in understanding everyones goals and charactors, it will bring quicker learning to all students as they share diffrent train of thoughts.
I think that is a great idea. Experience of "older" students can be shared which will have a great impact on the group.
helps you learn how to relate to the students
The big picture is essential to reaching the diverse learner. Great stuff here. Super helpful.
I agree with your yin and yang theory. I have found that that both feed each other also feed off each other. It is very interesting to watch the student learn in a cooperative environment. In one way the younger observe the older students achieve the same work as they have, the older students posses something that the young student want to learn. On the other side of the coin my older students observe the younger and feed off their young drive. The great thing is that they all have the same drive and passion, this is what will help them take it to a higher level.
One way that understanding different learner characteristics would be in the realm of delivering lecture material. An example would be a lecture to a young-aged class that would need some historical background to begin with in order to make the actual lecture material relevant to their knowledge base. John Eliassen
Hi Lonnie,
You make a good point about how you are making an impact on the learning of students through multiple avenues. This way all students are exposed to the variety and get to take the content in through their learning preference.
Gary
This is definitely an opportunity to get students active and involved.
In a lab environment, understanding the needs of the learner is not unlike understanding an employee in a work environment. The instructor can develop teams with-in the class to help the development of career skills as well as creating a team mentallity.
I have found that if a team mentallity is promoted, students are more likely to attend class because they feel they are being depended upon.
I agree, the abilities of the learners shift significantly, in my experience, every 5 years or so. The trade we train for has become much more attractive over the last decade and the learners are bringing more varied career/life experiences than I have seen previously.
I teach drawing classes for a Video Game Design Program. I have to understand that my students are visually oriented and have to gear my lectures toward that. I also know that they want to attempt to do fanatstic and dramatic drawings before they learn the basics. They come from a subculture of playing visually intricate games that often have cheat codes that let them advance quickly through the games. They are sometimes geared to try and find ways around things they do not like. The best way I found to motivate them and keep them on task is to show them how drawing is important to game design. I find examples of concept art to demonstrate what types of drawings are needed to develop a game and relate these drawings to the techniques we are currently working on developing.
It gives you a framework to build from. It is important to know a few details about the learners in your classroom to better understand and plan your instructional delivery and how you will plan on interacting with them on an individual basis or group for that matter.
Teaching is a challenging job, and knowing who you are going to be teaching to will help you as the instructor to do you best.
Scott
The learner characteristic helps in the instructional process by tailoring a part of the lesson plan to allow more interaction or to vary the presentation. As an example if the majority of the learners are "tactial" then a part od the lesson could be hands on.
Here is where teaching to different types of learning styles will benefit the students because the instructor is sending out the same information in 3 or 4 different ways to be absorbed.
It is interesting to read all of the responses to this question and get many interpretations of “Learner Characteristics. “
I approach learner characteristics in the same way I approach teaching to a diverse student population. I need to be familiar with the cultural, age, language, economic and educational differences within each learning situation. Along with the above listed demographics, I also need to take into account different learning styles.
An example might be an older student who is in their mid fifties, who has returned to school to change careers. This student may feel uncomfortable about being out of school for so long; he/she may not be familiar with computers and may have to interact with younger students that seem not to take school as seriously. Mix into this that the older student may come from a culture that does not question, or talk back to, elders or instructors and sees a casual attitude towards the instructor as a sign of disrespect. Additionally this student may be hands on learner that needs to repeatedly do the work to reach competency rather than by reading books or watching videos.
An instructor needs to be familiar with all aspects of the demographics that make up the learning environment as well as keeping in mind each individual and their learning styles.
The goal is for the student to actually learn and there are many ways to get there from here.
we do work with a wide age span but sometimes putting young with old dosen't work and then there are times they do you have to reconize the learning style and group them with students that have different learning styles i find that they will complement each other
An instructor who understands the characteristics of the learners in their classroom will be better able to develop an instructional plan that helps meet the various needs of their learners. Instructors can better develop activities that are beneficial to learners of multiple backgrounds and make learners feel more comfortable and secure in their learning environment. Meeting these needs aids in not only learner retention, but also in creating a rich learning environment.
If we as instructers learn to understand individual learner characteristics we will be less likely to leave as student behind in the overall course objectives. In other words if they may miss undersrtand some of the material neccesary during the teaching process they never completely crasp the overall course objective.
You can place less experienced students with
an experienced student on a team project or in a
discussion group. Having students work with others can benefit everyone.
Hi Marcia,
The book you refer to is an excellent resource for understanding where adult learners are coming from. Thanks for sharing this with us.
You are right about working with adult learners. When they set their learning goals they are motivated to achieve and realize their vision of a life that meets their expectations.
Gary
