The Adult Learner
Being an Adult Educator
Self-Reflective
As teachers gain experience, they begin to have a sense of what went well and what did not. Effective adult literacy educators are constantly asking themselves, “What did I do right? How could we improve that?” Because of the ever-changing needs of a diverse population of adult literacy learners, adult educators should regularly stop and reflect on themselves as instructors – their values, attitudes, behaviors, and teaching practices. How students evaluate the class is useful for reflection. Professional development and/or observing other teachers in action can also provide new ideas to use in reflecting on current practice.
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“Reflective practice is important to the development of all professionals because it enables us to learn from experience. Although we all learn from experience, more and more experience does not guarantee more and more learning. Twenty years of teaching may not equate to 20 years of learning about teaching but may be only one year repeated 20 times.” |
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“Another teacher and I co-teach a class, and that has really helped me improve. I can see how she does things and get some good ideas. And when something that happened with a student gets to bothering me, you know, I can talk it over with my co-teacher. Usually she was there to see what happened.” |
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“You have to monitor your teaching; if necessary even ‘measure it’ - mull over different options and ideas, be mindful of your own assumptions and habits, and able to stand back and appraise yourself when you get stuck…” |
Take a moment to consider the implications of reflective practice on your instruction of adult literacy learners.
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On your worksheet, record your initial thoughts on being a reflective instructor. Also note any insights or ideas you may have at this point. |
Reflective practice can be carried out both formally and informally. It can mean thinking about your teaching in the shower and deciding to change the way you begin the class the next day, or keeping a daily journal, or planning for an hour a week to review student progress, make notes, consider alternatives, and plan for modifications. A common concern regarding reflective practices expressed by instructors is “Where can I find the time?”
Below is a real-life adult education scenario. While you are reading, put yourself in the instructor’s place. What might you suggest he try to fit reflective practice into his teaching?
Real-Life Scenario—Juan Carlo's Reflections :
Juan Carlo has committed to keeping a reflective journal to improve his teaching practice. He bought a notebook and planned to write in it daily. At the end of two weeks, he had only two entries. “It’s been a crazy week,” he thought. But then it had been like most other weeks in his classroom, with students absent, changes in lesson plans, after-class tutoring, etc. To top it off, his entries were very short. “What should I write?”
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On your worksheet, record your thoughts on the instructor’s frustration. |
Click the + sign in the box to the right to see ideas from other Adult Education Instructors. | [?] |
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I find I do better with sticky notes – I grab a pad, make a quick note and at the end of the day I stick them in my journal. Then once a week I review them and make more specific notes about improving my practice.
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I ask my students to help. At the end of every day, I ask them to state one thing that stood out about the lessons – good or bad. We write their responses on large paper, and after they leave, I jot a few notes about what I might want to change.
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It IS hard to find the time to be reflective. I think it works best when you collaborate with another teacher or a group of teachers and dialog about how to improve your students' progress. Over a period of time, you each develop a better understanding of what's happening in your classroom and what you might change to get better results. If you record the process as you go along, it makes it easier to think about and analyze what does and does not work.
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 you gained from the instructors suggestions. |
In Summary:
- Like your students, you as an adult educator are constantly learning.
- Reflective practice is one tool to assist you in learning about yourself as an instructor and improving your skills.
- Trying out this online course, for example, is a great start towards including reflective practice in your instruction.
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On your worksheet, record any final notes or thoughts, specific ideas you want to be sure to remember, plans for further study, etc. |
Click “Next” below or a specific topic on the outline to the left to continue.
