The Adult Learner
Who is the Adult Learner?
Experienced
Adults come to the learning environment with a variety of life experiences - even though they may need to improve basic skills in reading, math, or writing. Jobs they have held, parenting experiences they have had, cultural mores they have grown up with, negotiating life’s ups and downs, all these and more have contributed experiences that translate into expertise useful in an instructional setting. Learners recognized by their teacher and their classmates for their strengths are validated and respected as individuals with something to offer, and their self-confidence and willingness to take a chance is enhanced.
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“Teachers should get to know the student and kinda…look at their background and see where they’re coming from, ‘cause a lot of students have a lot of different stuff they’re bringing to the school with them – they’re not like little kids, y’know?” |
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“I feel that we need to respect the wealth of life experiences that students bring to the classroom. We’ve each had experiences the other hasn’t had, and we have much to offer each other. ” |
Take a moment to consider how adult learners’ life experiences can affect instruction for adult literacy learners.
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On your worksheet, record your initial thoughts about the experiences adult learners bring with them. Note any insights or ideas you may have at this point. |
Adult learners are likely to have opinions and to prefer making their own decisions. They may have been taking care of themselves and/or their families, may have had a variety of jobs, and often may have hidden skills that could be an asset to learning. Instructors can use adult students as resources in the classroom to provide information and expertise to the rest of the class. Relying on them in this way serves as a great confidence- and esteem-builder for the students.
Below is a real-life adult education scenario. While you are reading, consider the student’s life experiences. How might the instructor capitalize on the student’s strengths as a part of instruction?
Real-Life Scenario—Ralph:
Ralph is one of the students in LaTisha’s class. He is about 60 years old with little education as a youth. He comes from a family of farmers who dropped out of school early to work on the farm. His math skills are strong, especially those involving measurement and geometry. He is a committed student, but his progress in acquiring reading and writing skills is lagging behind the rest of the learners in class.
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On your worksheet, record your thoughts on the student’s experiences and situation in class. |
Click the + sign in the box to the right to see ideas from other Adult Education Instructors. | [?] |
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My students help each other all the time. Ralph's strong experiences in using math concepts on the farm would be useful to another adult who has trouble understanding how knowing the area of a rectangle is useful information. I would partner Ralph with someone whose reading and writing skills are strong but who needs assistance in math. When I can, I ask students to demonstrate or teach things they are good at to the whole class.
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I would use some practical materials such as farm journals or agriculture extension materials from the local farm bureau as class reading materials and let Ralph explain how he applies the farming information that the class reads about in his day-to-day work. Ralph has probably been compensating for his poor reading and writing skills with practical experience, and giving him the opportunity to be the expert and use the text to build on his own knowledge will raise his esteem and encourage him to explore the materials further.
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Reading and math come together in story problems. Students who are struggling in reading can apply their strong math skills to the "reading" part of the word problem. To show the importance of reading skills, use word problems connected to common situations in the learner's life, such as on the job or at home.
In reviewing these ideas, did you find any similar to your own? Did any of them strike you as particularly interesting? Did they provide any new insights for your instruction of adult literacy learners?
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On your worksheet, make note of any tips, insights, or new ideas gained from the instructors’ suggestions. |
In Summary:
Adult learners bring a wealth of experience and accomplishment to the learning situation. Using learners’ life experiences is an effective way for the adult education instructor to motivate learners and to help them see a connection between their own lives and the things they are learning in class.
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On your worksheet, record any final notes or thoughts, specific ideas you want to remember, plans for further study, etc. |
Click “Next” below or a specific topic on the outline to the left to continue.
