skills, please take a moment to click on the Comments link below to let me know. If there is a demand for this type of course, I will consider developing additional courses in the future.

Check Out Adult Learning: Quick Tip #1
Check Out Adult Learning: Quick Tip #2
Check Out Adult Learning: Quick Tip #3
Check Out Adult Learning: Quick Tip #4