Hi Joel,
Correct you are. There needs to be a blend of both knowledge and practical experience. If students can't move from the classroom to the real world with success they really aren't prepared.
Gary
Thank you for your kind words, Gary. At my age, the only reason to pursue a doctorate to publish work dealing with virtual collaboration and learning. I would add that I also stongly believe in the need for experienced business folks when educating working adults. The education without the actual work experience, in my opinion, simply is often not sufficient.
Joel
Hi Kelly,
I commend this instructor for using a ready made resource, you in the class. I try to do this with my older students as well. Everyone benefits from this approach. The older students get to use their experience and the younger students get to benefit from their experience. Win win for everyone. It is also a complement to your abilities since you and they have maintained contact these past four years.
Gary
I was an older student and found that my instructor seemed to use that to his advantage to help some of the younger students so we all worked as a team. To this day four years later I still have contact with all my fellow student and instructors
Hi Joel,
First, congratulations on your doctorate. You are truly a life long learner. You are right on all points about how life experiences help to prepare you for instruction. With your extensive experiences you are bringing so much valuable real life information to your students that your question and answer sessions alone would take up an entire course.
Keep up your excitement and dedication to education and your field. You are creating a legacy of well prepared students who will be making contributions to the field for years to come.
Gary
The simple fact is that older people are often different than the younger students in a number of areas. They are more experienced, often are wiser, have learned to compensate for innate characteristics that may hinder learning and or deal with temporary set-backs et al. I just completed my Doctor of Management program. As a person who is a teacher, has 45 years in industry, and has dealt with a good share of adversity, I found that I was in more advantageous position than most of my cohort.
I am almost 70 years old and it has been over 20 years since earning an MBA.
Hi Kevin,
Without administrative support and with your personal safety at risk you have a major problem in your setting. You may want to consider taking your skills as an educator to another location where you have an opportunity to be the educator you want to be and can focus on working with students that want to succeed.
Gary
I understand more about dealing with the differences in ages after viewing this. I have a few students who are older than me but act like the 18 year olds in most cases. I try to encourage all my students that despite what is going on with non-compliant students around you that you must stay focused on what they came to school for. The big picture is to elevate yourself for the purpose of sucess in life and for their families. Now can anyone tell me how to deal with students who threaten bodily harm to you and you don't have your bosses support on that issue? Kevin J. Jackson
Yes that is important to stress the total focus on the time that they have in class even with all of the other distraction or responsibilities that they may have in their lives.
It seems that adults can focus well when the tasks are outlined for the class
Hi Dennis,
In working with older students it is good to let them bring in their life experiences and make application to these experiences. This helps to validate them in the class and overcome their concerns about being successful in college after being out for a number of years.
Gary
Older students look for demonstration of knowledge and a skillset to prove the instructor really is knowledgeable about the course. Some improvement in delivery and confidence in statements may win them over to your side. Older students have a tendency of questioning instructors who have not been in the "real world".
I too have students that vary greatly in age. My approach becomes an opportunity to teach using multiple resources, like power point,lecture and demonstrations. In the practical portion of class students are assigned with the most unlikely pairs to further create the opportunity, to work with a younger teamate, but to gain experience, build confidence, and openly share basic common challenges, while achieving a common goal of furthering their education while building new personal skills.
Hi Lisa,
Good example of how to use your students as resources. By helping each student to see how he/she fits into the class you are setting the stage for their success. Rapport with all students is very important and critical for the older students because they need to see how they can succeed in and contribute to the course.
Gary
I have had this very same problem. It is hard because it also seems like they want an answer for everything and then want to know where it is in writing. They do however complete their work and show up for class and very rarely miss class and most of them are above average students
Hello,
I too have unique issues with older students. As a young instructor (under 30), I find that they question my authority, even though I am working on my second Master's Degree and have owned my own company. Being very clear in written guidelines, offering handouts, and referring them to use resources on campus (ex. Writing Center) has been very helpful.
This allows the older student to feel as if they have more tools in their tool belt and ultimately, more security or control. Further, being able to refer them to a resource that will help them demonstrates that YOU, the instructor, has the knowledge needed to make THEM successful.
its hard... i teach culinary arts and i have students out of high school... and 45 year old career changers. i found that it is best to try to connect with all your students on some level. you dont want to gear the class towards the younger students, nor do you want to do the opposite. be consistant in your delivery, but often a simple conversation with the older students before or after class which gives you some one on one time to relate to them often builds that level of trust and respect which in turn allows them to feel more comfortable and open up
I have found that my older students have the learning capasity; the one obstacle has always been the outside challanges ex: work, family, etc. I try to have them focus on class by reminding them why they came here, sometime how much it may be costing them to be in class. Having them forget the outside world for at least the time that they are in class helps to calm their nerves just a bit.
I was an older student, felt that the instructors failed to explain that their age had nothing to do with their experience. I had to understand that the knowldge was what mattered not the age of who was delivering it. I now have students wo are older than me and that is the tack I take with them.
