As a former adult student...
It was a bit daunting to be the older student in class...
As an instructor, I find that just treating all students with respect and treating them all as adults assists in overcoming issues taht circle the age differences.
This is a very true statement, as a former adult learner and now instructor I agree that students want to know that they matter but they are different than anyone else. Fair treatment is top on their list.
As a former older student myself I was treated with respectand it was a wonderful experience.The younger students I was with kind of looked to me for help when thye were having troudle. I am not saying by no means that I am a knom it all, but being older I knew how to use a text book. Now as an instructor one of the first things I do is go over how to use a text book. When I asign agtivities I asign an older and younger together if possible.That seems to give them a way to learn from each other different ways to learn and usually they both do good work.
I went back for my bachelor degree @ age 30 so I am fully aware of what it is like going to college @ 18 years old and again @ 30 years old and the differences in myself and college atmosphere. I took college much more serious when I was older.
Hi Craig,
This is a great example of student sharing. Thank you for sharing it with us. Your experiences helped so many of your fellow students. They could see that everyone could be successful in the course if they would work hard, that people were willing to share and that they had something to contribute to the learning of others.
Gary
I also have been an adult student in two different settings. One was being among the oldest of a group in professional school, most of whom had gone straight to college from high school and then into professional school. The other was years later in a Masters program in classes that were made up primarily of working adults.
The most effective techniques for my learning fell into the area of involvement, such as what Mindy describes above. I found that the less experienced students paid a lot of attention to the things I had to say and seemed to respect my experience. This helped to reduce my initial anxiety about my not having followed the "normal" path to my education.
Other techniques that were successful involved having the students give presentations, especially in elective courses where the strong interest was already there. When the instructors asked a lot of open questions and encouraged participation it became more like a group discussion and less like a test or a competition. My shyness dissipated and my humor came out in these more relaxed situations.
I was also an older student in class, in my case I was treated very respectfully, and created a core group of students that allowed us to study together and accomplish our goals. This group being made up of us "old timers". ;-)
The younger students would approach our group all the time and ask for our help on various items. We had a great time helping the other students be successful as well as our life experiences were appreciated by the younger students. Now as an Instructor, I try and encourage the older students to create the same type of environment for themselves and the other students.
Adult students are great for life experiances and also it helps the other students to be responsive and excited with class assignments
Hi Mindy,
So good to hear that you have professors in your background that helped to bring you into the discussions. This way you have a model from which you can operate and will follow with your students.
Gary
As a former adult student I always felt a bit out of place but I had professors who always looked to me to join in the discussions. I appreciated the fact they looked to me to add to a discussion with which I had life experience. The other students seemed to appreciate what I had to say and it would make me feel so much more at ease.
As an adult learner myself when I went to school, I was always nervous and have the feeling insecurities. Now as an instructor I can relate to how older students feel. We all have different learning style and issues but some of our adult students have enormous amount of experience and have to give them proper respect accordingly.I agree to you Dana to treat them with respect and give them proper assistance to meet their goals.
