Age
As a former non-traditional student I can understand and sympathize with adult learners. One of the issues that I dealt with was wondering how traditional students view me. On average, I was 20 years older than the majority of students in my classes; I felt closer to the instructors than I did my students, who, by virtue of their youth, were not my peers. For the most part, though I did my work and graduated with honors, socially, I did not fit in.
William,
I am sure you are able to make a connection with your older students by having gone through what they are currently experiencing. The more rapport you can develop with them the more they will be willing to take chances and put forth effort to be successful. Many older students as you know think they cannot be successful when they return to school when in fact they are bringing many life experiences that will help them if they know how to call on those experiences.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I too was an older student and I often refer to examples of my classroom learning experience as an adult learner for my current students who always struggle in speaking up when they don’t understand a topic.
Kevin,
With your experience as a non-traditional student you can relate to those individuals that are where you once were. Your connection with them I am sure will be stronger and they can see that you understand them and their support needs.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I went through this as well. I had a career in industry and then decided to teach. Going back to school after so many years was intimidating. I found that my experience and maturity helped me with doing the required work in class. I also graduated with honors and often found myself tutoring other students.
Fiorella,
This has been my experience as well with the different generations of learners that have taken my classes over the years. This is why we need to tailor our approach to their specific needs when we interact with them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have taught online and on ground, and have observed the impact age has on class participation, confidence, and student performance. From my experience, students slightly older than traditional aged students are very focused, independent, and motivated, and usually perform the best in comparison to the traditional age student. They lack confidence in speaking in front of their peers; they also require more empathy and are easily "turned off" from the course, if the instructor fails to be understanding of their situation. Traditional age students, especially 1st year students, have an "idea" of what college is about and usually it takes time to reconstruct that idea. They require more guidance than the adult learner.
Steven,
Yes it is amazing. I always enjoy the classes where I have such a mix because I know we are going to have some great interaction and discussions. A great way for the different generations to learn from and develop respect for each other.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I'm having the same experience with my students. As a younger instructor, I'm finding that the culture we're building in my program of nurturing success from day in is emphasized in part by the diversity in age groups. The younger students tend to be more independent, whereas the older students are very involved with "round-tabling" and critical thinking and will often times take on a mentor or leadership role when new students enter the course. It's quite amazing to see.
Joseph,
Thank you for sharing your experiences as a student. You make a good point about how older students see themselves fitting into the learning environment. You had a goal and you worked toward that goal even though your fellow students were not your peers. What you did have were the life experiences that you were able to use to your advantage and achieve success in the course. These experiences will serve you well as you work with students that come from non-traditional backgrounds into your course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
