Young Vs Adult Learners!
Hello Class, It is always a challenge for an instructor to make a balance between the Young student group who tend to have fast learning skills and the Adult student group most of whom are tend to slower than the young group. But this can be also a good learning experince for any instructor as well. Anwar (Houston, Texas)
Kathryn,
You are right about needing to mix age groups carefully. With some thought and effort you can create well balanced work groups that will benefit from each and every member of the group. I move my students around if needed until I find the combination that works to the benefit of everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In my experience, mixing age groups in class can be very challenging. I however would use it as an opportunity to unite the young/mature adult. As employees they will be required to communicate and work cohesively amongst differing generations. Developing this soft skill in the classroom is simple when you explain this to the students. Then pairing them together to assist eachother with old/new age technology. Where older adults understand the respect/verbal communication process, younger students can assist with texting/twitter etc. It also helps to explain to students that they are all in the same boat. They are at the same starting point in their new career.
Hi Dariusz,
If you can assign your online students to work groups you will be able to overcome some of the age difference issues. When students have a common problem to solve or a case study to work through they work together better and don't spend as much time focusing on differences.
Gary
This is an interesting topic. I will be facilitating my first online course, and I anticipate that there may be a mixture of age groups as well. I fear that some friction may occur between students of varying age. I wonder if considerably older students will be dissatisfied with taking directions from younger ones. I also fear that younger students may naturally defer to older students, simply because due to traditional patterns of authority concerning age. Does any one have any advice as to how to diffuse the friction or passiveness that may develop due to age discrepancy issues?
I've always found that adult learners were more dedicated to studies than the younger learner the younger learners not all tend to not take studies serious
You are right it's a challenge; however, not really.
Once you understand that although there are differences in age; they are all there for the same reason and there is much that they can learn from one another.
In my intercultural communication course I use age to an advantage because they have more to share and they do. They remember the 70's 60's, 50's and what the times where like. Those born in the 80's can only gain from this.
As a result the more mature students have more to offer than they realize which increases their self esteem and ability to continue forward in a positive.
I have found and putting young and adult learners in a group setting helps each group appreciate and learn from each other. The young learners can see how responsibility and goal setting can give the students successful results in class. The adult learner can observe how the young learners curiosity in learning new things and a fearless attitude while learning can mark success in mastering a subject such as computation.
I think they should work together in groups. Young and old can both learn from each other. Sometimes the adult will bring up the maturity level in the young learners.
I totally agree with you on this one Jayson. But I found that adult learners are much more dedicated and serious to their task. Anwar
I find that the while the younger students do tend to adopt and master new skills more quickly (if perhaps due to enthusiam alone), my older students are generally more diligent towards their academics - they have much more developed study habits and understand that it takes repetition and practice to truly learn a skill.
Hi John,
I think you are dead on with your comments about asking the right questions to help guide educational changes. Some years ago United Airlines wanted to determine the number of passengers traveling for business vs. pleasure. They surveyed passengers in-flight on Monday mornings between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00am. They concluded that the majority of their passengers were business traveler and thus should develop their media campaigns toward such travelers. In fact this was not the case at the time but it appeared such due to the time of the survey being administered. My point is research is only as good as the variables that are excluded and/or included in the collection of data. We have to ask the right questions, at the right times if we expect to get good information from which we can make decisions about educational reform.
Gary
I have in fact written an unpublished paper about this: the point of which is to ask a question -- why do we consider *speed* to be of the essence in education?
It may well be that adults are 'slower' learners -- something I posit results from the greater integtrative effort needed to accommodate new learning on top of existing experience -- but they may well be *better* learners in the end.
Sometimes I think we get the wrong answers because we ask the wrong questions.
I find that creating group projects with a good balance between younger and more life-experienced students can help build rapport among generations and create some fascinating outcomes.
