Start, Finish, Don't Waste
I really liked the comment that adult learners want to "start on time, finish on time, and not have their time wasted." I have experienced this with adult learners who frequently ask, "How am I going to use this?" They want to know why they are learning the skill I'm teaching, and they do not want me to "waste" time on things like "teambuilding" or infrequently used grammar rules. Sometimes that's difficult to work with, but frequently I appreciate their drive.
Hi Bianca,
Do everything you can to show transference and relevancy. Show students how they can use this content in their everyday lives. Let them see how relevant the content is in relation to their future career success. Give a lot examples and then have them use the content in their own lives and report back to the class on how successful their effort was.
Gary
I have experienced this in my classrooms as well. I consider that this attitude allows my punctuality to be a good first step and helps me to build rapport with students that value these things. And, I do recognize irritation and more resentment from younger students that don't appreciate policies that encourage being on time.
I also see the issue that nontrads despite more motivation to succed have more challenges to overcome, like inability/unwillingness to rethink their approach. Though one thing I find challenging as a gen ed teacher is getting the students to understand why gen ed is important, so they don't feel like they are wastung their time. Does anyone have some suggestions?
Hi Neil,
This is a good example of the challenges that come with teaching at times. On occasion I have had the same situation and takes some creative thinking and strategies to get them to come at the problem a different way. In some cases it just doesn't happen which is even more frustrating for everyone.
Gary
This is definitely the case for most nontraditional students. However, I recently had a group of older students who were simply unwilling to approach problems in any other way than they were used to. In this example the two students were so stuck in their ways that they had a very difficult time succeeding in situations that forced them to look at problems from multiple points of view.
So the majority of the time nontraditional students are more eager to succeed but they can oftentimes be slowed by their inability/unwillingness to rethink their approach.
Hi Bobbi,
That has been my experience as well. They know what they want and they are focused on getting it. My older students are dedicated to learning and are willing to share their expertise with other students in their work groups. I have had great experiences with this learners.
Gary
I agree - I think older learners truly understand the value of time and what it means to them. I also find that older learners ask more questions, but I think the biggest part of that is because they want the instructions to be direct. They have already been sold on the idea of coming back to school, so they don't need the finesse that some younger students do.
