Do older students make better students?
I think students need time to prepare themselves for school by taking a break. I find students with life experience have a better understanding of ht it takes to succeed in a classroom. "They no what they don't want!"
I agree with you Brian. In my years of teaching the older students tend to take class more seriously than the younger student. My older students don't do breaks as they are trying to stay ahead of everyone else and grades are a lot higher as well.
GORDON,
I really appreciate my older students as they are able to share their life experiences and show the younger students the value of the content being presented.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree that older students make better students. Older students are more mature and less disruptive. They are more focused on the task at hand and come to class to learn, period.
Edward,
One of the things I have learned as an educator that adults are just taller children. The bring to class some very frustrating and inappropriate behaviors that can impact the flow of class if not managed. The other thing is they we can reward students with many of the same things that children really like to receive such as food, and praise. Finding what works best with each student and then providing it helps in getting them engaged in the class. If they don't respond then as you say it is time for them to leave because I will not let them disrupt the learning of others.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In my experience, both as a returning adult learner and as an instructor, the older students are often the better students but only when they actually possessed life and work experiences that demonstrated their ability to learn and succeed. For these students, who are motivated to learn and achieve goals, they are generally better organized, demonstrate great interpersonal skills and provide a great resource for younger students who have just left home for the first time by demonstrating good behaviors. In contrast, the returning adult learners who did not possess the appropriate skills before they joined the class are often the worst students. They feel entitled to their opinions and often do not participate and are disruptive to other learners. Thankfully this type of learner is eventually seen for what they are and then they have the choice to change and learn or discontinue the program. So, do older students make better learners? Yes, they certainly can be but not necessarily.
Edward Vigen
Lori,
One on one is a valuable way to help students to not only learn but also see the value of what is being taught by their learning leader. Even though you are challenged by time I like that you are still trying to meet and work with those students that need to support.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thanks for the response. What seems to work best is having them work one on one with an instructor. The difficulty with this is trying to find instructor time available when the student is not in class. I will continue to find methods to help our students become successful.
Lori,
To help this group of students to retain the content that is being presented in this fast paced environment you may want to explore finding additional ways to get them to remember the material as well as exercises they might perform outside of the classroom or lab to enhance their tactile and dexterity skills. This way they will be able to grasp the material and keep up with the class. It may take some exploration to come up with just what these supports should be for these students. Keep trying things and make sure to keep good records of those that seem to really be effective with this group so you can expand on them the next time you teach this course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with you that my older or non-traditional students have a hard time with dexterity and working with their hands. I teach in a dental hygiene program. They also are slower in recalling information from lecture and their memory bank and applying it in the clinic setting. Our program is fast paced and it is difficult to keep these students at the same skill level as their peers. I was a little troubled reading about tranference and the ability to transfer short term memory to long term memeory the skill has to be repeated 45 times in 30 consecutive days. Am I expecting too much from these students?
Gayle,
You are right on with your last sentence. This student does not have the attitude at this time to be the part of a professional development program. I have removed students like this from my classes because I will not let one student disrupt the learning of others. I talk with the student and explain how the class is going to operate and what the expectations are and ask for his or her cooperation. (This is a mini-trial effort.) If that does not work then I remove the student. Even if such a student were to complete the course he or she is not ready for employment as you mention because of the lack of social and soft skills.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have an older student who is in their second program. This student makes excuses many times when an assignment is due (they are to be sent as an attachement), stating, "I sent it" only to find that it was not in their sent mail. The student is very disruptive in class and every time (literally), they do not like something, they do not follow chain of command and bypasses the instructor, the PS, and goes straight to the DOF. This student has no idea what professionalism is. Instructors have tried to instill this in this student, but the concept is lost. Good luch out in the real world.
Edward,
I enjoy my older students as well. They are focused and know why they are in the course. They really help my younger students to get settled into the course. Their life experiences reinforce what is being taught so the younger students can see the relevance and application of the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have noticed this as well. The older student typically does better then those just out of high school when it comes to academics, but in hands on labs, they some times struggle with integrating the lecture work to practice. Still in all I really enjoy my older students because they get my jokes and cultural references.
Alice,
This is no uncommon as you know. Their struggles present an additional challenge to their success as well as your engagement with them. Being of support to them and reinforcing them when possible helps but they still have some tough times as they move through the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have had older students that struggled much more than my younger ones... In lab settings. Their physical limits played into this, as well as their ablility to actually retain a new movement/way of doing something. I teach in the medical field. My older students are generally great in lecture type classes, but suffer and struggle more with the physical aspects of the learning process (ie: patient care skill in the teaching lab). I believe some older students are set in their physical ways, and habits. These struggle greatly in lab.
Brian,
They come to class for the most part with specific goals in mind for the class and what they want to get out of it. I like having them in the class as they show the younger students the value of life experiences and how they can be used to enhance one's career development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Typically, I see that older students make better students. I believe that their life experiences make them exert more effort because they know how difficult the workplace can be and the competition between employees.
James,
This is why I like having these students in class. They are there for a reason and they expect a well prepared professional educator to help them move toward their career goals. They understand that this is not high school and they are in charge of their own success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I Agree, older students are more focused. They are here to learn a skill that they are interested in. They want to be able to accomplish these goals.
