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BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING

BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING. Stephen Brookfield University of St. Thomas Minneapolis-St. Paul www.stephenbrookfield.com. Session Objectives. By the end of this session you will … (1) Implement the Circle of Voices exercise to increase learner participation

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BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING

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  1. BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING Stephen Brookfield University of St. Thomas Minneapolis-St. Paul www.stephenbrookfield.com

  2. Session Objectives • By the end of this session you will … • (1) Implement the Circle of Voices exercise to increase learner participation • (2) Implement the Critical Incident Questionnaire as a Feedback Tool • (3) Implement the Chalk Talk exercise to construct a map of learners’ knowledge

  3. Session Objectives • (4) Implement the Circular Response exercise to focus discussion • (5) Implement the Snowballing technique to widen student participation • (6)Utilize further resources online

  4. Buzz Groups • What, if anything, are the typical characteristics of an adult learner?

  5. What Makes Someone an Adult Learner? • Is it their ….. • Age? • Developmental Stage? • Adult Roles? • Experience? • Method of Learning? • Cognition?

  6. CIRCLE OF VOICES • Quiet, private reflection on the topic or question • Each member takes up to 1 minute to say whatever they wish to say in response to the question - NO INTERRUPTIONS • Group moves into open conversation - members can only talk about what someone else said in the opening round of the conversation

  7. QUESTION • As a trainer, when have you been treated as an adult? What did a supervisor or leader do that made you feel you were being treated in an adult way?

  8. An Adult Approach • Respect • Research • Responsiveness

  9. CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE • Most engaged moment in session • Most distanced moment in session • Most helpful action • Most puzzling action • What Surprised You Most

  10. ADMINISTRATION • Last 5 minutes of last session of the week • Anonymous • Mandatory when possible • Frequency Analysis • Reported back to group • Negotiation not capitulation to majority opinion

  11. CHALK TALK • Trainer writes a question in the middle of the board • 5-10 minutes of silence is declared • Participants write responses to the question on the board whenever they feel ready • Participants & trainer draw lines between similar comments & add reactions

  12. QUESTION • What does an engaged adult classroom look, sound or feel like?

  13. ENGAGEMENT Learners’ Perceptions • Involved in some way • Different modalities used – silence/speech, small group/whole class, visual/oral, abstract/specific, teacher/student • Teacher modeling & scaffolding • Students provide frequent examples • Immediate feedback on progress • Participation in activities – responsibility for learning

  14. RESEARCH - MODELING • Modeling Particularly Important for Students Learning to Think Critically • When Teachers Talk Out Loud Their Assumptions Behind Practices • When Teachers Do Regular Assumption Audits - Say When Their Assumptions are Confirmed & Challenged

  15. RESEARCH - MODELING • When Teachers Use the CIQ to Check Their Assumptions in Front of Students • When Teachers Bring in Real Life Experience When Assumptions Were Confirmed & Challenged • In Team Teaching - When Team Members Take Different Positions and Clarify Each Others’ Assumptions

  16. CIRCULAR RESPONSE • 1st person speaks up to 1 minute on her response to the topic or question • 2nd person (to left of 1st speaker) speaks for up to 1 minute - what she says must respond to, or build on, the 1st speaker’s comments. This can be a question about the previous comment or a disagreement • This process continues once around circle then moves into open conversation

  17. QUESTION • What do you want your students to say about how you train when they are out of earshot?

  18. TRAINER CREDIBILITY • EXPERTISE AT A HIGH LEVEL • EXPERIENCE OF REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS & TEACHING • RATIONALE: A THOUGHT OUT APPROACH TO WHY THINGS ARE ARRANGED THE WAY THEY ARE • CONVICTION: RE. THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT & SKILLS

  19. TRAINER AUTHENTICITY • CONGRUENCE OF WORDS & ACTIONS • FULL DISCLOSURE OF EXPECTATIONS & CRITERIA • PERSONHOOD VIA AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EXAMPLES • RESPONSIVENESS TO LEARNERS’ CONCERNS • ACKNOWLEDGING ERROR

  20. SNOWBALLING • Begin with individual reflection • Share with another person • Pairs join with pairs & share in quartet • Quartets join with quartets …. & so on SHARE … Emerging differences Questions & issues raised Contradictions revealed

  21. QUESTION … • What emotions and feelings have hindered or stopped your own learning as an adult?

  22. RHYTHMS OF LEARNING • Impostorship • Cultural Suicide • Lost in Limbo • Peer Supports

  23. FURTHER RESOURCES • POWERFUL TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ADULTS (2013 – Forthcoming) • TEACHING FOR CRITICAL THINKING (2011) • THE SKILLFUL TEACHER (2006, 2nd Ed.) • DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING (2005, 2nd. Edition) with Stephen Preskill • All published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley • www.stephenbrookfield.com

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