Motivational Factors
When dealing with adult learners, the consensus seems to be that they have returned to school to "Make more money" however, this is not generally the case. More often than not, they have personal issues. Such as, completing something they have not acheived in the past due to personal issue....children, marriage, lack of resources. I genrally teach my classes differently than I would for indivdiduals who have recently graduated from high school, becasue these people are currently in the workforce, and have "Real life" experience to add to the class discussions. More often than not I end learning a considerable amount from them as well.
This is very true. I end up using these individuals as part of my presentations. This gives my class an extra sense of reality.
Hi Brian,
Thank you for those good points about non-traditional learners. We have seen a tremendous increase in the enrollment of such learners as you mention. I like you really enjoy working with this group as they are focused and ready to learn as a result of their motivation for enrolling in the first place.
I have had really good experiences with these learners as well as learning so much from them as they progress through the course.
Gary
