Adult Learners
If you treat students with respect they will also have a sense of respect with added trust that is needed in a relationship built for a classroom
Robert, for some, finding just a job will be very short lived. What actions do you take to assist your students in finding a career versus just a job? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Most of my students are moms and dads that want a job to support their family. They understand that job requires education. They trust me with this one step of their future. I can respect that.
Anis, treat students the way you want to be treated. Also, students who fail to treat you with respect should not be treated with less respect but with empathy and concern for why they feel a need to treat you so. You respect students by meeting their needs, creating a safe learning environment and getting them engaged in the subject matter.
James Jackson
Ithink that learning to treat students with respect will require a change of heart, that can come only from a major shift in consciousness of how we view our students and how we define respect.
Richard, well stated. The more you know about your students the better you can determine how best to teach them. A lesson plan is a guide but the outcomes you achieve will only happen if you can determine where you students are with their understanding of the course materials. Knowing how students feel about professional behavior can only take place through discussions and asking them to explain how they would handle various situations. Once you know how they respond you can then take a new direction and help them better understand what will be expected of them within the job roles they are seeking to fill.
James Jackson
I agree that a primary role of instructors of adult students is to model professional behavior. I think that sometimes we forget that adult students occasionally come from environments in which professional behavior is not always modeled, and this often includes courteousness, appropriate attire, and even being on time for class. Additionally, inappropriate behavior is sometimes a defense mechanism to cope with embarrassment when a student is having trouble understanding a topic, and it is part of the instructor's role to try to help that student understand.
yes i like to lead by example for behavier and manerisms in my class room and anywhere in the work place cause of students present at most times
As a retired high school teacher, I always did this at that level and resented others who didn't. I found it difficult to resovle the rule of no food/drink in class when some teacher's constantly had their coffee cups in hand. I think it would be even more difficult to justify this behavior to adult learners, who in some cases are older than their instructors.
I have found that if the instructor gives respect from the very first day, it makes it much easier to teach and to give instruction. The students will give the respect back as long as you show them respect.
I agree with Leslie. We have all age groups from 18 to 64 in our school. In my observation, adult learners bring a great deal of life experience into the classroom, an invaluable asset to be acknowledged, tapped and used. In modern technological aspects they might me weak, but share a lot of real life examples for the whole class, sometimes it is a motivation for the youngsters
Rachell, welcome to the club. :-)
The greatest lesson I ever learned about adult education is the word adult is relative. You will experience mature students in their early 20's as likely as you will experience adolescent students in their later 40's and beyond. Adult education is really not a great term we use but it is here to stay and we as instructors need to understand that the word adult does not always imply maturity. I have experienced well over 5000 students over the years and still am learning to this day how best to work with "Adult Learners". The best advice I can give is never take anything personally and remember they all want what you have but have different ways of showing it. Build relationships with your students so you understand their needs and then do what you can to meet those needs. Along the way, they will learn what you have to offer as their mental state develops and they are ready to receive the knowledge you have to offer.
Regards,
James Jackson
I agree that mutual respect is necessary for the classroom. I find that students usually do not disrespect me when I run the classroom in a respectful manner.
By this being my first time in the classroom teaching, I thought it would be much easier to teach adults than it would be teaching children. I have found that yes you have some adults are very focused and want to increase their knowledge base to change careers but you have some that are still not focused on what the goals of their continued education is. I thought with trying to set the environment in the classroom that we all are adults and we all should be able to follow and adhere to the rules, that is not always the case. You still have to reinforce the rules in order to have a manageable learning environment. Overall I am enjoying and learning alot and I know by taking this course their are somethings I need to improve in the classroom to make the learning environment a little more better for the adult learner.
Marilyn, can you provide some additional information with respect to how you have worked to earn the respect of your students? The intent of these discussions is to get you to reflect on your own experiences and to be able to share your ideas with others and gain knowledge from the ideas shared by our community. Greatly appreciate any additional information you can provide.
Regards,
James Jackson
its always do unto others respect is somethingthat is earned
Outstanding post Merle and great followup question. I am interested in what others have to say about your question. Here is my two cents since you have provided an opportunity for me to share my thoughts. In my experience most students want to learn and improve their situation. However, there can be root cause situations that prevent them from fully taking advantage of what we as instructors have to offer. A successful instructor will take the time to get to know the student and build a professional relationship and find out why they are a disruption in the classroom. I have even had situations where I have the student and my supervisor in the same room and ask the student what I can do better to get them involved in the lesson plans and not be a disruption to other students. In many of these situations the student did not even think of their actions as disruptive and was just looking for attention. The result of such a high level conversation typically resulted in the student being much more engaged and at the very least, no longer a disruption. There was one instance in over 15 years of instruction I had to have a student removed from the class but I think that is a very rare situation.
Regards,
James Jackson
Hello,
I also think that there are some students who will continue to demonstrate disrespectful behaviors despite your attempts to maintain an inviting and professional classroom. These students actually offer us (as instructors) a means of assessing our own abilities to deal with difficult students. The challenge is to create a balance where our authority is not jeopardized, but our compassion for the student is evident. What does anyone else think on that delicate balance?
Merle Point-Johnson
Jose, how do you define empathy and how do you explain it to your students? I am very interested in this exchange of knowledge between you and your students.
Thanks for anything you would be willing to share.
Regards,
James Jackson
yes i agree a drama free invorement has students more focused on what needs to be done as to what others are up to.
